Survey on the current status of photoaging in young Asian women and intervention effects of non-ablative bipolar radiofrequency combined with ablative fractional CO₂ laser: a retrospective study

Objective This study aimed to investigate the current degree of skin photoaging in young Asian women and to explore the intervention effects of non-ablative bipolar radiofrequency (RF) combined with ablative fractional CO₂ laser. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 202 young Asian female patients (aged 18–35 years) with photodamaged skin who attended our hospital between March 2023 and March 2024. The patients were divided into two groups based on the intervention program: the RF-alone group ( n = 80, non-ablative bipolar radiofrequency treatment only) and the combined group ( n = 122, non-ablative bipolar radiofrequency combined with ablative fractional CO₂ laser). The Glogau photoaging classification, Fitzpatrick skin typing, clinical efficacy, symptom scores, global photoaging score (GPS), and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results Among the 202 young Asian female patients with photodamaged skin, the Glogau classification showed 144 cases (71.29%) classified as Grade I and 58 cases (28.71%) classified as Grade II. Fitzpatrick skin typing revealed predominantly Types I–II (approximately 71%): Type I 76 cases (37.62%), Type II 68 cases (33.66%), Type III 36 cases (17.82%), and Type IV 22 cases (10.89%). The combined group showed a significantly higher total effective rate than the RF-alone group (95.08% vs. 78.75%; χ 2 = 12.773, p < 0.001; risk difference: 16.33, 95% CI: 7.24–25.42%). Post-treatment symptom scores for pore size, hyperpigmentation, skin texture, and skin color were significantly lower in the combined group (all p < 0.05). GPS scores were also significantly lower in the combined group (1.58 ± 0.50 vs. 2.24 ± 0.56; mean difference: −0.66, 95% CI: −0.80 to −0.52, p < 0.001). No significant difference was observed in adverse reaction rates between the groups (4.10% vs. 3.75%, p > 0.05). Conclusion The degree of skin photoaging in young Asian women is predominantly mild to moderate, with greater sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation characteristic of Fitzpatrick Types I–II. Non-ablative bipolar radiofrequency combined with an ablative fractional CO₂ laser demonstrates superior efficacy in improving photoaging symptoms compared with RF alone, without a significantly increase in adverse reactions. This combination approach represents a safe and effective intervention strategy for the management of early photoaging in young Asian women.