Should I Have Received Ultherapy Before Losing Weight?

Question

I just had ultherapy treatment on my face and noticed some tightening in my jowl area after treatment. My doctors said I should expect tightening in the next few months. I had this done while overweight, around at around 200lbs. Will I lose this tightening if I drop to my normal wt of 165lbs?

Ron Shelton, MD · Answer

Volume of the face might help support tissues and as fat loss of the deeper part of the face occurs, there may be sagging, lowering of the jowls, more prominent smile creases, the corners of the mouth and marionette lines may appear deeper.  After the weight loss, even though you had lifting with ultherapy, you might be a candidate for fat injections to the face to replenish the youthful volume. The Ultherapy-induced collagen production and the tightening of the connective tissue won't be affected, unless you consume an unhealthy diet while trying to lose weight.  You want to ensure that you are not depleting your body of vitamin C and collagen during dieting as your facial structures need this to respond well to the Ultheapy even months later as new collagen is being produced.

Hratch Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

Thank you for your question.People do it both ways but since I have been doing this procedure since 2011 and have done hundreds, I recommend that you have it done after you have achieved your goal weight for the following reasons.If you continue to lose weight, volume loss will make it seem that you have more skin laxity and this may make you believe that the procedure failed.It is also important for the physician to assess how much laxity there is to give you the realistic expectations that you need and a baseline with which to compare your results. Best,Dr Karamanoukian

Joseph Campanelli, MD · Answer

Losing weight will not undo the effect of the Ultherapy treatment.  It is important to realize that losing weight will effect the appearance of the face and the appearance of wrinkles.  Fat acts as a filler in the face.  People with more facial fat tend to have less wrinkles.  Loss of the volume of this fat then will tend to accentuate lines and wrinkles.

	Ultherapy stimulates new collagen formation and the reorganization of existing collagen.  The effects of Ultherapy will be present even after weight loss though you may feel as though the effect of Ultherapy has diminished because the volume of fat is no longer filling out the wrinkles as much.

Paul C. Zwiebel, MD (retired) · Answer

While you will not lose the benefit of Ultherapy, loss of weight can contribute to deflation in the face (less fat may lead to changes in facial contours and looser skin or sagging). Much depends on skin elasticity, the ability of the skin to maintain tone as the face "shrinks" with the weight loss.

	No one can predict for you how your jowls will look with the weight loss, but you will not lose the benefit of the skin and deeper tightening of the Ultherapy.

Should I Have Received Ultherapy Before Losing Weight?

Answers (4)

Answer: Ulthera and Weight Loss

Answer: Ulthera and Weight Loss

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Should I Have Received Ultherapy Before Losing Weight?

Answers (4)

Answer: Ulthera and Weight Loss

Answer: Ulthera and Weight Loss

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Everything you need to know about Ultherapy

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.