16.3 Facial Electrical Equipment

Domain 3.C i is equipment in the procedure, not a medical spa license

Quick Answer: Domain 3.C i tests electrical equipment used with facial skin-care services. N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(a)1v already said a cosmetologist-hairstylist may massage, cleanse, or stimulate the face, neck, or upper chest and upper back by electrical appliances. 13:28-2.15(b)8 adds the device gate: no medical device other than a Class I medical device approved by the FDA, and you shall comply with the manufacturer’s instructions for use, cleaning, and maintenance. 13:28-2.15(b)2 still forbids electrical (or hand) work below the stratum corneum. 13:28-2.15(b)6 still forbids cure claims. 13:28-2.15(b)7 still forbids medical services the Board of Medical Examiners treats as medicine, including laser hair removal and Botox/Restylane-type injections. The Board has not published a brand list of facial machines.

Chapter 15 taught the steamer as Domain 3.B equipment and 13:28-3.1(i) sanitation. This section is how electrical modalities fit the facial — analysis light, galvanic softening or product drive, high-frequency spark, vacuum — inside C-H scope, not as medical esthetics.

If a unit is not a medical device, you still owe sanitary, safe, manufacturer-directed use under 13:28-3.1(i). If it is a medical device, it must be Class I FDA-approved. Do not guess Class I from a salesperson’s “cosmetic mode.” Do not treat Class II lasers, IPL medical hair-removal systems, or injection pens as facial accessories. Do not invent a Prometric “New Jersey approved galvanic” table.

Magnifying lamp (and Woods lamp as lighting, not diagnosis)

A magnifying lamp is analysis lighting after the cleanse. It enlarges comedones, capillaries, and surface texture so you decide extract-or-skip. It is not a medical scanner and not a cancer diagnosis. Diopter strength and arm tension are manufacturer. Keep the lens clean, the arm in good repair (13:28-3.1(f)), and the bulb cool enough that you are not cooking a forehead. Do not rest a hot lamp on a towel pile.

A Woods lamp (filtered ultraviolet) is taught as a surface-fluorescence aid — dry patches, oil, some product residue. It does not let you diagnose fungus as a physician. Follow eye-safety and manufacturer directions. If the lamp is a medical device, Class I + manufacturer still applies. You still refer changing lesions; you do not spark them off.

Galvanic current — textbook polarities, New Jersey limits

Galvanic facial current is taught as direct current (DC) that can support two cosmetic roles. These polarities are standard theory teaching, not sentences in N.J.A.C. 13:28:

• Desincrustation (anaphoresis): the negative pole (cathode) is the active electrode on the face with an alkaline solution. Teaching purpose: saponify sebum, soften open-comedone debris before extraction. Follicle openings are described as more relaxed. This is a softening aid, not a lancet and not a living-cell peel.
• Iontophoresis (cataphoresis): the positive pole (anode) is active with an acidic product after extraction or toward the end of the service. Teaching purpose: soothe, tighten the feel of the surface, drive certain water-soluble cosmetic ions. This is not a prescription drug delivery license.

Contraindications (manufacturer and theory, not Board mm Hg): pacemakers and implanted electrical devices, metal implants in the treatment path, broken skin, pregnancy as many labels warn, and any client the manufacturer lists. You do not galvanize vesicles or sunburn. You do not claim galvanic cures acne.

If the galvanic unit is a medical device, it must be Class I FDA and used exactly as labeled. Electrodes that touch the patron are implements or applicators: soil off, then 13:28-3.2 if they can be sanitized, or discard if they cannot. Do not immerse the powered housing.

High-frequency (Tesla) current

High-frequency is taught as alternating current through a glass electrode, producing a tingle, ozone-like odor, and sometimes a visible spark. Direct application: electrode on gauze or skin. Indirect: the client holds the electrode while you massage (no electrode sparking the face). Sparking (electrode slightly off the skin) is advanced textbook stimulation — still surface, still not a method to burn off a mole or skin tag (13:28-2.15(b)9).

Color tubes (neon vs argon) are manufacturer and textbook associations (often neon/orange for more sensitive teaching use, argon/violet for oily teaching use). 13:28 does not assign colors. Do not sell either color as a herpes cure or acne antibiotic. 13:28-2.15(b)6 already closed that.

Skip high-frequency when the manufacturer lists pacemaker, epilepsy, metal, pregnancy, broken skin, or heart cautions — and when Chapter 15 already stopped the face. Do not use HF as a substitute laser. Do not use it below the stratum corneum.

Vacuum (suction) and brush machines

A vacuum / suction attachment is taught to stimulate and to help lift debris from open follicles on intact skin. It is not cupping-as-medicine, not a lancet, and not a treatment for couperose or inflamed acne. Skip sunburn, broken capillaries you would only worsen, and contagious skin. Glass or plastic cups that can be sanitized go through soil removal + 13:28-3.2 or the manufacturer’s device-cleaning steps; porous tips that cannot be sanitized are 13:28-3.2(d).

A brush machine is mechanical exfoliation (Domain 3.C c with an electrical motor). Soft brushes, light pressure, intact skin. Skip inflamed acne and sunburn. Brushes that cannot be sanitized are discarded. Packed natural bristles are not “disinfected” by wiping the handle.

What this license is not

Stay in cosmetologist-hairstylist facial electrical work:

• Not laser hair removal, ablative lasers, or IPL sold as medical hair removal (13:28-2.15(b)7 and the Class I gate).
• Not Botox, Restylane, or other injection devices (13:28-2.15(b)7).
• Not microneedling or rollers meant to penetrate living epidermis (13:28-2.15(b)2).
• Not skin-tag or mole destruction with a spark (13:28-2.15(b)9 plus (b)1).
• Not a disease-cure menu (13:28-2.15(b)6).

LED panels, microcurrent, and ultrasonic spatulas appear in advanced esthetics catalogs. New Jersey has not printed a yes-list. If the device is a medical device, it is Class I or it is out. If the protocol wounds living cells, it is out. Follow the label; do not advertise FDA-cleared medical treatment you are not licensed to provide.

A Camden shop hung a poster: “Board-approved medical galvanic and laser facial.” There is no such Board catalog. You use manufacturer-legal Class I devices on intact skin, or you use hands. That is Domain 3.C i on the NIC New Jersey paper.

Exam traps

• Trap: Any machine is legal if the 78-hour facials block is complete. Hours do not override 13:28-2.15(b)7–8.
• Trap: Class I is whatever the distributor stamped on the box. FDA Class I is a classification, and 13:28-2.15(b)8 still demands manufacturer use and cleaning.
• Trap: Sparking removes skin tags legally. 13:28-2.15(b)9 forbids skin-tag removal.
• Trap: Galvanic desincrustation is the same as lancing. It is alkaline softening teaching, not 13:28-2.15(b)1.
• Trap: High-frequency may be advertised as a herpes or acne cure. 13:28-2.15(b)6 forbids that claim.