Ultherapy is a non-invasive, FDA approved designed to lift skin. It works by using focused ultrasound to cause tissue contraction and stimulate collagen. It is the only non-invasive procedure cleared by the US FDA to lift the skin on the brow, neck, chin, and décolletage. It was the original HIFU procedure which gave rise to so many others today.

The lifting results come on gradually – peaking at 6 months. Many people are afraid of the pain associated with the procedure, but in reality, there is very little pain or discomfort involved.

Ultherapy Is More Painless Than Many Think

I try to undergo every procedure so that I know exactly how it feels. So I have done everything from lasers to fillers and threads. Mostly, I inject myself like in this video, but this time I wanted to try Ultherapy as a patient, so last week, I underwent the procedure last week.

I took a tablet of Arcoxia, and had some numbing cream before the procedure, and was surprised at how comfortable it was. 8 years ago, when Ultherapy fist came to Asia, the protocols were slightly different – it involved using very high energy per shot. This resulted in significant discomfort.

In addition, doctors in the past did not know how to fully utilise the Ulthera system’s real time ultrasound feature. Pain during the treatment occurs mostly when the focused ultrasound energy hits the bone. But using the real-time ultrasound visualisation, unique to Ultherapy, doctors can now see where the bony areas are, and avoid a direct hit to the bone and hence, avoid unnecessary pain. This is one feature which sets Ultherapy apart from other HIFU treatments.

Ultherapy is the Mother of all HIFU Treatments

The now popular Korean HIFU (high Intensity Focused Ultrasound) uses very similar technology to Ultherapy. I offer both treatments at my clinic, and have the advantage of comparing both technologies.

HIFU is also an excellent treatment – provided your doctor uses a good HIFU machine such as the HIRONIC or ULTRAFORMER. Unfortunately, there are just far too many HIFU machines out there and consumers can easily get misled that they are getting a real medical-grade HIFU treatment. (These days, every beauty salon seems to offer “HIFU” treatments, using machines from dubious sources)

Learn everything you need to know about Ultherapy in a previous article I wrote.

See the procedure in the video: