LOADING . . . PLEASE WAIT

Tweakment Finder TWEAKMENT
FINDER
CLOSE

WHAT'S BOTHERING YOU

CHOOSE AN AREA OF THE FACE OR BODY TO CHECK OUT YOUR SKINCARE AND TWEAKMENT OPTIONS

Ultherapy

Written by: Alice Hart-Davis

Updated by: Becki Murray

Last Updated: 12 January 2024

Ultherapy® is the leading ultrasound non-surgical lifting procedure for tighter, better fitting skin – in less than an hour and without any downtime.

Ultherapy is the only FDA-cleared, non-invasive treatment for lifting and tightening the skin on the face, neck, chin and brow and, more recently, for the improvement of lines and wrinkles on the décolletage. It is also used by some practitioners on the body, including the tummy, knees, thighs and bottom, for improving skin texture and for tightening. It does so by using tried-and-tested ultrasound technology to gradually strengthen your skin from deep within. Scroll down for more info and all the FAQs about Ultherapy.

EXPECT TO PAY

£ 1500 - 3000

TWEAKMENT TIME

45 minutes

LONGEVITY

18 months

ANAESTHESIA

Yes. Ibuprofen and diazepam may be offered too

DOWNTIME

None

Find a Practitioner

Postcode

What is Ultherapy?

Ultherapy is a cosmetic treatment for lifting and tightening the skin without surgery. Lifting and tightening the skin on your brow can give the effect of opening your eyes further; treating the midface will pull drooping cheek tissues back out towards the hairline where they used to be, while Ultherapy on the jawline and neck can reduce sagging and crepe-iness and help the jawline to look firmer. 

Ultherapy can also be used to reduce wrinkles on the décolletage and practitioners who are given to experimenting with the device report that it’s also useful for firming the skin on the tummy, or the backs of the arms.

Ultherapy uses ultrasound waves to achieve its effects. It is the only ultrasound-based treatment device to have achieved FDA clearance for its stated aim of lifting the skin. The FDA is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, whose responsibilities include ensuring the safety of not just the U.S. food supply but also of cosmetics and medical devices (among other things). Having FDA clearance means that Ultherapy has built up enough safety and efficacy data over the years to convince the FDA regulators that the treatment is safe and effective.

focused ultrasound 1 ultherapy

What does Ultherapy do?

Ultherapy uses ultrasound waves to stimulate the production of collagen, the protein that gives our skin its structure and firmness and that forms the scaffolding of our skin.

Unlike the gentle, diffused ultrasound used for looking at babies in the womb, this is focused, high-intensity ultrasound, which narrows its sound-energy waves into a single point. These focused waves don’t hit the surface of the skin, as a laser would, but instead hit a predetermined spot up to 4.5mm beneath the skin’s surface.

Each jolt of ultrasound is aiming to strike deep into the skin in order to heat the collagen there, make it contract and stimulate the formation of new collagen and elastin over the next few months, which further tightens up the skin.

The Ultherapy machine can be set to focus the ultrasound waves at different depths (1.5mm, 3mm, and 4.5mm) below the surface, for greater tightening. At 4.5mm below the skin’s surface, the ultrasound can reach the superficial muscular aponeurotic system (SMAS). The SMAS is the layer of muscular tissue in the face that surgeons manipulate when they are performing a facelift.

RELATED CONCERNS


Crepey Skin

When our faces and necks start looking old, it is a real heartsink. It’s that moment when you realise you aren’t imagining it; ageing...

Read More
Sagging Jawline

A sagging jawline, or “jowls” is the term used to describe the excess skin that forms under the chin and jawline with age. It can make...

Read More
Sagging Skin

Sagging skin is a common sign of ageing but it can also be caused by dramatic weight loss. Sagging skin can be present on the face and body...

Read More

More about the brand...


ultherapy logo

Does it hurt that much?

It’s not the most comfortable treatment but it’s not intolerable, particularly not now that clinics that offer the treatment offer decent pain-management protocols which may involve diazepam as well as ibuprofen and paracetamol.

“The first time I tried Ultherapy, it was more uncomfortable, but that was with the first version of the machine, which used a much higher intensity of focussed ultrasound. The newer version of the treatment is definitely more tolerable.” – Alice Hart-Davis

Results of Ultherapy

What is it like to have Ultherapy?

Your experience of Ultherapy will vary depending on exactly what you’re having treated, but the process typically goes like this:

  • Your chosen practitioner discusses your goals, examines you, and agrees a treatment plan.
  • Ultherapy is a mildly to moderately uncomfortable treatment, so you may need some pain relief. Ibuprofen will take the edge off the discomfort. Some clinics also offer diazepam (Valium) for heavier-duty relief. In case you’re wondering, numbing cream isn’t an option for pain relief, as it numbs only the surface of the skin, and the focused ultrasound treatment area lies well below the skin.
  • The practitioner usually marks out the treatment area in white pencil – for example, on your head and neck.
  • The practitioner then works the treatment head of the Ultherapy machine across the treatment area. The practitioner may need to go over the treatment area twice, focusing the ultrasound waves at different depths.
  • You feel each blast of ultrasound deliver a zinging little pulse – a totally different feeling from the bite of a laser or the heat of a radiofrequency treatment.

After the treatment, you may see an instant effect, such as lifting and tightening along your jawline and down your neck, as a result of the immediate collagen shrinkage caused by the ultrasound waves.

The main results will take three months to show up as your body forms new collagen.

FAQ ABOUT Ultherapy


Does Ultherapy work?

Yes, Ultherapy does work – for most people. When Ultherapy works, it can tighten and lift the face – or the brow, or the skin under the jaw or sagging skin on the body – because the treatment is targeting and tightening the skin so deeply. The ultrasound energy also boosts the formation of new collagen and elastin over the next few months, which is what really tightens up the skin.

As with pretty much any treatment, however, there are some people who just don’t respond to Ultherapy.

Worse, some people do respond to Ultherapy but have visibly negative results, with fat loss beneath the skin that leaves it droopier than before.

How does Ultherapy work?

Ultherapy uses high-intensity focused ultrasound waves which pass deep into the skin, targeting collagen as deep as the SMAS layer, which lies below the skin and the fat. The SMAS layer is at different depths on different areas of the face, and the usual procedure with Ultherapy is to do two ‘passes’ at varying depths, in order to catch the SMAS and a layer of tissue above it.

To help the therapist aim each pulse of ultrasound waves into precisely the right spot, the Ultherapy device contains a visualiser pane. This pane uses what you might call ‘normal’ ultrasound – unfocused ultrasound waves – to show the layers in the skin, so the therapist can focus the treatment exactly where it is needed.

What does Ultherapy feel like?

The first version of the Ultherapy treatment, which was launched in the UK in 2013, was notorious for being painful. The second version of the Ultherapy machine, which was released in 2015, found a way to dial down the intensity of the treatment considerably while still gaining most of the results.

Even so, you are likely to experience at least some discomfort during treatment, and your practitioner may offer you some pain relief first. The focused ultrasound waves feel like sharp little pulses. How severe you find the sensation depends on your pain threshold and the type of treatment itself. For me, treatment on the neck was mildly uncomfortable, whereas treatment on the jawbone was moderately uncomfortable.

Where can I get Ultherapy?

You can use the Find a Practitioner tool on this website to find an Ultherapy practitioner.

Make sure that the practitioner has extensive experience using Ultherapy and can show results – for example, do they have before-and-after pictures on display that showcase the type of work you want to have done?

You should also make sure you get genuine Ultherapy treatment rather than similar treatment from a competitor. As I mentioned earlier on this page, Ultherapy is currently the only ultrasound-based treatment device that has FDA clearance for lifting the skin.

How much does Ultherapy cost?

How much Ultherapy costs depends on which areas you’re having treated. Here are approximate prices:

  • An Ultherapy browlift – at the time of writing, this is exclusive to the Cosmetic Skin Clinic in London – costs £495.
  • Ultherapy treatment for a single area of your face or neck starts at around £750.
  • A full-face treatment costs in the range £1,500–£2,000.
  • A full face and neck treatment costs £2,500 or more.
  • A treatment for décolletage wrinkles costs £1,500–£2,000.

How long does Ultherapy take?

This depends on what exactly you’re having done, but an Ultherapy session to treat the whole neck-to-jaw area takes about 45 minutes. An Ultherapy session to treat a single area, such as your brow, takes around 30 minutes.

How long does Ultherapy last?

The effects of the Ultherapy treatment last for 18 months or so. The full results of the Ultherapy treatment take about three months to appear.

Are there any side effects to Ultherapy?

Ultherapy can have various side effects. Some side effects occur frequently, whereas others occur less frequently.

These two side effects occur frequently:

  • Redness. The treated area may be slightly red for a few hours after treatment.
  • Swelling and tenderness. The treated area may be somewhat swollen or tender for several weeks after treatment.

These two side effects occur more rarely:

  • Bruising. The treated area may exhibit bruising for one to two weeks.
  • Local numbness. Parts of the treated area may feel numb for up to two weeks.

See the next section for a discussion of another reported side effect of Ultherapy – melting fat in the face.

Does Ultherapy melt face fat?

There are various horror stories on the web about how Ultherapy ‘melts fat’ in faces. If you’re already losing fat in your face, as tends to happen as you age, you likely don’t want to lose any more of this essential padding.

I have spoken to the manufacturers of the machine and to top practitioners such as Dr Tracy Mountford, whose clinic does more Ultherapy treatments than anywhere else in Europe, and Dr Julia Sevi, who is the global Key Opinion Leader for Ultherapy, and who has devised the latest treatment protocols for the machine.

The manufacturers (and the practitioners) say that if a practitioner is scrupulous about following the treatment guidelines, uses the machine correctly and, above all, as long as they are using a genuine Ultherapy machine, all will be absolutely fine. Because it is a new, effective, and FDA-approved technology, there are already many copies of the Ultherapy machine in the market. Many of these are (illegally) advertised using Ultherapy branding but don’t have its safety and efficacy data, and there are also apparently fake machines around. In aesthetics, as in other luxury industries, there is a great deal of counterfeiting.

So Ultherapy *could* cause fat-loss on the face – if it is used incorrectly. If the energy it delivers is fired into the fat instead of at the collagen surrounding the SMAS, that would be a problem. This is why it is so important to find an experienced practitioner who knows how to get good results with the device.

single-tweakments.php

Hello, how can we help?

Hi, I’m The Tweakments Chatbot.

I have been designed to help you get information and advice on your concerns. I am currently in training. In case I am unable to answer your question, I would like to ask for some details, so that Alice or one of our team can contact you and ensure you get all the advice you need.

Thank you for using The Tweakments Chatbot. We would like to know how was your experience with us today. Can you spare a minute to share your feedback?

Was the chatbot helpful in finding what you were looking for today?

Yes No

In few words could you please tell us why, so we can improve your experience in the future.

Would you use the chatbot next time you visit the website?

Yes No

In few words could you please tell us why, so we can improve your experience in the future.

Overall, how would you rate your experience using The Tweakments chatbot.