Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Seoul: Why Oxygen Helps After Treatment

What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)?

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) involves breathing medical-grade pure oxygen inside a sealed chamber where the pressure is raised to 2–3 atmospheres, above normal air pressure. At Cheongdam RETOO Clinic, we use this environment to raise oxygen levels in the plasma to 10–15 times their usual level, supporting tissue repair, calming inflammation and helping you recover after treatment. Each session centers on 60 minutes of breathing oxygen.

Our chamber is a monoplace (single-person) hyperbaric chamber made by the Korean manufacturer IBEX Medical Systems. The IBEX M2 can be pressurized up to 3 atmospheres (3 ATA). It's built to ASME PVHO-1, the design standard for pressure vessels for human occupancy, and NFPA 99, the standard for medical gas systems, and it carries European CE certification ^[2]. In 2025, the manufacturer also obtained ASME U/U2/PVHO-1 and CE PED certification ^[1]. The chamber pressurizes and depressurizes automatically, stores treatment records, and has an intercom so you can talk with the medical team throughout ^[2].

Normal breathing (1 atmosphere · Air)

• Most oxygen is carried by hemoglobin in red blood cells

Hyperbaric oxygen (2–3 atmospheres · Pure oxygen)

• Much more oxygen dissolves in the plasma and reaches tissue without hemoglobin

How does extra oxygen help your skin heal?

When you breathe normally, most oxygen reaches your tissues bound to hemoglobin in red blood cells. Breathe pure oxygen under pressure, and far more oxygen dissolves directly into the plasma (the liquid part of your blood), letting it diffuse into areas hemoglobin can't reach ^[3]. Where blood vessels are damaged by a wound or swelling, circulation is disrupted and the tissue runs short of oxygen. Hyperbaric oxygen eases that shortage by letting oxygen seep directly into tissue outside the vessels.

1. 01Healthy blood vesselsHealthy vessels deliver oxygen throughout the tissue
2. 02Damaged blood vesselsA wound or swelling disrupts circulation and the tissue runs short of oxygen
3. 03Breathing oxygen under pressureConcentrated oxygen seeps directly into tissue outside the vessels
4. 04RecoveryNew blood vessels form and damaged tissue is repaired

Three things change once oxygen reaches the tissue. First, oxygen is an essential ingredient for collagen synthesis and new blood vessel formation during healing, and HBOT supports this by raising oxygen partial pressure (the pressure of oxygen within the tissue) in tissue that was oxygen-starved ^[3]. Second, blood vessels constrict, so less fluid leaks into the tissue and swelling goes down ^[3]. Third, cells respond: when human skin fibroblasts (the cells that make collagen) were exposed to hyperbaric oxygen at 2 atmospheres for 90 minutes a day, cell growth increased by day 7, with an early rise in the growth factor bFGF ^[4]. Separately, CD34+ stem and progenitor cells in the blood roughly doubled after a single HBOT session and rose about eightfold after 20 sessions ^[5].

Why use HBOT after lifting and skin booster treatments?

Lifting lasers and skin boosters work by creating tiny controlled injuries in the skin with heat or needles; new collagen forms as those injuries heal. What shapes your result is the stage after that: heated collagen contracts, then fibroblasts spend several weeks building new collagen. Oxygen is a key raw material for that work ^[3]. At Cheongdam RETOO Clinic, we use HBOT to set up the right conditions for recovery, so that freshly treated, sensitive skin doesn't have to rely on natural healing alone.

After treatment	How HBOT helps
Needle marks · Bumps (raised marks after a skin booster)	Helps skin settle faster and shortens downtime
Inflammation · Swelling	Calms inflammation and brings swelling down faster
Bruising	Helps clear what has leaked out of the vessels
Collagen remodeling	Supplies oxygen to fibroblasts so results can settle in

Combined with stem cell treatments, it helps support the number and activity of the cells. To be clear, though, HBOT doesn't replace your treatment. It's a recovery step that helps the changes your treatment started to settle in.

What happens during an HBOT session?

Once you're inside the chamber, the pressure is raised gradually. Your ears will feel blocked, much like on a plane during takeoff; you can clear them by swallowing, yawning or using the Valsalva maneuver (pinching your nose and gently breathing out). Once the target pressure is reached, you relax and breathe concentrated oxygen for 60 minutes, and you're welcome to nap. The pressure is then slowly brought back to normal. Keep breathing normally during this phase without holding your breath, and the team will let you know when it's time to step out.

1. 01Step inYou enter the chamber
2. 02PressurizationPressure rises gradually · Clear your ears by swallowing, yawning or the Valsalva maneuver
3. 0360 minutes of oxygenBreathe concentrated oxygen at the set pressure · Feel free to nap
4. 04DepressurizationPressure slowly returns to normal · Don't hold your breath
5. 05Step outLeave when the team gives the all-clear

Is HBOT safe? Who shouldn't have it?

The most common side effect of HBOT is middle-ear barotrauma, which happens when you can't equalize ear pressure during pressurization. Others include sinus pain, anxiety in an enclosed space and temporary shifts toward nearsightedness; oxygen toxicity seizures are rare ^[6]. So if you have a bad head cold that makes it hard to clear your ears, claustrophobia, a chronic lung condition such as pneumothorax or asthma, a heart condition such as bradycardia or tachycardia, a history of glaucoma or cataract surgery, recent ear, nose and throat surgery, or a history of epilepsy or seizures, talk to the specialist before treatment.

Before your session

• Bad head cold · Recent ear, nose and throat surgery (ear equalization)
• Claustrophobia
• Chronic lung conditions such as pneumothorax or asthma
• Heart conditions such as bradycardia or tachycardia
• History of glaucoma or cataract surgery · History of epilepsy or seizures
• No phones, cigarettes, lighters, batteries or other items that could cause fire or static

Because the chamber holds a high concentration of oxygen, anything that could spark a fire or static electricity has to stay outside. If your ears hurt during treatment, tell the team over the intercom right away; they'll pause pressurization and help you equalize again.

Adding HBOT to your treatment plan on a trip to Seoul

If you're coming to Seoul for a lifting laser or skin booster, it helps to know how HBOT fits around your treatment. When the goal is to calm sensitive skin right after a lifting laser or skin booster, HBOT follows on the same day. Allow for the 60 minutes of oxygen plus time for pressurization and depressurization, and remember that phones, batteries and anything else that could cause fire or static can't come into the chamber with you.

Before you travel, look through the checklist above. A bad head cold, recent ear, nose and throat surgery, claustrophobia, lung or heart conditions, a history of glaucoma or cataract surgery, or a history of epilepsy or seizures should be raised before treatment so the specialist can review it first. If you catch a cold during your trip, mention it before your session too.

How many sessions to add, and after which treatment, depends on the treatment and how you're recovering, so your length of stay and number of visits are planned at your consultation.

How does Cheongdam RETOO Clinic use HBOT?

At Cheongdam RETOO Clinic, HBOT isn't a stand-alone add-on; it's the final step of our "Result Completion Process." After treatments that trigger a healing response in the skin, such as heat-based lifting with Ultherapy Prime or Thermage FLX, or skin boosters, we schedule chamber time so that response can run its course without an oxygen shortfall. How many sessions you'll have after which treatment is decided at your consultation, based on the treatment and how you're recovering.

If you're considering a treatment, add this question to your consultation: "How will you support my recovery afterwards?"