The Thermage™ technique uses capacitive radio frequency to heat deep collagen fibers in the skin and underlying tissue, while cooling the skin’s surface with a spray. It ensues collagen contraction in three dimensions. The patient experiences a brief but intense feeling of heat, though cooled down by the machine all along the procedure.
Compression of collagen fibers causes gradual tightening of the skin. Thermage™ works in lower dermal layers (dermis) where surface care is inoperant.
The skin is composed of three primary layers. Beneath the epidermis, the dermis consists of connective tissue and is particularly rich in collagen fibers. When these fibers are altered, wrinkles and slackening occur. The contraction of collagen obtained produces a tightening of the skin immediately visible. It is possible to treat all parts of the body rich in collagen, eyelids, jawline, neck, décolleté, arms, thighs, abdomen and lower buttocks. Unlike lasers, the procedure can be performed on women and men of all skin color. The ideal patient has little subcutaneous fat and a moderately distended skin.
The procedure takes 20-70 minutes on average, mainly depending on the size of the area treated. One session is usually sufficient to produce results. A further treatment may be undergone months or years later to rejuvenate again. Although an immediate response is visible, the majority of patients will see the most noticeable results gradually appear in the 6 months after the procedure. New and remodeled collagen continues to grow over time to further tighten skin. The effect lasts between 3 and 5 years.
Although Thermage™ can not be compared to a surgical intervention, it has real benefits:

• The result is natural. The practitioner doesn’t touch anything, no incision is made. It’s just a matter of strengthening, retracting and toning your skin.
• There are no contraindications, no side effects other than light swelling or redness which subside in a matter of a few days, no social eviction due to the procedure. Most patients can return to normal activity the next day.

When filler injections fall short of a satisfactory result so surgery appears to be the alternative (such as in upper eyelid surgery), Thermage™ may be a great intermediate way to get rid of peri-orbital wrinkles and skin laxity in a non-invasive fashion with an outcome quite close to that of surgery.
The treatment can be referred to as “collagen remodeling”.