HIFU vs Profhilo: Which Is Better for a Saggy Neck and Jawline?

HIFU and Profhilo get compared constantly, usually by someone with a neck or jawline that has started to soften, and the comparison is a bit unfair to both because they do different jobs. HIFU lifts. Profhilo hydrates and improves skin quality. This page sets out what each one actually does, who each suits, what they cost, and what we would suggest for the most common versions of the problem, from a clinic in Whickham, Newcastle, that does HIFU every week. One thing to say up front: we do not offer Profhilo. We offer polynucleotides and skin boosters, which sit in the same family, and we will tell you plainly when an injectable is the better answer for your skin.

What HIFU does

HIFU, high intensity focused ultrasound, sends energy to set depths under the skin, including the layer a surgeon tightens in a facelift. The heat makes the tissue contract and builds new collagen over the following months. The result is a lift: a cleaner jawline, less sag under the chin, a firmer neck, a slightly higher brow. It is one session, it takes an hour or two, it feels like a hot prickle, and the result builds over two to three months and lasts 12 to 18 months. At RT Aesthetics HIFU for the face is £1,095, face and neck £1,295 and neck alone £995.

What Profhilo does

Profhilo is an injectable made of hyaluronic acid, the same molecule as a dermal filler but formulated to spread through the skin rather than hold a shape. It is injected at a small number of points on each side of the face or neck, usually in two sessions four weeks apart, and over the following weeks it hydrates the skin from within and prompts some collagen and elastin production. The result is skin that looks plumper, brighter and smoother, with a modest improvement in firmness. It is not a lift. Results show over two to three months and last around six months, after which it is repeated. Across the UK a session is typically £300 to £500, so a two-session course is in the region of £600 to £1,000, and it needs to be repeated twice a year to hold.

HIFU vs Profhilo: the honest comparison

If your problem is sag, HIFU. A jowl that has appeared, a jawline that has lost its line, skin under the chin that hangs, a neck that has started to look loose: these are structural and they need the deeper layers tightened, which an injectable spread through the skin cannot do. If your problem is skin quality, an injectable. Dull, dry, crepey, finely lined skin that is still sitting where it should will not be lifted by HIFU because it does not need lifting, and it will look better hydrated and plumped. A lot of people in their forties and fifties have both, which is why the best answer is often HIFU first for the lift and a skin booster afterwards for the surface, rather than choosing one.

On cost, HIFU is more up front and cheaper over time. One HIFU session lasts a year or more. Profhilo needs two sessions to start and two more every six months or so, so over two years it adds up to more than a HIFU session and a top up. On downtime, both are minimal. HIFU gives a few hours of redness and occasionally a tender patch. Profhilo gives small bumps at the injection points for a day and a chance of bruising.

What we offer instead of Profhilo

Polynucleotides are the injectable we use for skin quality. They are derived from purified DNA fragments and they work on the skin's own repair rather than by adding hyaluronic acid, which makes them a good fit for crepey skin on the neck, the under eye and the lower face, including after HIFU once the lift has settled. They are prescriber-led, £250 a session, usually two to four sessions, after a £25 consultation. Where hydration is the main aim we also use hyaluronic acid skin boosters. All of it is on the polynucleotides and skin boosters page.

Which one for a saggy neck?

This is the question behind most of the searches. For a neck that has started to sag, with a softening line between the jaw and the neck, HIFU to the neck or face and neck is the treatment that changes the shape, and the non-surgical neck lift page sets out the options and prices. For a neck that is crepey and lined but not loose, an injectable skin treatment does more. For a neck with both, HIFU first, then polynucleotides. If the neck is very loose, with skin that stays put when you pinch it, neither will deliver what surgery does and we will say so.

Questions people ask

Can you have HIFU and Profhilo together?

Yes, and the combination makes sense, with the HIFU done first and the injectable a few weeks later once the skin has settled. We do the same with HIFU and polynucleotides.

Which lasts longer, HIFU or Profhilo?

HIFU, by a wide margin. HIFU results last 12 to 18 months. Profhilo lasts around six months.

Which is better for jowls?

HIFU. Jowls are sag, and Profhilo does not lift. We have written separately on when HIFU can fix jowls.

Is Profhilo the same as a filler?

No. It is hyaluronic acid like most fillers, but it is designed to spread through the skin rather than add volume in one place.

Read more

• HIFU in Newcastle: prices and how it works
• Polynucleotides and skin boosters
• Non-surgical neck lift
• Exilis or HIFU: which do you need?
• HIFU vs Ultherapy
• Skin tightening in Newcastle