How Long Does HIFU Last? Results Timeline, Top-Ups and What to Know Before You Book

Category Face

Read Time 21 minutes

Published 6 September 2020

Contents

HIFU results timeline: what happens and when What HIFU is and how it works How long does one HIFU session take? When will I see my HIFU results? How long do HIFU results last? What HIFU does for specific problem areas Double chin and jawline Jowls and the lower face Forehead lines and wrinkles Eyes and brow Neck Is HIFU right for me? Seven things to know before you book HIFU anywhere How to choose a clinic for HIFU What HIFU costs in Newcastle HIFU clinic near me More on HIFU

Most people keep their HIFU results for 12 to 18 months. There is a small immediate tightening on the day, the real lift builds from around week six as new collagen forms, and the peak result usually lands at about three months. For most people one maintenance session a year is enough to hold it.

This page is about the face and neck. For the jaw and neck specifically, our neck, jawline and double chin page covers what each part responds to, and for the body, HIFU on the inner thighs, arms and abdomen covers what each area realistically gives.

HIFU results timeline: what happens and when

When	What you will notice
Straight after	Mild tightening, sometimes a little redness or puffiness. Most people go straight back to work.
Week 1 to 2	The immediate tightening settles back. Some tenderness to the touch is normal and passes.
Week 6 to 8	New collagen starts to show. This is usually the point people notice the jawline looking cleaner.
Month 3	Peak result. This is when we take your comparison photographs.
Month 6 to 12	The result holds. Ageing carries on underneath it, so it softens gradually rather than stopping suddenly.
Month 12 to 18	Most people book a single maintenance session here to keep the lift.

Those timings assume one full treatment on an appropriate area. Results vary with age, skin laxity, smoking and how much sun damage there is, and nobody can promise you a surgical result from a non-surgical treatment. If HIFU is not going to do what you want, we will tell you at your assessment.

What HIFU is and how it works

HIFU stands for high-intensity focused ultrasound. The handpiece focuses ultrasound energy to a precise depth under the skin, the way a magnifying glass focuses sunlight, so a tiny point of tissue is heated to around 60 to 70 degrees while the surface stays cool. On the face the ULTRAcel Q+ system we use works at three depths: 1.5mm for the skin itself, 3mm for the deeper dermis, and 4.5mm for the SMAS, the layer of tissue a surgeon tightens during a facelift. Each heated point contracts straight away, which is the small lift you see on the day, and then prompts the body to build new collagen around it over the following months, which is where the real result comes from. One session treats the whole area; there is no cutting, no needles and no time off.

How long does one HIFU session take?

Between 45 minutes and two hours depending on the areas. The eyes and brow or the double chin alone take under an hour; the full face and neck together take closer to two. You can drive home and go back to work straight afterwards. The skin may be pink for an hour or two and slightly tender for a few days, and that is the whole recovery.

When will I see my HIFU results?

You will see a little on the day, then very little for the first few weeks while the collagen rebuilds, which is the point where some people wonder whether anything happened. From week six to eight the jawline starts to look cleaner and the skin denser, the peak lands at about three months, and some areas keep improving to six months. Most people need one session. If the laxity is heavier, a second session eight to twelve weeks after the first builds on it, and we tell you at the assessment whether you are likely to need it rather than after you have paid for the first.

How long do HIFU results last?

Twelve to eighteen months for most people, longer for some, and then the face carries on ageing from a better starting point rather than snapping back to where it was. A single maintenance session around the twelve to eighteen month mark keeps the lift, and that is what most of our regular HIFU clients do: one session a year, planned at their review. You will read "up to three years" on some sites. That is the outer edge for a young face with mild laxity, not the normal case, and we would rather you planned for eighteen months and were pleasantly surprised.

What HIFU does for specific problem areas

Double chin and jawline

HIFU is the treatment for a double chin that comes with a softening jawline, because it reduces the fat pad under the chin and tightens the skin over it in the same session. A pinchable pad on a firm jawline does better with fat freezing. Our guide to HIFU for the chin and jawline goes through it in detail.

Jowls and the lower face

Early jowls, where the skin has started to slip over the jaw, are where HIFU shows its clearest result, because the 4.5mm depth reaches the layer that has dropped. Heavy jowls that hang are a surgical problem, and we say so.

Forehead lines and wrinkles

HIFU thickens and firms the skin, so lines that are there at rest soften. It does not stop the muscle movement that makes lines when you frown or raise your eyebrows; that is the job of anti-wrinkle injections, and a lot of people have both, HIFU for the firmness and injections for the movement lines.

Eyes and brow

A lift of a few millimetres at the tail of the brow and a tightening of the skin under the eyes, which is the area people most often ask about first. See HIFU for eye bags and hooded eyes.

Neck

Loose neck skin and the early turkey neck respond well; a neck with a lot of hanging skin does not. Our non-surgical neck lift page sets out which neck problems HIFU can shift.

Is HIFU right for me?

HIFU makes the biggest difference to people over thirty with mild to moderate laxity: the jawline that has softened rather than dropped, the neck that has started to crepe, skin that has lost its density. Under thirty the skin is usually still firm enough that there is little to lift. Advanced sun damage, heavy laxity or a neck that hangs in folds are usually beyond what any non-surgical treatment can do, and a surgeon is the honest answer. HIFU is not carried out over open lesions, active skin infections or severe acne, during pregnancy, or over metal implants in the treatment area, and your assessment covers the rest. If you are not a good candidate we will say so and suggest the treatment that is, which is sometimes Exilis Ultra Face, the gentler option for fine lines and the eye area.

Seven things to know before you book HIFU anywhere

Ask which device it is. HIFU is a category, not a brand, and the difference between a clinical system and a cheap import is the difference between a lift and a sore face. Ask who is treating you and how they were trained on that device. Ask how many lines or shots are included, because a "full face" that uses half the energy is not a full face. Ask what is in the price: the assessment, the review, the photographs, a follow-up if it is needed. Ask what happens if it does not work, and listen for a straight answer. Ask to see the clinic's own before and after photos, not the manufacturer's. Ask about the alternatives, because a clinic that only sells one treatment will recommend it to everyone. We run HIFU alongside Exilis, fat freezing and injectables, so the recommendation is the treatment that fits, not the one that is free that afternoon.

How to choose a clinic for HIFU

Read the reviews, then read the bad ones, because how a clinic handles a client who did not get the result is the most useful thing you can learn about it. Visit before you book if you can; you should feel comfortable, because you will be lying there for an hour or two. Check that treatments are carried out to written protocols in a clinic with medical oversight. RT Aesthetics is a medically led clinic in Whickham, Newcastle, with a clinic medic and a qualified nurse practitioner on the team, and HIFU is one of the most booked treatments here, which means the practitioners do it every week rather than now and then. Our clients' HIFU treatment reviews are on the site, unedited.

What HIFU costs in Newcastle

HIFU is usually one session: full face £1,095, face and neck £1,295, neck only £995, eyes and brow lift £895, double chin £995, and face, lips, neck and décolletage together £1,495. Your assessment is free, 0% finance over 12 months is available on plans of £1,000 or more subject to a credit assessment, and we price match like-for-like clinic treatments. The HIFU cost guide explains why prices vary so much between clinics, and the HIFU Newcastle page has everything in one place.

HIFU clinic near me

Whether you searched for HIFU near me, HIFU treatment near me or a HIFU clinic in Newcastle, we are at The Knowles, Front Street, Whickham, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE16 4SN, about ten minutes from Newcastle city centre and the MetroCentre and about fifteen from Gateshead town centre, with free parking on Front Street and in the village car parks. Clients come for HIFU from Sunderland, Durham, Hexham, Northumberland and Teesside, and evening appointments run until 8:30pm Monday to Wednesday. Call 0191 649 8699, text 07307 201681 or book a free assessment online, and you will get a straight answer on whether HIFU is right for you before anything is booked.

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