Procedure Candidates

Any male or female with any skin color, who has moderate skin laxity and is not yet ready, or willing or able to have a surgical lift. We could perform thermage in any area, such as face, neck, abdomen, arm, or eyes.

Description of Procedure

Thermage works by delivering heat energy (called radiofrequency)   through a hand piece to the deeper parts of the skin (dermis). This hand piece also has a cooling spray that protects the superficial part of the skin (epidermis) from injury. The heat energy causes the deeper tissues to contract to decrease the appearance of lines. Eventually new collagen develops and remodels to give an even firmer appearance to the skin. This technique is non-ablative in that it does not cause damage to the surface of the skin.

Thermage does not cause damage to the skin surface, unlike dermabrasion and laser resurfacing. Therefore, there is very little “down time.” Treatments can take up to a couple of hours, depending upon the size of the treatment area. Patients can return to work the same day, unlike a facelift in which patients usually take at least 2 weeks to recover. Similarly, there is no scar unlike the surgical facelift procedure. Effects of this procedure can last from 6 months up to 2 years.

Healing and Downtime

Thermage is not painful and does not requires an anesthetic cream and occasionally. Side effects can include redness, swelling, bumps and blisters. These should resolve over a few hours. Patients can return to work the same day.