Taping in cosmetology

Anton Gritsenko , neurologist, osteopath MD , D O, MF Hom ., private medical practice in the Federation of Functional Coaching (Ukraine)

To fully understand the mechanisms of action of various types of taping, we will introduce you to the features and mechanisms of regulation of tissue tone, and also turn to the history of this method

Taping is a strip of fabric fixed to the skin, and taping, respectively, is a technique for applying and fixing a special adhesive fabric tape.

By the way, tapes have been widely used by humanity for several hundred years. For example, in gardening and floristry, where they play a special role in the art of creating bonsai. And since we can use this tool to model a plant, why not use it on a person? Especially if you set yourself the noblest of goals - to bring health and beauty to people.

History of the tape

The history of the creation of tapes in the most unusual way, which, however, is quite typical for history, is connected with the Voronezhkhimpharm (VHF) enterprise, opened in 1934. Ten years later, it was on the basis of this production, on equipment repatriated from Germany that had previously produced technical insulating tape on a fabric basis, that the production of the first Soviet adhesives was launched. Ten years later, Soviet technological know-how was introduced - a multi-component adhesive composition and specially bleached fabric, from which the legendary Soviet adhesive plaster was created. I think many people remember it well: it was glued tightly, and it was almost impossible to tear it due to the high density of the base fabric.

Thanks to these properties, the medical device patch has become the subject of widespread and widespread household use. In particular, it was very useful for hockey players for wrapping the lower part of the stick, the so-called hook cap, which significantly increased the accuracy of the throw and made it easier to control the puck. And since the patch was always at hand, during the match itself, all malfunctions in the players’ protective equipment were eliminated in the same reliable and accessible way.

Also in the historical context, it is worth mentioning Kenzo Kase, an American doctor of Japanese origin, who, according to his own statement, back in 1973 set himself the task of developing a new taping method that would not simply limit freedom of movement, as classic tapes did.

It is difficult to say what he meant by “classic tapes” if we are talking about the distant 1973, but it is noteworthy that it was from the 1972–1973 season that the legendary super series of hockey matches between the USSR and Canada began, which became the largest sporting event of that time . Be that as it may, it is with the name of Kenzo Kase that the emergence of the now widespread kinesio taping technique is associated.

The effectiveness of using softer kinesio tape applications in sports competitions was demonstrated by the American national team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Thanks to this event, we now have a huge variety of tapes of varying degrees of density - from more than fifty manufacturers around the world.

This is what the history of the creation and implementation of tapes into the daily practice of specialists in various fields looks like. Today there are several types of taping:

• sports;
• medical;
• rehabilitation;
• aesthetic.

Mechanism of action

Let's move on to the applied part, namely the question, how and due to what does taping work in general and in aesthetics in particular? Does the application itself create the desired aesthetic effect or does it trigger processes in the tissues? What receptors are affected and what mechanisms does it trigger? What are the short-term and long-term effects of this type of procedure? And what approaches exist in using tapes in aesthetics and in general?

To begin with, it should be noted that some manufacturers are trying to focus on the effectiveness of the application action of various substances added to the adhesive base of the tape itself. In our opinion, if the effect is achieved by applying the active substance to the skin, then such a product should not be called tape at all. For this purpose, there is a dosage form that has passed through centuries - an adhesive plaster.

Adhesive plasters are a dosage form for external use (from the ancient Greek λευκός - “light, white” and émplastron - “ointment, plaster”, emplásso - “I cover, coat”). The basic function of such products is the ability to adhere. From the moment of invention to the present day, patches have been used to protect the skin from damage, fix bandages and medical instruments, in the treatment of minor skin lesions, and also as a depot for the percutaneous administration of active substances of local or systemic action.

Tapes change the degree of tension and tissue’s own mobility, and also have a facilitating effect on tissue tension receptors. In this context, it is worth especially noting that when it comes to the use of tapes in aesthetic remodeling and anti-age, then their action extends to receptors concentrated only in the thickness of the skin.

Use in aesthetic medicine

So, what actually happens during the skin application of tapes and how can they help achieve aesthetic anti-age changes? It is also worth asking about the short- and long-term fate of these changes.

Here, our readers will find the most unexpected and useful discoveries that will provide invaluable criteria for analyzing and evaluating the work of both individual specialists and entire schools and areas involved in the skin application of all kinds of tapes.

The most reliable criterion for us will be a systematic and non-systemic approach to the procedure itself and to the analysis of its effects over time.

A non-systemic approach should be understood as all considerations concerning the action and effects caused by the skin application of the tape itself. Effects of this kind are quite short-term and unstable; they are suitable for the immediate correction of some visually noticeable defects. By following this path, we can significantly reduce the severity of wrinkles in the corners of the eyes, lift the corners of the mouth, reduce the contouring of additional chins, jowls, etc.

The main feature of such non-systematic work is that the application is carried out in the place where we expect to receive changes, and the action vectors of the tape itself are selected in accordance with the desired effect. For this kind of manipulation we will need 30–40 minutes and absolutely any tape. However, it should be understood that the effect of such a procedure will not last very long - at best 3-4 hours, and only on condition that this method of aesthetic correction is used extremely rarely and only in emergency cases (no more than once every 25-30 days). With more frequent use, the mechanisms for achieving the desired effect are not just depleted - it can lead to the exact opposite result.

Why is this happening? Why does something that works great in the short term have the opposite effect when used more frequently? The very fact that we are asking such questions already leads us to the need for a systems approach and functional analysis of a person as a biological system with internal mechanisms of neural regulation, because all our biological functions, including the tone and mobility of tissue, are under its constant control. And if someone or something interferes with this process, it cannot go unnoticed by the nervous system.

It’s one thing if the intervention occurs from time to time and for a fairly short period of time, as was described above. The system will not provide lasting resistance.

It is a completely different matter if external changes in the tone, degree of tension and mobility of the tissue, not sanctioned by the nervous system itself, are more constant and persistent. Trying to maintain system integrity and its regulatory competencies, the nervous system will begin active work to restore the status quo - to return to its original state. We all remember Newton's third law: the force of action is equal to the force of reaction. In fact, the body will begin to internally resist changes imposed from the outside.

It is for this reason that any actions that do not take into account the reaction of the human body’s own regulatory systems to them are doomed to failure in the long run. This applies equally to taping and other interventions. Any system strives for balance, and man is the most striking manifestation of this property.

Thanks to the knowledge of practical neurology, neuromechanics and human systems analysis, we can use the endless internal resource of the system itself to remodel it. Understanding that tissue tone is regulated according to the law of reciprocal inhibition, we can predict the reaction of the nervous system to our actions and thereby direct it in the direction we need.

The paradox of a procedure built on a systemic principle lies in the fact that in order to achieve an effect in one place, we concentrate our actions in a completely different place. Often the exact opposite. Thus, to eliminate a second or third chin, tape application should be carried out in the suboccipital region, and for venous drainage of the entire skull through the jugular foramen, the tape will be glued in the area of the hyoid bone.

Thus, the changing factor is not our action itself, not the glued tape itself, but the reaction of the nervous system to it. This principle distinguishes the approach to the body as a biological system, and neuromechanics is its applied remodeling component.

Thanks to a systematic approach, aesthetic change work becomes as safe and effective as possible, and we can achieve a self-sustaining lasting effect. The emphasis shifts from what we do to how and why we do it, how changes will occur and what forces and mechanisms will support them after the impact itself.

This is a completely different level of professionalism, in which the entire focus of attention is concentrated not on the instrument, in this case on the tape, but on the specialist’s literacy. This allows us to achieve a truly fantastic effect, due to the fact that all changes are implemented by the human nervous system itself, and we only direct and calibrate the result of its activity. It's so interesting to work!

First published in Les Nouvelles Esthetiques 2018/№2