Learn to use radio frequency for skin tightening safely, honestly and with confidence. This course teaches the science, safety, consultation, settings, technique and aftercare of radio frequency (RF) skin tightening, practised on the tripolar RF handpiece of the DPL4.
Accredited CPD course
This is a CPD course from Skintastic Aesthetic Lasers Ltd, an approved CPD provider (#777800). The manual states that the number of CPD credits and the accreditation activity number are to be confirmed on accreditation. This is a CPD course: it is not a regulated qualification and carries no qualification level.
What this course covers
- What RF is, how it heats the skin, and what it can and cannot do
- The skin, collagen, ageing and skin types
- The DPL4 tripolar RF handpiece: controls, screen, start-up, cleaning and troubleshooting
- Electrical safety, burn prevention, hygiene and infection control
- Consultation, contraindications, consent, photographs and the test patch
- Settings, the tolerance test and safe endpoints
- Eight step-by-step treatment protocols for face, neck and body
- Sessions, the clinical evidence, aftercare, side effects and burns first aid
- UK law, insurance, advertising and records
How it works
Work through the lessons in order, complete the quiz at the end of each one, then take your final assessment. The practical day at the Skintastic academy includes a supervised full face RF lift sequence on a model, signed off by your trainer. Entry requirements are a recognised anatomy and physiology qualification (Level 3 or above) and appropriate insurance.
Student support group
Studying with us? Join our student support group on Facebook for help, answers and updates from the academy. Join the student support group.
Course at a glance
| Lessons | 14 lessons, 86 topics |
|---|---|
| Certificate | Issued when you pass |
Who can take this course
A recognised qualification in anatomy and physiology (Level 3 or above), and appropriate insurance. Recognition of Prior Learning is accepted for the entry requirements, but never for the practical element.
What you will learn
- Explain in plain English what radio frequency (RF) is
- State three things RF is not
- Explain in plain words how RF current makes heat in the skin
- State the heat rule and what it means in practice
- Name the three layers of the skin and explain what RF does in each
- Explain why the dermis is the target of treatment
- Describe what kind of machine the DPL4 is and which part you use
- Find the emergency stop, key switch, main power switch and foot switch socket
- Carry out the five electrical safety checks before each session
- Explain why extension leads and adaptors must not be used
- Explain why the consultation is the most important safety step
- List the four parts of the consultation
- Explain what power, pulse duration and pulse interval each do
- State what happens when each dial is turned up or down
- Prepare the room, machine and paperwork before the client lies down
- Prepare the client and the skin correctly
- Describe a typical course of RF for the face and the body
- Explain why the guidance is a starting point rather than a rule
- List the normal reactions after RF and how long they last
- Apply the simple test that separates normal reactions from warning signs
- Name the main bodies that regulate RF practice and what each covers
- Summarise licensing in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Course structure
Lesson 1: Start here: your course guide (5 topics)
- Welcome to your training
- Your course at a glance
- What you will be able to do: the course learning outcomes
- How you are assessed and how you complete the course
- Your trainer, your responsibilities and learning support
Lesson 2: What radio frequency is and what it does (4 topics)
- What radio frequency is, and what it is not
- What RF may help with, and what it cannot do
- RF compared with laser and IPL, and the honest advantages and limits
- Meet your teaching device in outline
Lesson 3: How RF works on the skin, and why (5 topics)
- How radio frequency makes heat
- The tripolar head and how deep it heats
- Why gel and constant movement are essential
- The temperature window, and why time matters
- Heat, collagen and fat, and the language of RF settings
Lesson 4: The skin, collagen, ageing and skin types (5 topics)
- The three layers of the skin, and what RF does in each
- Collagen, elastin and healing: why results take time
- Ageing, laxity and the pinch test
- Lesions you must recognise and refer
- Fitzpatrick skin types and RF
Lesson 5: Your teaching device: the DPL4 tripolar RF handpiece (8 topics)
- The DPL4 at a glance and the controls you must know
- Handpieces stay connected, and the Laser Controlled Area
- The tripolar RF handpiece and the foot pedal
- Switching on and choosing RF
- The RF screen: what each item means
- Treating order, saving client settings and shutting down
- Cleaning the RF head after every client
- Troubleshooting and keeping the logs
Lesson 6: Safety: electricity, burn prevention, the room, the law and infection control (7 topics)
- Electrical safety before every session
- The Laser Controlled Area and emergencies in the clinic
- Preventing burns: technique and the three rules
- Metal, implants and implanted electronic devices
- The treatment room, health and safety law and risk assessment
- Infection control: cleaning, hands, PPE and gel hygiene
- Waste, and managing it correctly
Lesson 7: Who and what it is suitable for: consultation, contraindications and consent (9 topics)
- The consultation: a structured clinical conversation
- Contraindications: who must not be treated
- The manufacturer's additions, and medicines that matter
- Wait, adjust or get written clearance
- Excluded areas, and treating the eye area with care
- Waiting times after other treatments
- Informed consent
- Photographs and the test patch
- Pre-treatment advice for clients
Lesson 8: Settings: what they do, where to start and how to find the right level (6 topics)
- What the three settings do
- The reference settings and your settings window
- The tolerance test, step by step
- The three endpoints: feel, look, measure
- Using the infrared thermometer
- Adjusting for area, skin type and later sessions, and recording settings
Lesson 9: Step-by-step treatment guide and treatment protocols (13 topics)
- The treatment session in 10 steps: preparing (steps 1 to 5)
- The treatment session in 10 steps: treating and finishing (steps 6 to 10)
- Technique essentials: holding, moving, lifting and supporting
- Judging the endpoint, guide times and keeping the gel topped up
- Protocol 1: the full face lift sequence
- Protocols 2 and 3: nasolabial folds and forehead
- Protocol 4: the eye area
- Protocol 5: jawline and neck
- Protocol 6: décolletage
- Protocol 7: abdomen
- Protocol 8: arms and thighs
- Common mistakes and how to put them right
- RF made simple: the quick guide
Lesson 10: Sessions, intervals, expectations and the clinical evidence (5 topics)
- How many sessions, and how often?
- What clients may notice, and when
- The clinical evidence in brief
- Named studies at a glance
- Using before and after photographs honestly
Lesson 11: Aftercare, side effects and complications (5 topics)
- What is normal after RF, and aftercare in the clinic
- Client aftercare advice: the leaflet
- Side effects that need action
- Burns: first aid and where to send the client
- Incidents, follow-up and working within your scope
Lesson 12: The law, insurance and professional practice (7 topics)
- Who regulates what, and licensing around the UK
- England and Scotland in more detail
- Health and safety at work, and electromagnetic fields
- Describing your device correctly, and incidents with the machine
- Insurance, consent and records
- Advertising, complaints and scope of practice
- Your compliance checklist
Lesson 13: Your final assessment (3 topics)
- How your final assessment works
- Revision map: what to be sure of before you sit it
- Answering the written parts and the scenario well
Lesson 14: Your practical day and trainer sign-off (4 topics)
- Your practical day: the programme and what to bring
- The practical competency checklist, line by line
- Your model: screening, forms and the record set
- Trainer sign-off, completion and what comes next
How you are assessed
Each teaching lesson ends with a short multiple choice quiz. Your final assessment combines multiple choice questions with written answers marked by your trainer, and your supervised practical is signed off by your trainer. Your certificate is issued when you pass.
