What Ultherapy is
Ultherapy is micro-focused ultrasound with visualisation, made by Merz Aesthetics. Ultherapy Prime is the current platform. Its console, handpiece and imaging display were updated, while the energy, depths, frequencies and coagulation points stayed the same. Dr Sin Yong examines you and performs the treatment himself.
A curved transducer concentrates ultrasound into a small volume of tissue and heats it. Each point is then repaired with new collagen. That repair takes time, so any firming develops gradually. Some tightness may be felt straight away, but early swelling can mislead you. It does not replace a surgical facelift.
The published evidence is reasonable but general. A review of 42 studies reported improvement in most patients, with side effects that were mostly mild to moderate. None of this predicts your own result, and results vary.
Is Ultherapy a laser?
No. Ultherapy is focused ultrasound, so it uses sound energy and not light. A laser needs something in the skin to absorb its light, such as pigment or water. Ultherapy has no wavelength. Its energy converges at a set depth, and the skin above takes far less of it.
Ulthera, Ultherapy and Ultherapy Prime: what is the difference?
These names describe one line of treatment at different stages. Prime changes the machine and not the mechanism, so its limits are the same.
| Name | What it refers to | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Ulthera | The first company and device, the Ulthera System | Searches for this name lead to the same treatment |
| Ultherapy | The treatment's brand name, now held by Merz Aesthetics | Micro-focused ultrasound with imaging |
| Ultherapy Prime | The platform in use today, and the one Dr Sin Yong uses | New console, handpiece and imaging display. Same energy, depths, frequencies and coagulation points |
What does the doctor see before each line?
The word visualisation matters here. Before each line of energy is delivered, DeepSEE imaging shows the tissue on a screen to a depth of about 8 mm. The doctor can see the layers under that part of the transducer and confirm that the chosen depth matches them. A mismatch can then be caught before energy is given, not after. This imaging is the main difference from other focused ultrasound, or HIFU. Labels such as 4D and 7D are maker names, not recognised depths or generations. Depth is matched to the layer in front of the doctor. The imaging also helps explain why energy, depth and the number of lines are set zone by zone. A jawline and a brow are different structures, and they are not treated as though they were the same.
How deep does Ultherapy reach?
Sits in the dermis.
Reaches the deep dermis and the fibrous septae of the superficial fat.
Reaches the SMAS, the fibrous layer under the facial fat, and the platysma muscle in the neck.
Which areas can Ultherapy treat?
Ultherapy is planned one zone at a time, and the depth is confirmed on the image before each line. See also focused ultrasound for jowls and the neck.
| Zone | Depths usually considered | What it is directed at | What it does not reach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brow and forehead | Shallower depths | Heaviness from lax forehead tissue | Loose lid skin, or a droop from a weak muscle |
| Jawline and lower face | 4.5 mm where the image shows room, with 3.0 mm above | Early laxity with volume still in place | A heavy jowl, jowl fat, hollow cheeks |
| Under the chin and neck | 4.5 mm at the platysma if tissue allows, 3.0 mm in the dermis | Loose skin and a lax platysma | A fat pad, muscle bands, heavy skin |
| Around the eyes | Superficial depth only, stopping at the bony rim of the eye socket | Crepey skin texture | Eye bags, hollows, the lid itself |
| Décolletage | Superficial depth only | Lines on the upper chest | Pigment and redness |
Ultherapy Singapore: who it suits
It tends to suit mild to moderate loose skin along the brow, jawline, under the chin or on the neck, in a face that has kept its volume. Age is not the deciding factor. The tissue is. Heavy jowls or significant skin excess are beyond what it can reach, and Dr Sin Yong refers these to a plastic surgery specialist. Heaviness caused by fat rather than loose skin is also better served by another plan. A puffier or heavier lower face usually starts with Time Freeze Laser LCLR®, not focused ultrasound. Sometimes Ultherapy is one part of a wider plan, with radiofrequency or a thread lift, but that is a decision for the assessment. Saying no is also a possible outcome of the consultation.
Why is Ultherapy not used on lean faces?
Dr Sin Yong does not use Ultherapy on lean faces. The reason is fat. In a thin face there is little fat to spare, and heat in that layer can cause fat atrophy, which shows as hollowing. Very thin faces and hollow cheeks are therefore planned differently, usually with the VF Lift. If you already feel your face is thin, say so at the first visit. Fat atrophy is the risk most specific to focused ultrasound, so this check comes early in the assessment and not as an afterthought. The VF Lift is a different approach on the Volnewmer platform, and it is planned along vertical vectors. If you already look hollow after earlier focused ultrasound, that also needs an in-person assessment before more heat is considered. Fat loss is a recognised side effect, so it deserves a careful look.
Can Ultherapy cause fat loss?
It can, and lean faces are the most exposed. Published reports are few. A case series of five selected patients described subcutaneous tissue atrophy after focused ultrasound. [5] A 2025 systematic review of the imaging type found one published case, and the other reports were unverified voluntary device reports. [6] No rate can be given, which is one reason facial fat is examined first.
How does Dr Sin Yong decide whether Ultherapy suits you?
He examines you himself before any device is chosen. One study of focused ultrasound found that lift changed with the direction and number of lines, and with depth and energy, on the same device. [7]
He looks at your face at rest and in movement, then pinches and lifts the skin to see how it springs back. This separates looseness from lost volume and fat. Each zone is judged alone, because a loose jaw can sit below a lean temple.
He performs Ultherapy Prime in person and reads the DeepSEE image before each line. If tissue looks thinner than expected, he uses a shallower transducer or leaves that zone out.
Recent filler or threads in a zone are planned around, not heated over. Suspected filler in the treatment plane is looked for with ultrasound before any heat is planned.
He does not plan Ultherapy or other HIFU for a lean face. If focused ultrasound is the wrong mechanism, he says so, and your written plan records why.
“Ultherapy can tighten tissue that has loosened. It cannot put back tissue that has gone, so a lean face is not a face I plan it for.”
A device is a tool
Ultherapy Prime is a device, and it does what it is built to do. What you notice depends on whether focused ultrasound suited your face, which layer was at fault and how the lines were planned. A review links satisfaction to patient selection and realistic expectations. [4] A face that is heavy with fat or settled filler, or one that has lost volume, asks a different question.
Dr Sin Yong performs Ultherapy himself, along with Time Freeze Laser LCLR® and the VF Lift, so he chooses by the face. See Time Freeze vs Ultherapy vs Thermage.
Ultherapy or HIFU: which fits which face?
Ultherapy is one type of HIFU, so this is a choice of platform and not a ranking. Prime shows the layers before each line, and Ultraformer MPT sets depth by cartridge. Dr Sin Yong performs both. The Ultherapy and HIFU comparison has the detail.
| What the examination finds | What may be considered | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Laxity where the depth is hard to judge, such as at the temple, or a face treated before | Ultherapy Prime | Seeing the layer helps before energy is given |
| Straightforward laxity along the jaw and neck | Either, often Ultraformer MPT | Depth can be judged from the anatomy and by touch |
| Lean or hollow face | Neither, usually the VF Lift | Heat in thin fat can show as hollowing |
| Full lower face, or heavy jowls with excess skin | Neither as the main step | It treats neither fat nor excess skin |
Ultherapy or Thermage?
| Ultherapy | Thermage FLX | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | Micro-focused ultrasound | Monopolar radiofrequency at 6.78 MHz |
| Where heat goes | Separate points, down to about 4.5 mm and the SMAS | Bulk heating of the deeper dermis under the tip |
| Imaging | Yes, before each line | No |
| Surface cooling | Not needed for the focused points | Cryogen spray |
| How it feels | Brief, deep heat, most noticeable over bone | Heat followed by a cooling burst |
| Tends to suit | Deeper laxity: early jowling, softening jawline, under the chin, neck, outer brow | Crepey, thinning skin and fine lines on the cheeks, and crepey eyelid skin |
| Cannot do | Add volume, remove fat or remove excess skin | Add volume, remove fat or remove excess skin |
| Lean or hollow face | Not used | Not the default, because heat in fat can hollow the face |
| Heavy jowls with loose skin | Referred for a surgical opinion | Referred for a surgical opinion |
| Side effects to expect | Tenderness on chewing or touch, mild swelling, small bruises | Redness that usually settles, and more swelling after eye treatment |
Who should wait or avoid it
Pregnancy or breastfeeding. Open wounds, active infection or inflamed acne in the area. Recent filler or threads in the zone.
A pacemaker or other implanted electronic device, metal implants near the field, or poor healing. A keloid tendency is assessed individually.
Very thin faces, hollow cheeks, or heaviness from fat rather than loose skin.
Significant skin excess or heavy jowls, to a plastic surgery specialist.
What Ultherapy cannot do
Hollows need a volume plan, such as dermal fillers, after assessment.
It is not a fat reduction treatment, and heat in fat is a risk here, not a goal.
Only surgery removes skin. Where excess skin is the main problem, a plastic surgery opinion is the honest advice.
It does not change the surface of the skin. Surface concerns need a different treatment.
It is a non-surgical treatment with limits, and no number of years can be promised.
Is it worth getting Ultherapy?
It can be worth considering when laxity is the main change and your face has kept its volume. That depends on the cause, so Dr Sin Yong answers it in person.
You have mild to moderate laxity at the brow, jaw, under the chin or neck, and accept gradual change with no set duration.
Your concern is hollowing, fat or skin that hangs in folds, you hope for what a facelift gives, or your face is lean.
Heat and a deep ache during treatment, days of tenderness, and less common risks such as nerve irritation, a surface burn and fat loss.
A 2023 systematic review noted that positive results declined as laxity and body mass index rose. [2] A rater-blinded study of 35 people measured brow height after one focused ultrasound treatment. At 90 days, raters judged 86% to have a clinically significant lift, with a mean change of 1.7 mm. [8] Results vary.
Does Ultherapy hurt, and what happens at the visit?
What happens in the days and months after Ultherapy?
Recovery is usually short, but any response is slow, and timings differ between people. Report anything worsening, such as marked or one-sided swelling, increasing pain or a new hollow. See focused ultrasound aftercare.
| Stage | What is usual | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Same day | Redness and slight swelling, usually fading within hours | Gentle cleanser, plain moisturiser, sunscreen |
| First week | Tenderness on chewing or touch, small bruises, raised lines along the rows | No saunas, hot yoga or heat-based facials for a few days |
| Up to a few weeks | Tenderness easing, occasionally lasting two to three weeks. Numb or tingling patches fading | Retinoids and acids can restart once redness has settled |
| Months after | Skin looks ordinary while collagen remodels. Results vary | Daily sun protection, and the review visit |
What are the side effects of Ultherapy?
Redness, tenderness, mild swelling, occasional numbness or tingling, and small bruises.
Temporary nerve irritation can involve the marginal mandibular or temporal branches. Surface burns are rare.
Fat atrophy, which reads as hollowing. This is why lean faces are excluded and why depth is matched to the tissue on screen.
A ridge that does not flatten, a white line, a blister or crust, new weakness of a facial muscle, or numbness that is not improving.
Which signs after Ultherapy are urgent?
Some signs should not wait for a reply from the clinic.
Change in vision or eye pain after filler or near the eye: call 995.
Trouble breathing or swallowing, or swelling of the tongue or throat: call 995.
Fever, spreading redness, pus, or a red hot lump: a doctor the same day, or A&E if none can see you.
A 2023 letter described acute angle-closure glaucoma and cataract in one woman after microfocused ultrasound to the face and eye area. She also had carboxytherapy to the eyelids, no device was named and one case gives no rate. [9] Here, lines stop at the bony rim of the eye socket.
Is Ultherapy suitable for Asian skin?
It can be, and skin colour is rarely what decides it, because the energy converges below the surface and does not target pigment. Facial fat, bone structure and skin thickness usually matter more. The surface risk remains. If energy lands too shallow or contact is lost, a burn can occur, and in Asian skin such a mark is more likely to darken for a time, which is post-inflammatory darkening.
How long does Ultherapy last, and how is a repeat decided?
No number of years can be promised. Ultherapy relies on collagen remodelling in your own tissue, and that tissue goes on ageing. Any change depends on your age, skin quality, degree of laxity, weight and sun exposure. Results vary.
A repeat is not booked ahead. Dr Sin Yong judges the response at review, and sometimes nothing more is needed. Any later treatment starts from a fresh examination, with no set interval. See how focused ultrasound sessions are decided.
How much does Ultherapy cost in Singapore?
No fee is published here. Your quote is written after assessment, and it depends on four things: the zones treated, what the examination finds, whether Ultherapy is used alone or combined with another treatment such as radiofrequency or a thread lift, and how the plan is staged, including review. The fee follows the plan, and the plan follows the examination.