- Video
- Stimulating New Collagen Through Non-Invasive Skin Tightening
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[Music]Female Voice: Noninvasive skin tightening is a technique that we use where we deliver heat to the deep layer of your skin where your body houses collagen and elastin. When you deliver heat to that level of the skin, you stimulate the production of new collagen as well as remodeling the collagen and elastin networks that you have.
The beauty of noninvasive skin tightening is that this is something that you can come into the office, have done in an afternoon, and have little to no downtime associated with it. There's no break in the skin. This is all happening underneath the surface of the skin. So you can walk out of the office and go back to work or carry on with your regular day, and nobody would know what you had done that afternoon.
There're two different types of technology that we use here in the office. We use Ulthera, which is a noninvasive skin tightening device that uses ultrasound waves to deliver heat. It can be a little bit more uncomfortable, and we do give patients the option of taking something for pain prior to their treatment, as well as something for anxiety if they're a little bit nervous before their treatment. If this were the case, you chose to do that, you would need to make sure that you had a driver available to take you and bring you home because we can't let you drive after you've had medication.
The other technology is Thermage. Thermage uses radio frequency as its method to deliver heat. This is a technology that's been around for about 10 years. Ulthera has been a newer technology. So Thermage has become more comfortable to tolerate. It's not as painful. People typically don't take anything before they have Thermage. It, again, is something that you can come in, have done the same day with no downtime associated with it.
These both technologies are designed to be a one-time treatment. It takes some time for your body to respond from one treatment. It takes a little while for your body to actually build new networks of collagen and that whole remodeling process to take place. So you do see some immediate skin tightening right after your treatment, but the total effects of your one treatment usually come at about three to six months, because it takes about that long for your body to remodel and restructure those networks of collagen as well as build new collagen.
Male Voice: Noninvasive skin tightening is generally a very safe procedure. It's important to understand that there's no procedure that is without its potential risks. Both Thermage and Ulthera can be associated with risks. Burns of the skin are extremely uncommon after either of these procedures. It's common to have some mild redness of the skin. That usually resolves within an hour or two. Most often, people feel they can resume their normal activities either later that day or the next day, following either Thermage or Ulthera treatment.
Following Ulthera treatments, occasionally there can be weakness of a nerve that controls movement around the mouth. This is extremely uncommon, and it gets better by itself over time. It's also possible to have temporary numbness, typically in the forehead, following an Ulthera treatment. Again, this is very uncommon, and it does get better over time.
One of the most important complications to be aware of following noninvasive skin tightening is failure to achieve the desired outcome. It's important to understand that noninvasive skin tightening procedures are not the equivalent of surgery. You cannot expect to see the type of lifting and pulling following noninvasive skin tightening as you would from surgery. So if your expectations are to have a dramatically improved appearance after your noninvasive skin tightening treatment, you may wish to reconsider and instead have surgery.
On the other hand, if you do not want surgery and want to try a noninvasive technique, you must be aware of the fact that the degree of tightening that's going to be produced is not usually going to be comparable to that of surgery.
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Stimulating New Collagen Through Non-Invasive Skin Tightening
Doctor Brian Biesman's team discusses the non invasive skin tightening technique used to deliver heat to the deep layer of your skin where your body houses collagen and elastin.