Does the radio frequency beauty device really work? This domestic brand has released the test results of its safety and efficacy.

Recently, the domestic beauty device brand i-CHARM (referred to as “i-CHARM”) released two research results regarding its radiofrequency beauty device “i-CHARM Radiofrequency Beauty Device” to prove the safety and efficacy of the product for the skin.

Home beauty devices were first brought to China by overseas brands, occupying the domestic mid-to-high-end market, and then new domestic brands emerged frequently. According to the professional version of Tianyancha, the registration volume of beauty device-related enterprises in China has increased rapidly since 2014, with an average growth rate of nearly 50% in the past five years. Among them, the number of registrations in 2019 was the highest, reaching nearly 15,000.

i-CHARM is one of the domestic brands that emerged during the explosion period of home beauty devices.

The two research results released by i-CHARM this time state that this beauty device is safe for the skin and has certain effects.

Observation refers to the observational research in clinical studies, mainly to assess whether this radiofrequency beauty device is safe for the human body.

It is introduced that this research recruited 120 participants in 7 different cities across the country, with 71% of them being healthcare workers. The research used a multi-center, open, self-before-and-after control human trial method to assess the skin safety, observing for 4 weeks, conducting three follow-ups, and finally obtaining the results. The results showed that none of the 120 observation trials had serious adverse reactions, and i-CHARM has good safety.

Safety is the most basic requirement for a home beauty device, and another important issue is whether there are effects?

The research results indicate that the i-CHARM radiofrequency beauty device has significant improvement effects in three main wrinkles around the eyes, namely the crow’s feet, the fish tail lines, and the wrinkles under the eyes; it also has significant improvement effects in facial-related indicators such as forehead wrinkles, laugh lines, skin quality, skin color, pores, and skin barrier.

In addition to some projects and research led by enterprises, at the industry level of beauty devices, as an emerging thing, home beauty devices urgently need standardization and norms.

Previously, because beauty devices were not within the management scope of medical devices, the effect of home beauty devices did not require clinical verification, resulting in room for exaggeration in performance indicators by merchants. On April 16, 2024, the National Medical Products Administration released the “Guiding Principles for Classification Definition of Radiofrequency Beauty Products” (Draft for Comment), defining radiofrequency beauty medical beauty products as the second and third categories of medical devices. The release of this document is the first step of the country’s regulation of the beauty device market, and it is currently in the consultation stage. After implementation, it will raise the industry threshold.

On the other hand, the standard system construction of the beauty device market is also urgent. Currently, there are 3 national standards related to beauty devices in China, namely: GB4706.15-2008 “Safety of Household and Similar Appliances – Special Requirements for Skin and Hair Care Appliances”, GB4706.85-2008 “Safety of Ultraviolet and Infrared Radiation Skin Appliances – Special Requirements”, and GB/T36419-2018 “Home and Similar Appliance Skin Beauty Devices”.

These 3 standards mainly set requirements for product safety. In terms of efficacy evaluation, the “Group Standard for Efficacy Evaluation of Home Beauty Devices” drafted by the China Non-Public Medical Institutions Association is also about to be released. Professor Zheng Zhizhong, who participated in the drafting of the document, told The Interface News that after the radiofrequency beauty devices were included in the medical device scope, the association made modifications and plans to release it within this year.

However, the group standard is not a mandatory national standard but is voluntarily adopted by enterprises. In this regard, Zheng Zhizhong further stated: “After its official release, the next step will be to upgrade it to a national standard.”

The beauty device market is in a very rapid development period. In May this year, data from the third-party research firm Mogu Market Intelligence showed that the scale of facial beauty devices reached 11.18 billion yuan in 2021, a year-on-year decrease of 4%, but it presented a situation of “decreasing quantity but rising price”. The report believes that the market is gradually becoming rational, and the sales of low-priced products that focus on “affordable alternatives” have declined. This also means that the market is entering a reshuffling period, moving from disorderly competition to a stage of more rational development. The next step will be a competition based on brand research capabilities and product professionalism.