A simple guide to carbon dioxide therapy: what it is, where it came from,
and how it’s used to support skin health and recovery.
A simple guide to carbon dioxide therapy: what it is, where it came from, and how it’s used to support skin health and recovery.
Carboxytherapy uses carbon dioxide, a gas your body makes every second, to prompt your own blood to deliver oxygen into your tissues. It has been used internationally for nearly a century, yet most people have never heard the name. This guide explains it clearly, without jargon.
Carboxytherapy is the therapeutic use of carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas to improve circulation and oxygen delivery in the skin and the tissue beneath it. The name simply joins “carbo” (carbon dioxide) with “therapy.”
It’s delivered two ways. The traditional medical method uses tiny microinjections of purified CO₂ just beneath the skin. A newer, non-invasive method uses a topical gel that generates CO₂ at the skin’s surface, so the gas is absorbed without needles. The topical approach has made the treatment far more approachable for everyday skin care and at-home recovery, while the injectable approach remains in use in clinical settings.
The idea is the same either way: introduce CO₂ to an area, and the body responds by sending oxygen to that spot.
Exactly why that happens is covered below.
AT A GLANCE
What it is
Therapeutic use of CO₂ gas for skin and tissue health.
How it’s delivered
Microinjections or a non-invasive topical gel.
The goal
Boost local circulation and oxygen delivery.
Common uses
Skin quality improvement, post-procedure recovery, body & intimate wellness.
Downtime
Typically none for topical methods.
A natural molecule
CO₂ is already produced by your body.
Carboxytherapy is the therapeutic use of carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas to improve circulation and oxygen delivery in the skin and the tissue beneath it. The name simply joins “carbo” (carbon dioxide) with “therapy.”
It’s delivered two ways. The traditional medical method uses tiny microinjections of purified CO₂ just beneath the skin. A newer, non-invasive method uses a topical gel that generates CO₂ at the skin’s surface, so the gas is absorbed without needles. The topical approach has made the treatment far more approachable for everyday skin care and at-home recovery, while the injectable approach remains in use in clinical settings.
The idea is the same either way: introduce CO₂ to an area, and the body responds by sending oxygen to that spot.
Exactly why that happens is covered below.
AT A GLANCE
What it is
Therapeutic use of CO₂ gas for skin and tissue health.
How it’s delivered
Microinjections or a non-invasive topical gel.
The goal
Boost local circulation and oxygen delivery.
Common uses
Skin quality improvement, post-procedure recovery, body & intimate wellness.
Downtime
Typically none for topical methods.
A natural molecule
CO₂ is already produced by your body.
Carboxytherapy began long before anyone understood the biology behind it, in the carbonated springs in Japan.
1400s
1700s
Naturally carbonated mineral springs were prized for their apparent healing effects. The first documented, deliberate therapeutic use of purified carbon dioxide is traced to a German spa in the early 1700s.
1932
Mid-1900s
A dedicated research institute in Royat helped formalize the practice, producing decades of clinical study and spreading the technique across Europe and, later, South America.
1995
Early 2000s
As it gained popularity in Europe and Brazil where dedicated clinics became commonplace, it crossed into the U.S. aesthetic scene. Certain CO₂ delivery devices received U.S. regulatory clearance in this period.
Today