HIFU Facelift Treatment Pros And Cons:
Why Is It Getting Popular
A high intensity focused ultrasound facial, or HIFU facial for short, is a noninvasive treatment for facial aging. This procedure is part of a growing trend for anti-aging treatments that provide some of the benefits of a facelift without the need for surgery.
It also reduces signs of aging and improves the tone of the skin in a single session.It is a long-lasting, non-surgical, non-invasive treatment that uses ultrasound energy to tighten and lift the skin.
Overview
It uses ultrasound energy to encourage the production of collagen, which results in firmer skin.
HIFU uses focused ultrasound energy to target the layers of skin just below the surface. The ultrasound energy causes the tissue to heat up rapidly.
Once the cells in the targeted area reach a certain temperature, they experience cellular damage. While this may seem counterintuitive, the damage actually stimulates the cells to produce more collagen — a protein that provides structure to the skin.
The increase in collagen results in tighter, firmer skin with fewer wrinkles. Since the high-frequency ultrasound beams are focused on a specific tissue site below the skin’s surface, there’s no damage to the upper layers of the skin and adjacent issue.
The Hifu facelift focuses on all layers of the skin from the epidermis through to the SMAS layer.
Benefits Of HIFU Facelift Treatments
Each year more people take the HIFU route to facelifts because of its numerous benefits.
Here are some of its benefits of taking the HIFU Facelift treatment:
- Reduces wrinkles and tightens saggy skin
- Lifts the cheeks, eyebrows, and eyelids
- Defines the jawline and tightens the décolletage
- Natural looking and long-lasting results
- No downtime, safe and effective
HIFU may not be appropriate for everyone. In general, the procedure works best on people older than 30 with mild-to-moderate skin laxity.
People with photodamaged skin or a high degree of loose skin may need several treatments before seeing results.
Older people with more extensive photo-aging, severe skin laxity, or very saggy skin on the neck aren’t good candidates and may need surgery.
HIFU treatment for face side effects
The best part about this treatment is that you’re able to resume your normal activities immediately after you leave the provider’s office. Some slight redness or swelling may occur, but it should subside quickly. A light tingling sensation of the treated area may persist for a few weeks.
Rarely, you may experience temporary numbness or bruising, but these side effects usually go away after a few days.
Scientific Research on HIFU
A 2018 review looked at 231 studies on the use of ultrasound technology. After analyzing the studies that involved ultrasound for treating skin tightening, body tightening, and cellulite reduction, the researchers concluded that the technique is safe and effective.
A study on the effectiveness of HIFU facials in people from Korea found that the procedure worked best to improve the appearance of wrinkles around the jaws, cheeks, and mouth. The researchers compared standardized photographs of the participants from before the treatment with those from 3 and 6 months after the treatment.
Another study evaluated the effectiveness of a HIFU facial after 7 days, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, the participants’ skin elasticity had significantly improved in all the treated areas.
Other researchers studied the experience of 73 women and two men who underwent HIFU facials. Physicians evaluating the results reported an 80% improvement in facial and neck skin, while the rate of satisfaction among the participants was 78%.