Hongdae Ultherapy PRIME? You’ll Regret It If You Choose a Place Like This

Hello. I’m Jo Won-jin, the medical director of Chai Clinic, where I have been providing dermatological care in Hongdae for 10 years.

If you searched for Ultherapy PRIME and came across this article,

you probably already have a general idea of what this treatment is.

At the very least, you know that it is a new version of Ultherapy that stimulates the deeper layers to provide lifting.

So what you are probably more curious about is:

“Where and how should I receive Ultherapy PRIME in Hongdae to achieve good results?”

That’s right.

Even with the same Hongdae Ultherapy PRIME treatment, the results can vary considerably depending on where you receive it.

Today, I’ll explain why that is and what you should check to receive the treatment properly.

Table of Contents

1. What has improved with Ultherapy PRIME?

2. Better equipment does not guarantee better results

3. With Ultherapy PRIME, the key is who directly evaluates you

4. Rather than the name of the equipment, look at who is overseeing your treatment

5. What has improved with Ultherapy PRIME?

Ultherapy is a treatment that delivers HIFU (high-intensity focused ultrasound) to the SMAS layer,

the deep fascial layer, to contract collagen and induce regeneration.

Ultherapy PRIME is the follow-up model introduced in South Korea in 2025.

So what has improved with PRIME?

There are four key improvements.

First, the real-time ultrasound screen is much clearer.

The screen resolution (pixel density) has nearly doubled compared with the previous model, while the screen itself is larger and offers a wider field of view.

As a result, the boundary between the SMAS layer and the fat layer can be seen more clearly.

Where the screen used to be relatively less clear,

it is now possible to place shots more accurately in the intended layer while observing the boundary.

Second, the depth that can be viewed has been expanded.

With the previous Ultherapy model, the maximum depth that could be checked on screen was about 4.5 mm,

whereas PRIME allows visibility down to 8 mm.

Because the deeper structures can be checked during treatment,

it is also more manageable to treat people with thicker skin.

Third, discomfort has been reduced.

Ultherapy was known for being a painful treatment as much as it was known for its effects,

but PRIME has reduced the perceived discomfort by improving the way energy is delivered.

Energy can now be focused more precisely on the targeted areas,

which reduces unnecessary damage to the surrounding areas.

As shown in the photo above, it has become easier to receive Ultherapy without sleep anesthesia. If you are particularly sensitive to discomfort, please refer to the article below. Airnox, a laughing gas, can make the treatment much more comfortable.

Fourth, the treatment is faster.

The equipment operates more quickly, shortening the overall treatment time.

The burden of lying in the same position is reduced accordingly.

In short, it has changed to “seeing better, seeing deeper, hurting less, and working faster.”

These are clearly meaningful improvements.

However, there is one important point that must be addressed here.

The equipment shown in the photo above is the previous version of Ultherapy.

2. Better equipment does not guarantee better results

The biggest change with PRIME

is ultimately that it allows the operator to “see more clearly and more deeply before delivering the energy.”

But when you think about it, this means that the “tool” has improved.

No matter how clear the screen becomes,

deciding and designing “which areas of this face should be treated, at what depth, with how many shots, and in which direction” is ultimately the responsibility of a person.

With Ultherapy treatments, results do not improve simply because more lines are used.

Rather, the placement and depth of the energy have a much greater influence on the outcome.

That is why the clearer screen and deeper visibility only become meaningful when you meet a doctor who can read and design the treatment accurately.

This is also why I carefully assess each patient’s skin type, degree of sagging, and skin characteristics in the consultation room before treatment.

Throughout the treatment, I personally monitor the real-time screen to confirm the location of the SMAS layer,

and adjust the depth and energy level for each area as I proceed.

It is truly important to create a detailed treatment design and carry out the procedure carefully according to that design.

3. With Ultherapy PRIME, the key is who directly evaluates you

This is exactly the point I consider most important when choosing where to receive Ultherapy PRIME.

Does the doctor who will actually perform the treatment personally evaluate you from the consultation through the procedure?

Why is this so important?

The answer lies in PRIME’s greatest advantage: its “real-time screen.”

The core of this treatment is locating the SMAS layer on the screen and placing energy at the precise layer and depth.

That judgment can only be made by the person directly looking at the screen.

Because the screen has become clearer, the role of the doctor interpreting it has become even more important.

However, it is quite common for the consultation to be conducted only with a consultation coordinator,

while the doctor performing the treatment simply reviews the chart and begins the procedure right away.

In that situation, the treatment may proceed according to a predetermined number of lines

without sufficiently understanding where the patient’s sagging began,

whether the skin is thin or thick, or which areas require greater depth.

No matter how clear the screen is, it is useless without a treatment design that makes use of it.

That is why I believe the person who designs the treatment and the person who performs it should be the same.

The person who determines during the consultation, “This area is sagging, so let’s go deeper here; this area is thin, so let’s adjust it,”

must carry out that decision while viewing the screen during the procedure for consistent results.

If the consultation and treatment are handled separately, it is difficult for the intent behind the design to be conveyed through to the procedure.

The more closely consultation, treatment design, and the procedure are connected through one person,

the more likely it is that the advantages of good equipment such as PRIME will translate into results.

Please remember this when deciding where to receive your treatment.

In particular, if you are planning to receive treatment with a laser device, please read the article below before proceeding.

It will help you develop a more detailed eye for distinguishing a good clinic.

4. Rather than the name of the equipment, look at who is overseeing your treatment

Ultherapy PRIME is certainly good equipment.

It allows treatment to be performed more clearly, more deeply, and with less discomfort.

However, what turns those advantages into results is not the name of the equipment.

It is the doctor who directly interprets the screen, designs the treatment for your face, and performs the procedure precisely.

This is exactly why results can differ depending on where you receive treatment, even with the same PRIME system.

So if you are considering Hongdae Ultherapy PRIME,

I recommend looking not only at which equipment is used, but also at “who will directly evaluate and design the treatment.”

Thank you. This was Jo Won-jin.