PDM++ Explained, The Bipolar Pulse on Pro Plus and GLOW
Medically reviewed by
4 independent reviewers
Andrew Conrad Barile, PT, DPT
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) | Licensed Physical Therapist (PT) | CEO and Founder, Xtreem Pulse LLC
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Dr. Andrew Conrad Barile is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and the CEO and Founder of Xtreem Pulse LLC, the engineering company behind PureLift. He earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Daemen College and is a licensed physical therapist.
He brings over two decades of clinical and entrepreneurial experience across physical therapy, craniosacral therapy and medical device innovation, built on a working knowledge of human anatomy and muscle physiology.
For PureLift LAB he reviews how current is delivered across all ten levels, from sub-sensory nanocurrent and skin-level microcurrent to motor-level EMS, and how the Infuse pass fits into the same ten-minute routine.
Bertica M. Rubio, M.D.
Board-Certified Physician, Dartmouth Medical School | Medical Director, Antiaging Regenerative Medicine Clinic
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Dr. Bertica M. Rubio is a board-certified physician and Medical Director of the Antiaging Regenerative Medicine Clinic in Redlands, California. She earned her Doctor of Medicine from Dartmouth Medical School and completed her pediatrics residency at UC Irvine Medical Center.
With decades of clinical experience, she specialises in age management medicine, regenerative medicine, wound healing and growth factor therapies, and her practice integrates evidence-based medical science with advanced aesthetic treatment.
For PureLift LAB she reviews articles for medical accuracy across the whole dial, from the gentle nanocurrent and microcurrent settings through to muscle-level EMS and the Infuse pass.
Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS
Board-Certified Otolaryngologist | Head and Neck Surgeon | Fellow, American College of Surgeons | Mount Sinai
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Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS is a board-certified otolaryngologist and head and neck surgeon at ENT and Allergy Associates in West Nyack, New York. He earned his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
He completed his otolaryngology residency at New York University Medical Center, serves as Assistant Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and is a Fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Otolaryngology.
For PureLift LAB he brings a wider clinical lens, connecting at-home facial stimulation from microcurrent to EMS to the anatomy underneath, with the same rigour we apply to every device specification.
Prof. Dr. med. Ivo Buschmann
Chair of Angiology, Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg | Clinic Director, University Clinic for Angiology
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Prof. Dr. med. Ivo Buschmann is Chair of Angiology at the Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane and Clinic Director of the University Clinic for Angiology at the Brandenburg University Hospital.
He trained at the University of Hamburg, was a Max Planck Society Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, and held senior consultant posts at the Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin before his appointment as Chair in 2016.
One of Europe's leading authorities on arteriogenesis, with over 150 peer-reviewed publications and US and EU patents, he reviews for PureLift LAB how the evidence on electrical stimulation is read and where its limits lie.
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PDM++ is the bipolar evolution of the PDM waveform, and it exists to solve one specific problem, the sting at the top of the dial.
This article covers what it changes, such as:
- What a bipolar pulse is, in plain terms
- Why the shape of a pulse changes how it feels
- Why it matters at 9 mA and not at 7
- Which models carry it, and which do not
and many more!
It is a comfort technology, not a power technology, and the difference matters.
Key Points:
PDM++ is carried by PureLift Pro Plus and PureLift GLOW, the two models that reach 9 mA.
It is a bipolar pulse, engineered for a more gradual charge and release in the tissue.
It does not add power, and the maximum output stays 9 mA either way.
What it buys is a usable top of the dial rather than a top of the dial you avoid.
Since both 9 mA models have it, PDM++ is a reason to move up to them rather than a reason to choose between them.
Start with what PDM already does
PDM stands for Pulsed Dynamic Modulation, and it runs on every PureLift model.
It moves the signal across 361 frequency points between 1,370 and 1,730 Hz so the pattern never repeats, because a nervous system exposed to a repeating pattern learns it within minutes and the muscle stops answering.
PDM is about the sequence of frequencies, so it addresses how the session holds up from minute one to minute ten.
PDM++ works on a different variable entirely, the shape of the individual pulse rather than the order of the frequencies.
What a bipolar pulse means
Every electrical pulse has a shape, and how sharply it rises and falls is part of what your nerves report back to you.
A pulse that arrives abruptly is felt as an edge, which at low output is barely noticeable and at high output is the thing people describe as a sting or a snap.
A bipolar pulse changes how charge builds and releases in the tissue, and PDM++ is engineered so that build and release happen more gradually.
The contraction still happens, and it arrives and leaves with a softer edge, which is a change in delivery rather than a change in the work being done.
Why this matters at 9 mA and not at 7
At the lower end of any dial the pulse shape is not the limiting factor, because nothing about the sensation is uncomfortable enough to stop you.
The higher you go, the more the edge of each pulse dominates what you feel, and there is a point on most devices where the next level up is technically available and practically unusable.
That is the specific problem PDM++ addresses, and it is why it sits on the two models that reach 9 mA, PureLift Pro Plus at $899 and PureLift GLOW at $999.
Putting a comfort technology on a 7 mA device would be solving a problem that device does not have.
What you notice
Higher levels with less sting, so the top of the dial becomes usable rather than just available.
A softer edge, with the contraction rising and falling instead of snapping on and off.
Practically, you can turn up the work without turning up the discomfort, which is a real benefit for anyone who has found other devices unpleasant at the settings they wanted to use.
What PDM++ is not
It is not more power, and the maximum output on both models is 9 mA at 500 ohms whether PDM++ is running or not.
It is not a deeper reach, since how far current travels is a function of output and the level you select rather than of pulse shape.
It is not a substitute for turning the dial up sensibly, and the right intensity is still the lowest one that gives a clear, comfortable contraction.
And it is not a GLOW exclusive, which is worth saying plainly because older copy on the store and elsewhere described it that way. Pro Plus and GLOW both carry it.
What this means when choosing a model
Because Pro Plus and GLOW both have PDM++, it is not part of the $100 step between them, and that step is light and only light.
PDM++ is a reason to look at the 9 mA pair rather than at Face, Pro or Pro Edition, particularly if you know from other devices that you like working near the top of a dial.
If you settle comfortably in the middle of a dial and always have, the softer edge is solving a problem you will not meet, and the six technologies on PureLift Face at $499 do the same work.
The honest limits
There is no published trial comparing a bipolar pulse against a standard one on a face, so PDM++ is described here as an engineering choice about comfort rather than as a proven advantage in results.
Comfort is not a trivial claim even so, because the device that feels good is the device you use, and every measured result in this category came from repeated sessions over weeks (Kavanagh 2012).
Three minutes on each side is the maximum on both models, about ten minutes for a full session including the Infuse pass, and the device switches itself off.
Two related questions come up often alongside this one, and we have answered both in full: what frequency specific microcurrent means, and what the microamp and milliamp figures mean.