Ultherapy: Our Experience
- Posted on: Oct 14 2022
Viva introduced Ultherapy to the line of treatments in June of 2022. The way of the future in positive ageing is definitely combination therapy – a treatment protocol devised particularly for your skin and the way your genetic makeup is playing in your ageing.
For many years in medical aesthetics, we have used neuromodulators (Botox, Dysport) to relax muscles and reduce lines, especially in the upper face. We have used fillers to replace lost collagen and fat in the mid and lower facial areas.
Now we have another tool. Ultherapy is a technology that delivers energy right down to the connective tissue to stimulate your own collagen. This technology makes a lot of sense. I like to use the comparison of a mattress and pillow topper. Your connective tissue and deep dermis are the mattress, and your skin is the pillow topper. As you age, the mattress gets less firm, and the pillow topper gets more wrinkly. If we firm up the mattress, the pillow topper will also look tighter.
The practical new tool that firms up your “mattress and pillow topper” is ultrasound. Ultrasound waves are used to visualize your collagen and see where it could benefit from a boost. It then delivers energy as heat to those specific areas to stimulate your own collagen production. Results take three months to be seen initially and up to 12 months for full results. In my own experience, the skin looks firmer at the three-month mark. Our clients have had similar experiences. This improvement is evidenced both in photos and by comments from friends and colleagues.
At the 3-month mark, we may decide to add filler products to those areas that genetics is making a little more troublesome. That’s what COMBINATION THERAPY is all about. The great news is that you will likely need less filler and achieve a more natural result.
For upper face areas, you will still need neuromodulator treatments every 3 to 4 months. Caring for your skin with zinc-containing sunblock remains essential, and using products suited for your skin type with medical-grade products completes the combination approach. I call it “Combination Therapy for Positive Ageing”; a colleague calls it “Foundation, Fill, and Finish.”