Ultherapy Observations - Augusta, GA

Just sharing some observations...

Had full face and jawline done 12/1/16. I'm a 42 year old male. I've lost a lot of weight and volume and skin elasticity. I was on Acutane in the 90's which I think contributed. I'll probably do some procedures like Voluma after the 3-6 month tightening period.

First observation is that this was extremely painful. I think I have a high pain tolerance. But the 4.5 depth around the eyes and the 1.5 depth everywhere else hurt really bad. It was unbearable at some times. Just a note: I refused the numbing lotion because I read on here that it can negatively affect the results because it makes your skin thicker. Anyway, if I were to do it again, I'd take the cream and probably a few more pills.

My second observation is that it is not zero downtime. At least for me, there were welt lines down my cheeks. They were red and raised. They're going down now (24 hours later). For me, you need to make sure you don't need to be anywhere for at least 24-48 hours after the procedure. Fortunately, I have the weekend to chill and I worked from home today. I'll update after the weekend with a note of how the welts are doing.

Last observation: I bruise easily. I drank Pinneaple juice all week and put Arnica Gel on my face all week leading up and I am continuing with the Arnica Gel. I have not noticed any signs of bruising and I don't think I will. If the welts go away by Monday morning (3.5 days from the procedure). I will be very happy.

I mentioned that I hoped the lines on my face would be gone by now. They are not. They are not super noticeable - but when I look at my skin up close in the right light, they are clearly visible. At least I am not ashamed to go out in public like I was the first 2 days. I also will be fine going on my business trip tomorrow.

The way I'd describe how they look is like someone dragged a comb across my face. The lines are straight and pretty evenly spaced out and they are on both sides of my face. They are only on the cheeks (even though I had my jaw and eyes done too). But if someone looked close, they'd have to wonder what I had done - this kind of thing couldn't happen randomly. I suppose I could say I got a new electric razor. If anyone asks while I'm on my business trip, that is what I am going to say.

BTW - someone else here on realself had a similar situation and said they looked like a cat scratched their face. I think the comb analogy is better for my situation but I will say that some of the lines have very small black dots that follow the line pattern. These dots look like little scabs or blackheads. They are too small to worry about but I did want to mention it. At this point the swelling has completely subsided and most of the soreness is gone.

I cannot say whether it was "worth it" or not yet because I do not notice any positive results yet. Right after the procedure I was swollen and that looked good surprisingly but now the swelling is gone and I think I look the same as when I went in. However, my expectations were that I wouldn't see results for several weeks and that the dramatic results won't come for several (3+) months.

I'll keep y'all posted.

My skin definitely seems to be tightening. But I wouldn't say it was worth it based on the results so far. But I believe the results I'll see in another 2-4 months are going to change that.

As I mentioned before I have very little facial fat to begin with. I'm going for voluma injections on Monday. This is just an experiment.

As for the lines I had - they were gone in 10 days. If you're very self conscious about stuff like that, then just know that the lines are possibly a part of recovery and it can take more than a week for them to completely go away.