What is carboxytherapy?
Carboxytherapy, also written carboxy therapy or shortened to carboxy, places small amounts of medical-grade carbon dioxide under the skin through a very fine needle. The body reads the extra CO2 as a call for oxygen and sends a rush of oxygen-rich blood, which over a series of sessions improves circulation, collagen and the look of the treated skin.
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Why does injecting carbon dioxide bring oxygen?
Carbon dioxide is the gas your cells give off as they work, and it doubles as a signal. Where its level rises, the body treats that tissue as busy and sends oxygen-rich blood to restore the balance.
Carboxytherapy borrows the signal. Once a small amount of medical-grade CO2 is placed under the skin, blood flow to the area surges, and that surge of oxygen and circulation switches on the skin's repair work. Collagen output rises, texture evens out, and the treated skin looks firmer. Some of the change shows right away, and more builds with each session.
The gas itself does not stay. It is a gas the body already produces and clears, so it disperses within minutes and leaves through the lungs.
What is the Bohr effect?
The physiology was first described in 1904 by the Danish physiologist Christian Bohr. He showed that carbon dioxide changes how tightly blood holds on to its oxygen: where CO2 is higher, hemoglobin releases more oxygen to the surrounding tissue.2 Physiologists still call it the Bohr effect, and it is the principle carboxytherapy puts to work.
As Neoderma's carboxytherapy page puts it, the treatment “has since been used across aesthetics and medicine, from alopecia to wound healing in burn patients, where its skin-smoothing side benefits were first noticed.”1
What does carboxytherapy treat?
Because the response is the same wherever the gas goes, one treatment covers a wide range of concerns. At Neoderma it is used for:
- Dark circles under the eyes
- Stretch marks
- Cellulite
- Acne scars
- Fine lines and wrinkles
- Skin laxity on the face, neck and double chin
- Crepey skin on the arms, stomach and legs
- Overall skin tone and texture
What happens in a carboxytherapy session?
A session is short. Numbing cream goes on the area first, because the treatment is a series of small injections rather than one. A medical provider then places the CO2 just under the skin with a very fine needle, setting the depth and gas volume for the area being treated.
What most people notice is a short pressure or tingling while the gas moves through the tissue, and it is gone within minutes. Nothing about the session keeps you from your day. The most you are likely to see is a little redness, or pinpoint marks where the needle went in, for a few hours.
How long do carboxytherapy results take to build?
Some improvement is often visible right after a session. The real result is cumulative: each session adds more circulation and collagen, so the treated area keeps looking better across the series.
At Neoderma, dark circles under the eyes and most facial concerns are typically planned as 4–6 sessions, and cellulite as 6–10, about a month apart. The number for your case is set at the consultation, and if carboxytherapy suits your concern, the first session can often happen the same day. What a series costs is on the cost page.
Sources
- Neoderma Advanced Skin Care, “Carboxytherapy in Anaheim & Orange County,” medically reviewed by Sal Nadkarni, DO, last updated July 6, 2026. neodermacenter.com. Source of the treatment facts on this page.
- Bohr C, Hasselbalch K, Krogh A. On a biologically important influence that the carbon dioxide tension of the blood exerts on its oxygen binding. Skandinavisches Archiv für Physiologie. 1904;16:402–412. Summary: Bohr effect, Wikipedia.
Common questions
Is carboxy therapy the same as carboxytherapy?
Yes. Carboxytherapy, carboxy therapy written as two words, carbon dioxide therapy, CO2 therapy, carboxy injections and the shorthand 'carboxy' all name the same treatment: small injections of medical-grade carbon dioxide gas just under the skin.
Is carboxytherapy a laser or a filler?
Neither. The injected gas is carbon dioxide, which the body clears and breathes out naturally within minutes. The result comes from the rush of oxygen-rich blood and the collagen it triggers, which is why it builds over a series rather than appearing all at once.
Who performs carboxytherapy?
Because it is an injection treatment, it belongs in medical hands. At Neoderma Advanced Skin Care every session is performed by the clinic's medical providers, who set the depth and gas volume for each area.
Is carboxytherapy suitable for sensitive skin?
At Neoderma it is used on all skin types, including sensitive skin. Whether it suits your particular concern is confirmed by a provider at the consultation.
Find out whether carboxytherapy suits your concern.
Every treatment on this site is performed by the medical providers at Neoderma Advanced Skin Care in Anaheim, where carboxytherapy has been on the menu for over a decade. A consultation settles whether it is right for you, and when it is, a first session can often follow the same day.
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More about carboxytherapy
Carboxytherapy under the eyes
Which dark circles it is aimed at, how many sessions the under-eye area takes and what it costs.
Carboxytherapy for stretch marks
Real before-and-after photos, what fading means, and the 4–6 session series.
Carboxytherapy for cellulite
The longest series it is used for, and how it fits next to ONDA at Neoderma.
Carboxytherapy cost
$195 per session for small areas, $200–$400 for body areas, packages and financing.
Where to get carboxytherapy
Neoderma in Anaheim: who performs it, hours, map and how booking works.