Supply: Attract by Talia Gutierres
Laying in an enclosed capsule that is being pumped with medical-grade oxygen would possibly sound intense — however would you strive it if it meant your pores and skin would glow? Elevated collagen manufacturing, accelerated cell regeneration, and decreased look of wrinkles are simply among the skin-care advantages a session in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber (a.ok.a. HOC remedy) might be able to supply for those who can work up the nerve. Celebrities comparable to Kendal Jenner and Justin Bieber have jumped onto the pattern, zipping themselves up of their very personal pressurized oxygen pods (within the consolation of their very own houses) for handy entry to this skin-rejuvenating remedy.
HOC remedy entails mendacity in a tanning bed-sized chamber that fills up with a “extremely concentrated, pressurized dose of pure oxygen with ranges 1.5 to a few instances increased than the common,” explains Mona Gohara, MD, a board-certified dermatologist positioned in Connecticut. The remedy was first developed to counteract detrimental results after deep sea diving and tissue injury by radiation, however a current examine concluded that it might have skin-care advantages, too. “Oxygen in excessive doses, like HOC remedy, lately has been discovered to be an vital element in pores and skin rejuvenation, treating photoaging pores and skin, and enchancment in pores and skin complexions,” says a 2014 examine revealed within the Nationwide Library of Drugs.
Aestheticians at the moment are harnessing HOC remedy’s results and providing it as a remedy at their spas. I stumbled upon this remedy after a calming, pore-cleansing facial at Joanna Vargas Pores and skin Care Spa in New York Metropolis. Vargas gave me a sneak peek contained in the spa’s very personal HOC remedy room, and whereas this remedy is often thought of an add-on to her record of facials, massages, and LED remedies, I could not resist Vargas’ sort supply for me to expertise the hour-long service by itself the next week.
What’s hyperbaric oxygen chamber remedy?
The primary recorded use of hyperbaric air remedy was within the 1660s to deal with persistent circumstances like decompression illness and carbon monoxide poisoning, nevertheless it wasn’t till the Twenties that hyperbaric oxygen remedy started getting used broadly in medication. The aim of inhaling pure oxygen in these kinds of chambers is, based on an article revealed on Johns Hopkins Drugs’s web site, “to fill the blood with sufficient oxygen to restore tissues and restore regular physique perform.” In additional trendy instances, many docs have created their very own interpretations of HOC remedy, like this pressurized hospital chamber constructed within the mid-Twenties by Dr. John Cunningham.
We’re now seeing a spike in availability for pure oxygen within the magnificence aesthetics business, within the type of remedies like oxygen bars and HydraFacials. However what does pure oxygen (also referred to as O2) do for the pores and skin? “HOC is believed to extend pores and skin elasticity and stimulate collagen manufacturing, resulting in discount of wrinkles and nice strains and enchancment in pores and skin texture,” Dr. Gohara explains to Attract. In different phrases, she says, hyperbaric oxygen remedy jump-starts pores and skin cell regeneration and collagen manufacturing.
Whereas oxygen remedy has at all times been an integral a part of Vargas’ skin-care providers (by the use of infusions throughout facials and massages) Vargas selected so as to add a hyperbaric chamber session to the spa’s lengthy record of remedies at her namesake spa again in 2006 after attempting it for herself in Los Angeles, the place remedy amenities at the moment are popping up on nearly each nook. Vargas recollects her first time, noticing “a direct glow in my pores and skin, whereas feeling de-stressed and energized abruptly.”
In accordance with Vargas, very like a HydraFacial, a rise of oxygen can “improve circulation and reduces irritation, scale back the sensation of stress in your thoughts and physique, improve collagen manufacturing, will increase elasticity, and boosts the physique’s means to get well.” Dr. Gohara agrees. “Excessive concentrations of oxygen impart a change in among the organic processes that contribute to pores and skin working and complexion altering,” she says. Is that this consequence sustainable long-term exterior the chamber? Because it pertains to rejuvenation, Dr. Gohara believes extra research must be executed, however I used to be going to strive it out anyway.
At Joanna Vargas’ spa, HOC remedy prices $160, which is on the extra luxurious finish of the handful of spas all through america that supply the remedy. Earlier than reserving your individual hour-long session contained in the oxygen chamber, Dr. Gohara suggests speaking to your physician to verify you have no private medical contradictions that may influence the remedy. Medical circumstances like lung illnesses, current ear surgical procedure or sensitivity, or colds are a couple of advisories made by Hopkins Drugs for individuals who ought to keep away from hyperbaric oxygen chambers.
My Private Expertise
Inside a tranquil room, two of the semi-deflated chambers laid facet by facet prepared to be used. Earlier than the remedy began, I used to be talked by way of what to anticipate: “The remedy seems like a flight on an airplane, so ear-popping could happen,” my aesthetician, Marina Montoya, suggested. After being zipped into what regarded like a pressurized tanning mattress with padded flooring and a blanket, accompanied by my cellphone, a pillow, an iPad, and a walkie-talkie to speak from contained in the pod, she jogged my memory to loosen up and get snug.
Because the strain started to rise, I watched the oxygen dial contained in the pod, rise too. She was proper in regards to the airplane feeling: I regularly held my nostril closed to pop my ears and relieve the delicate strain. I, in any other case, felt calm and relaxed with my Netflix and had no hassle respiration from the excessive focus of oxygen being pumped contained in the chamber.
For these anxious about claustrophobia, I am proper there with you — small, confined areas and I are usually not one of the best of pals. Fortunately, the pods at Joanna Vargas’ spa have loads of peepholes the place my aesthetician and I have been capable of make (considerably awkward) eye contact, and that set of walkie-talkies allowed us to speak if any questions or considerations arose, however none did.
I did get a gentle headache, a standard facet impact of being uncovered to this new quantity of oxygen strain abruptly, however I felt no dizziness or claustrophobia. And because you have been capable of carry your private digital of selection inside, Conserving Up With The Kardashians saved me occupied throughout my hour-long journey. I used to be even stunned at how briskly the 60 minutes flew by.
After the session was full, I drank a couple of cups of water and accomplished my spa go to remedy with Vargas’ signature lymphatic drainage therapeutic massage to enhance circulation and drain stagnated fluids. The morning after my expertise, I noticed a noticeable discount within the puffiness of my pores and skin (leftover from a red-eye flight a couple of days earlier than) and a delicate glow to my complexion. I do know what you are pondering: Could not that lymphatic drainage therapeutic massage and a few dewy skincare have executed the trick? Possibly. However my glowing pores and skin and sculpted jawline nonetheless leads me to imagine that my hour-long HOC remedy was fully price it.
Talia Gutierrez is the affiliate particular initiatives supervisor at Attract. She started her profession as an editorial assistant on the model, together with Glamour and Vogue, the place she coated magnificence tendencies, launches, improvements, and popular culture information. In her spare time, she might be discovered filming a TikTok video, thrifting her subsequent greatest condominium discover, or taking a second of self-care whereas attempting out a brand new hair masks.
