[EarlyF Petite Center] The Truth or Falsehood of Lifting Lasers

Hello,

This is the Petite Center of April 31 Plastic Surgery.

Today, we’re going to talk about why the lifting lasers we’ve received so far

have not been effective.

I’ll leave out the difficult theoretical parts

and explain it as simply as possible.

In my personal opinion, there are three major reasons why it may not work.

◽ It was a procedure that was not supposed to be effective,

◽ It should have worked, but the procedure was not appropriate,

◽ The expectations about the effect were different,

First, you need to choose the right laser that is likely to be effective.

I once covered this in another video,

but to briefly explain again:

1. Thin skin, poor skin elasticity -> radiofrequency

2. Normal amount of fat, but sagging is a concern -> ultrasound

3. A lot of fat, so the sagging looks severe -> InMode FX

You should know at least this much.

For example, there are some older patients

who have thin skin and little volume, but only underwent

ultrasound procedures such as Ulthera or Shurink.

For these people, radiofrequency lasers should come first.

Also, there are younger people whose skin has elasticity

but who have a lot of fat, and they want

radiofrequency lasers such as Thermage or Oligio.

In such cases, InMode FX should come first.

Of course, if you want to reduce volume a little in a specific area,

an ultrasound laser may also help.

It should be effective, but the procedure was not appropriate.

What matters more is how it was done than what was done.

If the right laser is chosen,

I believe it should naturally be effective.

Then, regarding how the procedure was not appropriate,

that is something the doctor performing the procedure

must think about and work on.

From your perspective, if there is something you can do,

it would be to receive treatment from a doctor with enough experience

and to give and receive feedback about any unsatisfactory points,

which I think can improve your satisfaction with the procedure.

“What matters more is how it was done than what was done.”

If the right laser is chosen,

I believe it should naturally be effective.

Then, regarding how the procedure was not appropriate,

that is something the doctor performing the procedure

must think about and work on.

From your perspective, if there is something you can do,

it would be to receive treatment from a doctor with enough experience,

and to give and receive feedback about any unsatisfactory points,

which I think can improve your satisfaction with the procedure.

Some people come to the clinic and, while pulling their face up with their hands, say,

“I want to look like this.”

I think this is probably a misunderstanding caused by the term lifting.

Lifting literally means pulling upward,

but there is no laser that does that.

To put it more accurately, it is “tightening.”

Ulthera and Shurink are usually considered to apply heat in a straight line over 2.5 cm.

Then the heated area contracts.

If you apply heat as densely as possible,

it will contract that much more.

Thermage and Oligio make the skin layer contract.

First of all, of course, you will see a contraction effect

in the areas that shrink.

After that, through the regenerative effect,

you can feel an improvement in elasticity.

These procedures have a limit to tightening.

They cannot reduce things as much as surgery in one session.

And they do not literally pull things upward either.

The word “effect” is too

subjective and too broad.

If your expectations are higher

than what is actually possible, you won’t be satisfied.

It is important to listen carefully to the expected effects

before undergoing the procedure.

Q. Lifting laser,

how many times do you need it to see an effect?

Using exercise as an example, when you get PT,

how many sessions do you need to lose weight?

How many sessions do you need to build muscle?

It’s the same kind of question.

There is no single answer, and everyone knows

that there are changes when you keep doing it consistently.

If you receive PT once,

should we say it has no effect?

There is an effect from doing it once.

Because “effect” is subjective,

for some people it may seem like there is a little,

and for others it may seem like there is none.

However, when receiving PT,

it is not done at the same intensity every time;

it changes gradually according to the situation,

or the intensity is increased.

So as time passes and the number of sessions accumulates,

the subjective satisfaction will clearly increase.

The same goes for lasers.

Doing it once has the effect of doing it once.

If you are told to do it three times at one-month intervals,

will the effect suddenly appear only at the third session?

No, it won’t.

However, by gradually increasing from a safe energy level,

the effects become more visible over time.

In my personal opinion, the reason clinics recommend laser treatments

about three times is that after about three sessions,

most people generally start to feel the effect,

so it is a conservative recommendation.

In my case, even if I only do it once,

I do my best so that you can feel a change,

but you may still be dissatisfied,

and in that case I reflect that in the next procedure.

For that reason, I think satisfaction can be higher

the more you repeat it, such as two or three times.

Q. Isn’t it better if the laser is stronger?

The principle behind most lifting lasers is heat.

There are differences in intensity and differences in method,

but the key is to damage the tissue just enough that it can recover quickly using heat.

If you search for burn contracture,

you’ll see that when tissue is burned by heat,

it becomes hard, loses elasticity, and shrinks.

Why is it contraction for some and tightening for others?

Why is it collagen regeneration for some and scars for others?

Strictly speaking, I do not think this is a distinction

from a medical point of view.

If it looks good, it is tightening or collagen;

if it was not intended and not controlled,

it is called a burn, contracture, or scar.

Scars are also collagen.

Also, when you get Thermage or Oligio,

there may be times when it feels suddenly hot.

If you touched something that hot in your daily life,

you would definitely say you got burned.

But during laser treatment, people do not say

that they were burned just because it felt hot.

If the laser is stronger, it will shrink more.

However, it must still be within a range that can recover quickly.

It has to be done only with the appropriate energy and the appropriate number of shots.

Because the inside of the skin is not visible,

you won’t know even if it is overtreated.

You may feel very satisfied at first.

And that in itself may not be a major problem.

However, if the tissue becomes hard,

there is a high chance that even if you have procedures later,

you will not feel the same effect as before.

Q. For lifting lasers, what is the recommended number of shots?

Based on both cheeks, in most cases the treatment area

even when calculated very broadly for one cheek

does not exceed 10 square centimeters,

so I think 300 ultrasound shots are enough.

For radiofrequency lasers, opinions may differ depending on the treatment method,

but I use different treatment methods depending on the number of shots,

so I do not set a strict limit.

If I had to compare them, I think doing 300 shots twice

is more efficient than doing 600 shots once.

At the beginning, there is not enough heat, so some would argue

that 100 shots should be disregarded, and with 600 shots,

500 shots are effective, while with 300 shots,

200 shots are effective, so 600 shots would be better.

But in our clinic, there are people who only do 100 shots of Oligio,

and they often start feeling hot right away.

I actually explain it this way because I think

the later shots have less meaning in terms of tightening.

Depending on differences in treatment methods,

there can be different opinions, and this is not the only correct answer.

However, when sagging makes the buccal fat pad or nasolabial folds more prominent,

there are people who want to treat only those areas, but that is the opposite.

It does not make sense to exclude those areas;

only by tightening evenly along the sagging vector across the entire cheek

can you maximize the improvement.

Today, we talked about the effects of lifting laser procedures.

I’ll be back next time with useful content.