High-intensity focused ultrasound, referred to as HIFU Skin Tightening treatment, is a non-invasive cosmetic treatment for skin tightening that uses ultrasound energy to provide a painless replacement for facelifts to encourage collagen production to get firmer skin. HIFU was first used in 2008 in aesthetic cures; earlier, it was used in treating tumours.
Clinical trials have found HIFU body skin tightening safe and effective for refining wrinkles and facial lifting. It provides facial tightening, lifting and body contouring without the risk of surgery though more evidence is required to ensure who is best suited for this type of treatment.
HIFU continues to be a promising treatment for face and body contouring for younger people who do not want to face the risks of surgery and recovery risks associated with such cosmetic procedures. HIFU body skin tightening is often found to be effective in younger generations, but it may not work on people suffering from severe sagging.
What is a HIFU facial, and does it work?
There are many signs of ageing, like wrinkles and the loss of skin elasticity, and the outer skin may have a rough texture or acne mark. HIFU provides facial treatment to achieve visible improvement in the skin texture where you get youthful, clear skin without downtime, surgery or incision.
With any non-surgical cosmetic procedure, the outcome differs from client to client. However, the practitioners cannot ensure how the result will be at the start because every skin reacts differently to such a treatment.
HIFU Body Skin Tightening is clinically proven to be a great therapy as it is subject to several studies and clinical trials where the skin elasticity of the patient improved significantly after 12 weeks after the treatment, and another report claims an 80 per cent improvement in the skin of the face and neck with over 78 per cent satisfaction rate.
There are no severe or long-term side effects associated with the procedure. Some who get the HIFU body skin tightening may experience discomfort after the treatment, and one-fourth of the participants experience pain after the HIFU. Nevertheless, the pain improves without any additional interventions.
HIFU works by using an acoustic lens that concentrates several beams of ultrasound energies on the targeted areas, and the energy is applied to a depth between 1.5 and 4.5mm beneath the skin to stimulate collagen and elastin.
HIFU Skin Tightening Cost
The HIFU skin tightening cost depends on two factors – first, the number of areas you require the treatment where the upper face treatment tends to be less expensive, and for the upper face, you need to target brow lifts and eye-opening. The lower face and jowls help to redefine the jawline and the neck to resolve the double chins or turkey neck area.
Not many clinics offer treatment for below £2,000 for a full face. However, some may provide basic HIFU skin tightening cost between £675 and £2000 depending on the number of sessions, body area and technology used.
You can seek a free no-obligation consultation with the provider to determine the overall cost of the complete treatment. The clinics need to invest in quality, standards, and the level of service and the clinic’s location, brand value and knowledge of the professionals offering the service determines the cost.
Some clinics offer the full face and neck treatment for around £4,000, whereas, without the neck for full face, you may be asked to pay around £2,500.
Does HIFU Skin Tighten Work?
Human skin renews itself constantly, and as we age, the renewal declines, and the skin suffers wrinkling and ageing. HIFU facial creates a controlled cellular damage system on tissues where the skin renewal is revived to get a 10 to 20 years younger skin texture. Hifu is based on ultrasound energy that targets below the skin’s surface layers.
The ultrasound energy heats the tissues rapidly to create controlled cellular damage that stimulates the cells to produce collagen leading to skin renewal.
HIFU facial is a non-invasive treatment that does not require surgery and works up the skin. It is effective on mild to moderate-aged skin and is considered the ideal first defence to address skin-related disorders.
One benefit of using HIFU skin tightening treatment is that it is operated with high-frequency ultrasound radiations directed on the tissues below the skin surface, which does not cause any damage to the upper layers of the skin.
It is a non-invasive treatment requiring no incision, scarring or needles.
There is no downtime as you can continue with your daily life activities right after the treatment, and you get huge results immediately, but it is advised to wait for three months to get the optimum outcome. It is considered low cost as compared to any other surgical facelift.
Some clients choose HIFU skin tightening treatment because it provides better results over time, and you do not need to explain it to others.
HIFU Skin Tightening Side Effects
Most people do not report pain, but some have sensitive skin; sometimes, it can be slight aching over the bony areas, or you may feel a warm sensation in the skin after the treatment.
Different skin types react differently to the HIFU treatment, and your skin can become slightly bloated or swollen after treatment.
After the HIFU treatment, some patients’ skin can become slightly red or suffer from tingling or tenderness.
One may suffer from numbness around the eyes or lips even after two weeks of the treatment as the radiation beams penetrate the inner layers of the skin and may sometimes cause nerve damage that leads to numbness, but it can heal in a couple of weeks.
There are other issues with skin treatments. Some may get no visible change after the treatment, though the procedure stimulates collagen and elastin production in skin layers.
Hyperpigmentation is a rare side effect that can cause skin colour changes, and the skin may become dark after the treatment.
If you are trying to get the treatment to ensure eligibility, your age must be over 30, as the treatment is not considered suitable for all. Furthermore, the impact may be less if the laxity is too much.
Hifu Skin Tightening in the UK
For Hifu skin tightening in the UK, just like other cosmetic treatments, you should avoid facial peels for four weeks and microdermabrasion for two weeks. Exfoliation or chemical peels must be avoided a week before the treatment, and one should not use any active skincare product for five days before.
Also, avoid UV exposure and do not drink alcohol to reduce discomfort and inflammation. It is advised to drink a lot of water as it promotes hydration.
The results of the treatment vary from one person to another. Most people find the results may last over one year, but yearly touch-up treatments are recommended to stay ahead of the ageing process.
HIFU facial works incredibly well for all skin types as it promotes laxity and helps you look and feel youthful. It treats wrinkles in the forehead, eyebrows, the area around the eyes, the jowls and chin, the cheeks and the neck. It helps lift the skin around the brows and reduces frown lines.
The HIFU treatment resolves skin problems of mild to moderately loose or lax skin tone by reconditioning and renewing the skin from within. The therapy lifts the brow, reduces excess skin on the eyelids, opens up the eyes, and gives a refreshed look to the person.
What is HIFU Skin Treatment?
HIFU for skin tightening clinics use focused ultrasound energies to target the skin layers below the surface, and the tissues heat up rapidly due to ultrasound energy.
Once the cells reach a certain temperature, the cells are damaged, stimulating the production of collagen, which provides structure to the skin. The greater production of collagen makes the skin firmer. The high-frequency ultrasound beams are directed towards the specific tissues below the skin surface, so there is no damage to the upper layers of the skin.
HIFU treatment is considered best for mild to moderate skin problems. Still, those with extreme photo-damaged skin conditions and wrinkles require several treatments, or those with extreme sagginess may require surgery. Also, it may not be suitable for people with infections, skin lesions, cystic acne, or metallic implants.
A single Hifu skin treatment takes between one and three hours, depending on the skin’s laxity, and the outcome appears gradually and remains for two to three years, depending on the skin’s natural ageing process.
If the skin laxity is severe, one may have to get more treatment sessions around eight to twelve weeks after the first, or the clients may select short touch-up treatments annually to restrict the natural ageing process from impacting the skin tone.
Unlike cosmetic and invasive medical skin care treatment, Hifu provides almost immediate results. With time, the procedure leaves the skin tighter and toned right away, while real improvement comes as the body works to produce new collagen and tissue regeneration occurs.
The process of skin tone improvement may take over three to six months. Compared to injectable treatments like fillers or Botox, HIFU, once done, rejuvenates the skin for several years.
What is the difference between Ultherapy and Hifu?
Ultherapy and Hifu provide non-surgical facelifts and skin rejuvenation, where collagen and elastin proteins are essential fibres that build the skin’s connective tissues and support its foundation to maintain its elasticity and firmness. But the machines used to provide both treatments are different.
Ultherapy resembles Hifu but has added benefit of real-time imaging. Both use ultrasound to activate natural skin rejuvenation, and they use different types of ultrasound beams.
Aesthetic medicine involves high–intensity focused ultrasound used for medical purposes and micro-focused ultrasound, which focuses the energies to target a specific skin layer.
Ultherapy uses micro–focused ultrasound beams to produce heat energy, whereas Hifu uses high-intensity focused ultrasound beams to produce heat that stimulates collagen production. The optimal temperature for stimulating collagen ranges between 60 degree Celsius to 70 degree Celsius.
The key difference between the two techniques is the way the beams are delivered to the deeper layers of the skin, as the MFU method is sharply concentrated, and HIFU applies multiple beams to hit bone and fat tissues.
Hifu does not use imaging technology, and the clinicians cannot see the layers of skin they are treating or the beams’ affecting the skin. So Hifu is called the blind skin tightening treatment, where the clinicians cannot see the layers of skin they treat.
The Ultherapy machine uses micro-focused ultrasound energy with real-time ultrasound imaging. It is the device that can visualise the layers of skin, and the procedure uses a specialised applicator to transmit ultrasound energy to the skin depths that cosmetic surgeon use for surgical facelifts.
The ultrasound energy that causes thermo – coagulation stimulates new collagen and elastin proteins.