Get the real deal on beauty treatments—real doctors, real reviews, and real photos with real results.Here's how we earn your trust.

See All Reviews
See All Reviews
POSTED UNDER Thermage REVIEWS

thermage - New York, NY

ORIGINAL POST

My life has been ruined since having radio...

NYthermageAugust 6, 2015
My life has been ruined since having radio frequency .
I had a few sessions of radio frequency just over 2 years ago. I since have lost a lot of fat and my skin tighten up at the same time , I didn’t know RF was for tightening at the time , I didn’t do my research I just believed the dr advice , now my cheeks are flat with a lots of strange line which looks like burns and I have started to have a big brown patch on the left side where I was burnt which has grown over time . I had rf around my mouth which also tighten my nose to mouth lines and have fat loss there too , I also have like a burn scar on both side . When I smile now, my mouth pull on one side and is very crooked. I have tried fillers but it doesn’t seem to help with the mouth area. I had fillers to my cheeks but this again hasn’t filled to indentation and make them look more obvious. What else can I do? I can’t stay like this for much longer , please help ! I fell so alone and so ugly.. I have aged so much and have started to loss my hair from all the stress . I have stop to socializing because I don’t want anyone to look at me like this . Has anyone who was burnt/tighten/ had fat loss seen any improvement over the years or have done something to help ?

NYthermage's provider

Dr E

NYthermage ratings

Overall rating
Doctor's bedside manner
Answered my questions
After care follow-up
Time spent with me
Phone or email responsiveness
Staff professionalism & courtesy
Payment process
Wait times

Replies (30)

kathi5981
August 6, 2015
Fat loss from radiofrequency does not return. It has melted away. It is perplexing that this happened unless the piece was on the wrong setting. There are settings for fat loss, and separate settings for simply tightening. The fat losing setting should never be used on the face! But, if the settings were correctly done and you lost fat, that just means that the information put out by the manufacturer is not true, and that you can lose fat even when the settings are set otherwise. I'm sorry this happened to you. It happened to me, as well, but not on my face. The face would be much worse, as it shows everywhere you go...! Again, I'm very sorry this has happened to you. Perhaps your doctor should refer you to a plastic surgeon who does fat transfer. And...maybe she should offer to pay for it!
VeronicaMay
August 24, 2018
Sculptra or fat transfer can help be of luck
sangoukha
October 10, 2018
Rejuran (PN) will help
JudyTrudy
March 23, 2019
I had a similar treatment and result when I was 24 (32 now) and trust me, your skin will get better and return to normal. The fat won’t come back, but it will adjust to your skinnier face now. If you really want your fat back, I would suggest taking Saw Palmetto. I did this 2 years ago, and all the fat came back. Now that I have a fatter face again, I would say I actually did like my skinnier face better. But to each their own.
Charming7354
May 31, 2019
Did the saw palmetto really grow the fat cells back in your face??? I’m really hope this is true
JudyTrudy
May 31, 2019
Yes, absolutely. It grew back my boobs and hips too. You have to get the kind with the higher amount though. I think I used Jarrow? Also, you might want to get something called Volufiline. Look up the reviews on YouTube. It’s from Korea and it works, but I think only on existing fat cells, so you have to be careful if you use it on your face. A little bit spreads too, so be careful again. Funny, I now miss my skinnier face! But hey, I guess the grass is always greener.
Charming7354
May 31, 2019
How soon after taking it did you notice it start to fill out your face again? I can’t thank you enough
Charming7354
May 31, 2019
How soon after taking it did you notice it start to fill out your face again? I can’t thank you enough
JudyTrudy
May 31, 2019
I noticed it within a month. I got chubby all over, to be honest. But in more of an estrogen pattern. With volufiline I think you have to be careful - it seems to spread a long ways, and even remnants on your pillow case will cause the fat cells to grow on the side you sleep on. It doesn’t show up until a few days later either - so if you don’t see it the next day don’t put on more!! Because you will wake up one day being shocked at all the fat in your face... just be careful!
Charming7354
May 31, 2019
Thank you so much for the suggestions. I'm too afraid now for any more adverse surprises with my face, so I don't know if I'll try volufiline. I'm terrified with the rapid fat loss in my face as it is. What did you have that made your face become thin as well? Was it thermage or ultherapy?
JudyTrudy
June 1, 2019
The two things that made my face thin at separate times was some type of device that was used on my face in Australia - unfortunately it was a free trial several years ago, so I didn’t get the name of it. All I know is that the technician described it as something that would cause my fat cells to burst and I would it pee out later. And it felt like a hot stone going over my face, after the gel she put on. I think it might have been some radiofrequency device? I have no idea. If you have any idea of devices that sound like that, let me know. I emailed them recently to ask them what it was, but I think it might have been a machine they were just trying out because the only devices they offer now are thermage and a laser, which both of those don’t feel like hot stones from what I understand, and you don’t put a gel on your face before that. Ask me in a while about the volufiline though. People are saying I look more refreshed now, but we will see if it continues to grow after having stopped it. I might have to go back and get a RF treatment again if so haha! The second thing that thinned my face was when I used Rogaine. It really messed up my skin. It took a really long time to get my skin back after that.
Charming7354
June 1, 2019
It honestly sounds like ultherapy, which is what's wrecked me. They need a gel for the transducer hand piece in order to penetrate the skin. I'll ask soon how your results are turning out with the volufiline because I'm giving it another thought now. There just aren't many reviews on it out there, which makes me hesitant. Did you do anything else to help your skin out while it was thin?
Charming7354
June 1, 2019
Also, how long have you been using volufiline? And do you have any before and after pics? You're giving me some hope that not all is lost
JudyTrudy
June 3, 2019
It wasn’t ultherapy - the device was round and flat, almost like a metal paddle but round. Not sure what it was to be honest... I would really try saw Palmetto to be honest! And did you see the Ukrainian (or Slavic?) youtuber who reviewed volufiline? Check back in a month and I’ll let you know my experience with volufiline thus far.
JudyTrudy
June 3, 2019
I started using volufiline 1 week ago. But for me this was for a recent 10 pounds I rapidly lost. Again, saw Palmetto if you want that estrogen full face look. Volufiline for spot treatments. I can send you before and after of my face with saw Palmetto if you want - just pm me your email address. Don’t lose hope! Also, work on finding a state of calm and peace, as this always helps with our skin too.
Charming7354
June 3, 2019
Thank you so so much JudyTrudy. And yes please send me an email with some pics emforan89@gmail.com. It really helps that you’ve experienced something similar and have come out of it with a remedy. Thank you from the bottom of my heart
JudyTrudy
June 3, 2019
Of course!! I totally feel for you - it’s such a devastating thing and it can seem like nobody understands except for those who’ve went through it. So you are not alone, but it will get better. Hope you are seeing a therapist in the interim, as that helped me. But yes, I’ll email you. A lot of the photos are on my old computer, so it might be a week or so before I get them to you, but feel free to write to me if it’s been longer than a week in case it slips my mind.
Charming7354
June 3, 2019
I have definitely been considering therapy. Thank you and I’ll reach out if I don’t hear back from you in a week or so
Charming7354
June 6, 2019
I just received my saw palmetto from harrow in the mail and I'm going to start taking it right away. I hope things are going well for you and thank you for your advice on these things
Charming7354
June 6, 2019
I'm meant to say *Jarrow
Charming7354
June 7, 2019
I know it hasn’t been long, but are you seeing any effects from the Volufiline?
JudyTrudy
June 8, 2019
Hey! No... at the beginning I was, but as soon as I stopped, the effects went away. I would say stay away from it, because you don’t know what it will do. It doesn’t have enough scientific evidence behind it. And just FYI regarding the saw Palmetto - it can have some hormonal side effects, so be aware if you are taking birth control or anything. Mind if I ask how old you are/or how old you were when you got the radiofrequency done?
Charming7354
June 8, 2019
Good to know, I’ll stay away from Volufiline. I’ve been researching egf in face creams and I might go down that road. I’m 29 and had it done almost 7 weeks ago. Mind blowing that they marketed it as a facial and something so minor. Now I’m wondering if I’m going to live the rest of my life this way with a collapsed face. Thank you for the advice on the saw palmetto too. It’s been two days and I’ve taken 320 mg a day but I might scale back to 160 a day
JudyTrudy
June 9, 2019
Oh wow, yeah so young. I just turned 24 when I did the thermage-type of thing on my face. The only thing about saw Palmetto is that, while totally worth it, I developed a bit of a double chin. The rest of my face is full, I gained weight and then lost it, which resulted in a bit of lower face and chin sag. I’m considering doing Forma... which is a RF device, and so far I’ve only heard good things from it (all the celebs and insta models do it at Le Jolie in LA guess). Have you heard anything bad about it? It seems mild in comparison to the rest...
Charming7354
June 9, 2019
I haven’t heard of it yet but from all of my research, any rf device can cause enough heat to melt fat so now I’m suuuuper hesitant with those kinds of things. If it’s new then maybe wait a little while to see what kind of reviews come out in the wash. And as for the saw palmetto, I’d take a double chin all day long instead of a skeleton face haha do you remember how many milligrams you were taking? Also if you look up pdo threads (I believe), it can give you that tightened up look under your chin. I have zero experience with anything besides ultherapy though. I thought it would be a safe way to stay away from any other cosmetic procedures but I was wrong! So now I’m exploring the world of cosmetic procedures
JudyTrudy
June 10, 2019
PDO threads kind of scare me - I haven't seen many convincing before and afters. Yeah I was totally against cosmetic procedures before doing that to my face but then I became obsessed! As for the saw palmetto, I took 320 mg. I had meant to take half that, but it did it's job haha. Let me know how it goes!
Charming7354
June 10, 2019
Will do! And I’ll let you know about the EGF cream too
Charming7354
June 11, 2019
Also, I meant to ask before but did you dig up any before and after photos of when you were taking saw palmetto?
JudyTrudy
June 14, 2019
Gah, totally forgot! I actually think I have some on my phone that I can send. I'll send you it your way super soon! Putting it in my planner now to remind myself. The only thing is that once you gain the weight, decide that that's where you want to be. You will gain weight in your hips and boobs, and everywhere else, but it will emphasize those areas the most since it's an androgen blocker. It will affect your hormones, so be careful if you are taking birth control. It almost felt like I was pregnant on it.. It was odd. I lost the pounds I gained and now my face is very gaunt again, but maybe that's because it was too rapid of weight loss. Now I'm trying to think of ways to get it back... Have you used filler since the thermage?
Murray66
October 27, 2024
Who is Dr. E? You should name the dr.
See More Thermage Reviews
See All Reviews