Secret RF vs Potenza: what differs between the two
Medically reviewed by Dr Sin Yong · Last reviewed · 8 min read
Published 9 October 2026 · Reviewed by Dr Sin Yong
Potenza and Secret RF are both Korean fractional microneedle radiofrequency systems. Potenza is made by Jeisys Medical and distributed by Cynosure; Secret RF is made by ILOODA. The comparison below sets out, from each FDA filing, where the two differ.
Short answerPotenza offers monopolar and bipolar radiofrequency at 1 and 2 MHz, insulated and semi-insulated tips, and depth from 0.5 to 4.0 mm in 0.25 mm steps. Secret RF files bipolar 2 MHz with depth from 0.5 to 3.5 mm in 0.1 mm steps, and the Secret DUO adds a 1540 nm fractional laser. Both are cleared in the US for electrocoagulation and haemostasis. Neither has been shown to outperform the other.
Jeisys, Korea (distributed by Cynosure); monopolar and bipolar, 1 and 2 MHz
Secret RF
ILOODA, Korea; bipolar 2 MHz
Depth
Potenza 0.5–4.0 mm in 0.25 mm steps; Secret RF 0.5–3.5 mm in 0.1 mm steps
Tips
Potenza: insulated, semi-insulated, Fusion and single-needle tips; Secret DUO: 25/64-pin and specialty cartridges
Evidence
Potenza: blinded split-face RCT in acne scars, n=20 (Darji 2025). Secret RF: split-face RCT in active acne, n=25 (Kwon 2018)
Used here
Secret DUO, by Dr Sin Yong
Why this site compares devices against Secret RF. Dr Sin Yong is a global Key Opinion Leader for ILOODA’s Secret RF platform and performs RF microneedling personally on the Secret DUO. He has been invited by the manufacturer to share his clinical expertise with doctors internationally. That is a disclosed relationship, so the comparisons on this site stick to what each manufacturer has filed with the US FDA and what published studies measured, and do not rank one device above another.
Secret RF and Potenza compared from their FDA 510(k) summaries
Secret RF / Secret DUO (used here)
Potenza
Maker
ILOODA Co., Ltd., Korea (US: Cutera)
Jeisys Medical Inc., Korea (distributed by Cynosure)
RF type and frequency
Bipolar, 2 MHz
Monopolar and bipolar, 1 and 2 MHz (“4-mode”)
Needle tips
25- and 64-pin; DUO also 25PIN-S, 1PIN, 4PIN gold-plated cartridges
Insulated I-16/25/49 and semi-insulated S-16/25/49; 21-needle Fusion tip; single-needle tips
Split-face RCT in active acne, n=25 (Kwon 2018; device named in a later review)
Evaluator-blinded split-face RCT in acne scars, n=20 (Darji 2025)
At this practice
Performed by Dr Sin Yong
Not offered here
RF microneedling places heat inside the dermis at a depth the doctor sets; the surface is spared when insulated needles are used.Potenza reaches 0.5 mm deeper on paper; Secret RF adjusts in finer steps. Neither figure is a treatment depth.
Is Potenza a different treatment from Secret RF?
No. Potenza and Secret RF both deliver fractional microneedle radiofrequency, the treatment explained on RF microneedling Singapore. What Potenza adds is a choice of monopolar as well as bipolar radiofrequency, at 1 or 2 MHz, which its maker markets as four modes. In bipolar delivery current flows between needles on the tip; in monopolar delivery it flows from the needles towards a return path, which is generally described as heating a broader, deeper volume. Secret RF files bipolar delivery at 2 MHz.
Does Potenza’s greater depth matter?
Potenza’s filings allow needle depth to 4.0 mm, set in 0.25 mm steps; Secret RF’s allow 3.5 mm in 0.1 mm steps. On the face, the dermis where acne scars and pores sit is usually reached well within both ranges, and placing heat into fat that is not the target can hollow a lean face. Whether 0.1 mm or 0.25 mm steps change outcomes has not been studied. Neither range is better in itself; the question is what depth your problem needs.
What is the evidence for each?
For Potenza, an evaluator-blinded split-face trial in 20 patients with acne scars found improvement on both sides in that study, with no significant additional benefit from adding a picosecond laser to one side (Darji, Dermatol Surg 2025). For Secret RF, a split-face randomised trial in 25 Korean patients with acne found greater improvement with microneedle fractional RF than with a 1450 nm diode laser at 12 weeks, and darkening only on the laser side (Kwon, JEADV 2018). Both studies are small; neither compares the two devices.
Rolling and shallow boxcar scars are a shared use; tethered scars need subcision first on either device.
Which one should you choose?
Choose the doctor and the plan rather than the brand. Both devices deliver fractional microneedle radiofrequency; neither has been shown in a head-to-head trial to outperform the other. Ask which tip will be used, whether its needles are insulated, what depth is planned for each area and why, how energy will be set for your skin type, and who sets those parameters. Ask what RF microneedling will not help, and what would be done for that instead. A tethered scar needs subcision; pigment needs a different tool entirely.
Only the Secret DUO is used at this practice. Dr Sin Yong examines the skin, performs the treatment himself and sets out the plan and fee in writing; how fees are quoted explains why fees are not published.
Frequently Asked Questions
Neither has been shown to outperform the other; no head-to-head trial was found. Potenza offers monopolar and bipolar modes at 1 and 2 MHz and depth to 4.0 mm; Secret RF files bipolar 2 MHz with finer 0.1 mm depth steps, and the Secret DUO adds a 1540 nm laser.
Jeisys Medical of Korea holds the FDA 510(k) clearances, including K192545 (2020). Cynosure distributes it.
No. RF microneedling here is performed on the Secret DUO. Dr Sin Yong is a global Key Opinion Leader for the Secret RF platform.
In monopolar delivery, current flows from the needles to a return path rather than between neighbouring needles, and is generally described as heating a broader volume. Potenza offers both monopolar and bipolar; Secret RF files bipolar.
Both have small published studies in acne or acne scars. The scar type decides the plan more than the device: tethered scars need subcision, deep ice-pick scars TCA CROSS, and RF microneedling works on what remains.
References
US FDA 510(k) summary K170325 — Secret RF (ILOODA Co., Ltd.), 2017: bipolar 2 MHz, needle depth 0.5–3.5 mm in 0.1 mm steps. source
US FDA 510(k) summary K202043 — Secret DUO (ILOODA Co., Ltd.), 2021. source
US FDA 510(k) summary K192545 — Potenza (Jeisys Medical Inc.), 2020: monopolar and bipolar RF at 1 and 2 MHz. source
US FDA 510(k) summary K231216 — Potenza tips (Jeisys Medical Inc.), 2024: insulated and semi-insulated tips; depth 0.5–4.0 mm in 0.25 mm steps. source
Darji K, et al. Microneedle RF with and without picosecond laser for acne scars: an evaluator-blinded split-face randomised trial (n=20). Dermatol Surg. 2025. doi:10.1097/DSS.0000000000004817 (PMID 41405932). source
Kwon HH, et al. Microneedle fractional radiofrequency in acne: a split-face randomised trial versus 1450 nm diode laser in Korean patients. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2018. doi:10.1111/jdv.14714 (PMID 29178495). source
Kumar N, et al. Fractional microneedle radiofrequency: a systematic review of 41 studies with device-level tables. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2026. doi:10.1007/s00266-026-05834-y (PMID 42047762). source
Syder NC, Chen A, Elbuluk N. Radiofrequency microneedling in skin of colour: a review of 35 studies. Dermatol Surg. 2023;49:489. doi:10.1097/DSS.0000000000003733 (PMID 36826381). source
