5 Things to Know Before Your First HIFU Treatment in Newcastle

HIFU is the treatment people most often book at our clinic in Whickham, Newcastle, without fully knowing what they have booked. That is not a criticism. The marketing around it is thin on detail and heavy on promises. Here are the five things we would want to know before our own first HIFU treatment, written from what we see in the clinic rather than from a brochure.

1. It is a real lift, but a modest one

HIFU, high intensity focused ultrasound, sends energy to the layer of tissue a surgeon tightens in a facelift, without cutting the skin. That layer contracts, new collagen builds, and the jawline, jowls, neck and brow lift over the following months. It is the strongest non-surgical lift we offer and it is still a fraction of what surgery does. If your laxity is advanced, HIFU will disappoint you, and we will say so at your assessment rather than take the booking. For mild to moderate sagging it is the right tool, and that describes most people between their late thirties and mid sixties.

2. One session, then patience

Most people need one session, with a second only for heavier laxity. You will see some tightening straight away because the tissue contracts with the heat, then it softens again, and the real result builds over two to three months as collagen matures. Judge it at the three month mark, not the three day mark. Results typically last 12 to 18 months, and a maintenance session then keeps it going.

3. It is uncomfortable rather than painful

Each pulse feels like a deep, hot prickle under the skin, stronger over the bony areas like the jaw and brow. It is tolerable, it is over in an hour or two for the full face, and most people describe it as odd rather than painful. Expect some redness and mild swelling for a few hours afterwards, sometimes a tender patch for a day or two, and occasionally a small area of numbness that fades on its own. You can go straight back to work. Anything beyond that, blistering, spreading bruising or numbness that lasts for weeks, is not normal and usually means the wrong settings or an untrained operator.

4. Who should not have it

HIFU is not for you if you are pregnant, if you have an active skin infection or open wound in the area, if you have metal or an implanted electronic device in the treatment area, or if your skin has lost so much elasticity that tightening the layer underneath will not lift it. Dermal filler in the area is not a reason to avoid it but it is something to tell us, because we work around it. Any clinic that does not ask you these questions before treating you is a clinic to walk out of.

5. The price tells you something about the treatment

At RT Aesthetics a HIFU face treatment is £1,095, face and neck £1,295, neck only £995, eyes and brow £895, double chin £995, and the assessment is free. If you have been quoted a fraction of that, ask how many shots are included, which machine is being used and who is holding the handpiece, because those three things are where the cost goes and where the result comes from. We use the ULTRAcel Q+ system and every treatment is carried out by a practitioner trained on it in a medically led clinic.

Getting ready for your first HIFU treatment

Come without makeup if you can, well hydrated and having eaten, and tell us about any medication, skin conditions or recent treatments at the assessment. Skip sunbeds and strong sun on the face in the week before, and plan to protect the skin with SPF afterwards. That is all the preparation it needs.

Read more

• HIFU before and after photos
• HIFU in Newcastle: prices and how it works
• What HIFU costs in the UK
• HIFU side effects: what is normal and what is not
• HIFU pros and cons
• HIFU reviews from our clients
• Exilis or HIFU: which do you need?