Can I treat a client with a metal implant or joint replacement?

Usually yes — but the answer depends entirely on which treatment, and on how close the metal sits to it.

Radiofrequency and microcurrent: let the device's manual decide. RF generates an electromagnetic field and metal conducts heat, so every aesthetic RF, microcurrent, EMS and galvanic device contraindicates metal implants. What varies is how far that bar reaches. Many devices only rule out treating directly over a plate, pin, screw or prosthetic joint — so a knee replacement wouldn't stop an RF facial, while a titanium plate in the jaw would stop you running RF along that jawline. But some machines, including several microneedling-RF and body devices, contraindicate any metal implant anywhere in the body, and electrical modalities are stricter around the head and neck. Check the manufacturer's instructions for use for your exact machine — that document, not a forum post, is what your insurer will hold you to — and get clinician sign-off when the implant sits anywhere in the treatment field.

Laser and IPL: generally irrelevant. Light energy is absorbed in the skin and doesn't reach a plate sitting under muscle or bone. What does matter is metal on the surface: remove piercings from the treatment area, and never fire over surgical staples or clips.

Massage: check the timeline, not the metal. A healed hip or knee replacement is fine. Avoid deep pressure directly over the joint, and treat anything still within the surgeon's recovery window as recent surgery.

What to do:

• Ask where the metal is, not just whether there is any. "Hip replacement, left side, 2019" is usable. "Yes" is not.
• Record it as permanent. Implants don't expire; the flag must still be there when a different therapist books RF in two years.
• Cardiac devices are a separate question — a pacemaker or ICD is an absolute contraindication to electrical treatments, not a site-avoidance one.