The antonyms of young and firm are aging and sagging. Often, sagging and drooping of the face will expose aging and age to the greatest extent. In the scientific cognitive system, as long as you look ten years younger than your peers, you are already very successful. Therefore, the black technology of medical beauty anti-aging has become popular all over the world in recent years. Many people know that the two most mainstream medical beauty anti-aging black technology projects on the market are: ultrasonic knife and Thermage. Both are top medical beauty equipment that focuses on anti-aging, firming and lifting, and they are expensive. So for people with different needs like us, which one is more suitable for non-invasive anti-aging?
Ultrasound Scalpel VS Thermage Medical Beauty in London, UK
Ai Beauty Clinic is a formal medical beauty institution certified by Consulting Room, an authoritative third-party medical beauty platform in the UK. It is authorized to use both the genuine American version of Merz Ultherapy® and the latest fifth-generation Thermage FLX to help everyone compare the differences and advantages of the two devices.
Q1: In terms of principle, how do Ulthera and Thermage work respectively?
A: I don’t know if you have ever used a magnifying glass to focus sunlight on a small piece of paper under the sun when you were a kid, and then after a while the small piece of paper would be “bang” burned. This is the principle of ultrasonic knife. It uses ultrasonic light energy to focus these scattered ultrasound waves on the fascia layer 4.5mm below the skin, generating a temperature of 65℃-70℃, creating nearly 10,000 condensation points. These high-temperature condensation points cause collagen to shrink immediately, and are stimulated to undergo a large amount of regeneration and reorganization, producing a new collagen fiber network, so as to enhance the elasticity of the skin from the bottom layer of the skin, and make the sagging and loose skin firm and lifted again.
Thermage is actually “radio frequency”, which is a simple form of high-frequency alternating electromagnetic waves.
Thermage uses a patented treatment probe to produce an electric field focusing effect, which acts directly and accurately on the dermis, heating the dermis to 65℃~75℃, causing thermal damage to the dermis fiber layer. The stimulated cells mistakenly think that the tissue is injured and send out a signal for help to heal, producing a large amount of collagen for repair, that is, stimulating the body to start the self-repair mechanism, so that the collagen can gradually recombine and arrange, making the skin instantly firm.
Q2: In addition to the basic principles, specifically, what other differences are there between the two in terms of data or details?
A: Thermage and Ulthera have similar effects, but there are still differences in specific data and some details.
The light waves and the action layers are different. The light wave energy of the ultrasonic knife is like a knife, penetrating the epidermis, dermis, and fat layer, directly reaching the fascia layer, and directional blasting. These energies have no effect on the epidermis and dermis, and different depths of treatment heads can be selected according to needs, generally 1.5mm, 3.0mm and 4.5mm; while Thermage is a monopolar radio frequency, and its probe waves conduct energy through the skin layer by layer, just like using a microwave to heat food, penetrating layer by layer to reach the dermis, which belongs to conduction blasting.
London Medical Beauty Ultrasound Knife VS Thermage Action Layer Comparison
The treatment heads are different. The ultrasonic knife probe can reach different depths of 1.5mm, 3.0mm and 4.5mm. Now the latest fifth-generation Thermage FLX can also reach a depth of 4.3mm. However, Thermage probes are divided into three types of treatment heads: face, eye area and body. They are used once, one head per person. At Ai Beauty, Thermage is removed on the spot and used immediately. It is formal, safe and hygienic.
The problems they target are slightly different. Ultrasound focuses on lifting, pulling, and deep tightening, and is more suitable for people with severely sagging skin; while Thermage focuses on wrinkle removal, tightening, and superficial fat removal, and is more suitable for people with slightly sagging skin.
London Medical Beauty | Comparison of Ultrasound Knife VS Thermage
The time of effect after surgery is slightly different. Generally, the effect of ultrasonic knife is 10%-20% immediately after the operation, good effect will appear after two or three months, and the best effect will be achieved after six months. If it is well maintained, it can last for 2-3 years; while Thermage has the effect of tightening and lifting the skin immediately, and the effect will begin to be obvious after two to four months, and the best effect will be achieved after six months. After that, the effect will slow down, and it can last for two to three years if it is well maintained.
Different certifications . Ultrasound is the only skin tightening system certified by the FDA for lifting indications; Thermage is the only device allowed by the FDA to be used for tightening and lifting the upper and lower eyelids and removing wrinkles. It is a globally recognized medical beauty device that can achieve significant lifting, tightening, and wrinkle removal effects in one treatment. The FDA is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and it can be said to have the most stringent certification standards in the world. Both are actually very powerful.
Q3: What are the advantages of Ulthera and Thermage respectively?
A: Ultrasonic scalpel – uses an ultrasonic visual wrinkle removal and lifting system, also known as SMAS fascia extreme ultrasonic skin lifting. Skin aging begins gradually around the age of 25, mainly because the SMAS (fascia layer) collagen and elastic fibers that can maintain the elasticity and strength of the skin are damaged and degraded, so aging is inevitable. Therefore, activating the new collagen in the deep fascia (SMAS) layer is the key, and ultrasonic scalpel works on this. Its extreme depth and temperature allow only one treatment to achieve a good lifting and firming effect, and the energy passes over the epidermis without heating the skin. The precise treatment does not hurt the surrounding tissues, which can fundamentally solve the problem of aging.
Thermage – especially the new generation Thermage FLX that we introduced this time, F stands for FASTER, L stands for ALGORITHM, and X stands for EXPERIENCE. Theramge FLX is a new model in the Thermage non-invasive skin tightening and wrinkle removal system family, used for non-invasive skin tightening, wrinkle removal and body shaping treatments. The Thermage FLX™ system integrates tuned pulses into each high-frequency energy pulse (REP). Its core technology AccuREP™ optimizes energy output. These tuned pulses automatically measure local impedance values and adjust energy output parameters to provide consistent energy to each treatment area, so that the skin receives more uniform energy and the treatment effect is more accurate. At the same time, the risk of burns is reduced to zero, which is a better improvement than the fourth generation.
Q4: As someone who has such anti-aging needs, how should I choose between Ulthera and Thermage?
Left: Thermage FLX operation diagram Right: Ultrasonic knife operation diagram
A: Both have their own advantages. Thermage is similar to cement used when building a house. It runs through the entire structure of the house and acts on all the layers it passes through, while the ultrasonic scalpel is like a steel bar. It stimulates the fascia at a fixed point, depth, and location. The ultrasonic scalpel is deeper and has a higher temperature. Both have the effect of improving contours, lifting and tightening the skin. The difference is that the ultrasonic scalpel is more suitable for older people with fat and loose faces who want to tighten contours and lift their faces, while Thermage is for young people with mild sagging and mild sagging. In simple terms, one focuses on sagging and the other focuses on tightening.
If we must distinguish, the ultrasonic knife is more inclined to burn fat and shrink, and can thin fat, which is more suitable for young people with high fat content. People with low fat content are prone to sagging after ultrasonic knife. Thermage has a better lifting effect and is more suitable for people with low fat content and loose skin. For example, many young people who want to fight against early aging, plump up their faces, and stimulate collagen are more suitable for Thermage.
In fact, there is no conflict between Ulthera and Thermage. If conditions permit, you can consider combining the two. The combination of their unique therapeutic effects will achieve the ideal state of comprehensive anti-aging that could not be achieved by a single device in the past.
Ai Beauty Clinic offers a special price for the Thermage + Ulthera combination treatment as a token of gratitude, providing customers with the most professional, efficient, suitable and practical advanced comprehensive anti-aging treatment to the greatest extent possible.