Tweak of the Week: Sofwave

There’s a new ultrasound treatment in town and it arrived in the UK with lots of buzz. You may have heard about Sofwave on the tweakments grapevine – it’s ultrasound but not as we know it, and it’s quickly being snapped up by some brilliant practitioners, so I went to see what all the fuss is about.  Dr Sophie Shotter was one of the first in the UK to take on a Sofwave device, and I visited her London clinic to try it with nurse practitioner Verity Nowlan.

Price: From around £2,500 for a full-face and neck treatment
Pain level: Moderate to high
Downtime: None

To find out more about Sofwave, click here.

This video is sponsored by Sofwave

How does Sofwave work?

Sofwave takes a while to get your head around, in that it uses ultrasound energy, but it isn’t high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). Dr Shotter explained it to me like this: Whereas other ultrasound technologies on the market work by concentrating the energy to create a focal hotspot between 1.5mm and 4.5mm below the surface of the skin, Sofwave works within the skin itself to create – with each ‘shot’ of energy – seven cylinders which go straight down, parallel to the surface of the skin, and which link up 1.5mm beneath the skin, to create a line of collagen-remodelling heat. This means that each shot treats an area of tissue far greater in size, and the energy delivered is up to around six times higher than with other ultrasound devices. The end result is a much more effective skin-tightening result.

I’m prepped for treatment with a topical anaesthetic cream and painkillers, so my face is amazingly numb before treatment. Each pulse lasts for about five seconds, and any discomfort only lasts for one or two seconds.

Before and after

Sofwave is FDA-cleared for treating fine lines and wrinkles and lifting the brow, the submental area (that’s the bit below the chin) and the neck. Dr Shotter says it’s ideal for someone in their forties or fifties who wants to work on their collagen levels, improve signs of ageing and rejuvenate the skin overall. And if you don’t want to visit a clinic for multiple appointments, Sofwave will be even more appealing, because only one treatment is needed. You get a little initial lift from the immediate thermal response and then full results are visible after around three months and last for up to a year.

Results

Three months on, and as you can see in my ‘after’ picture, the tightening and lifting effect from Sofwave is clear. My cheeks have lifted, and the nose-to-mouth lines are less pronounced. I’m impressed at how much more taut the skin on my jawline has become. To top it off, I think my eyebrows are sitting a fraction higher than before, too.

To find out more about Sofwave, click here.

This video is sponsored by Sofwave