And… @medaura , then the question becomes:
If a person was to try using dermoelectroporation for delivery of hyper-dilute Radiesse, and the solution does seem to be absorbed into the skin, what do you think is happening with the Radiesse solution?
CGPT5 Response:
That’s an insightful question — and it gets into what’s physically plausible when someone reports that hyper-dilute Radiesse “seems” to absorb after applying a dermo-electroporation (DEP) treatment.
Let’s parse what’s likely happening under physics, chemistry, and physiology — rather than what might appear visually.
What “absorption” looks like — and what it really is
When a clinician or patient observes that a hyper-dilute Radiesse mixture “disappears” from the surface during a DEP session, several non-delivery processes can mimic true absorption:
| Apparent effect |
Actual mechanism |
| Serum or gel visually vanishes |
The aqueous carrier (saline/lidocaine/water) evaporates or is wicked into the stratum corneum, leaving microspheres behind. |
| Smooth surface after wiping |
The CaHA microspheres settle into fine surface irregularities or remain on the stratum corneum as a thin residue that is later wiped or rinsed off. |
| Mild plumping or glow afterward |
Caused by temporary hydration, mild edema, and increased superficial circulation from the electrical pulses — not from CaHA deposition in the dermis. |
| Short-term firmness feeling |
Transient tissue impedance changes and epidermal tightening (electrical/thermal effects), not neocollagenesis. |
So the “absorption” you see is optical and superficial, not migration of the microspheres through skin barriers.
What happens to the components of hyper-dilute Radiesse
A hyper-dilute mix is roughly:
-
CaHA microspheres (solid, 25–45 µm)
- Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) gel carrier
- Diluent (saline ± lidocaine)
Under electroporation conditions:
a) The saline fraction
→ Conductive, ionic, and water-based — this part can temporarily move into the upper epidermis or evaporate.
b) The CMC gel
→ A non-ionic, viscous polymer. The electrical pulses don’t break it down; it mostly stays on the surface or forms a thin film.
c) The CaHA microspheres
→ Too large for any electroporation channel (pore size: ~1–100 nm vs. 25,000–45,000 nm particles).
They remain on the skin surface and are eventually wiped off. None penetrate to the reticular dermis.
What cannot be happening
- The microspheres cannot pass through electroporated aqueous pores.
- Dielectrophoretic forces in a skincare device are far too weak to move them through tissue.
- There is no plausible path for them to reach fibroblasts in the mid-dermis (1–3 mm deep).
If you tested the treated skin histologically, you would not find CaHA microspheres in the dermis; you’d find normal epidermis with transient hydration changes.
What is happening beneficially
While the CaHA itself isn’t entering, the DEP session:
- Delivers a mild ionic current, increasing local perfusion and temporary hydration.
- Causes mild skin tightening from transient edema and keratinocyte activation.
- May improve product penetration for the ionic diluent fraction (saline, lidocaine) — producing a cooling, plumping sensation.
Those superficial changes can look like “absorption” but are transient (hours–days).
Summary
If hyper-dilute Radiesse “seems to absorb” during a DEP session, the water and saline fraction are entering or evaporating, the gel and CaHA microspheres stay on or near the surface, and the perceived improvement is hydration and micro-edema, not true CaHA biostimulation.
For actual collagen induction, CaHA microspheres must be injected mechanically into the mid-to-deep dermis where fibroblasts reside.
