Thermage:
what the term means

Where Thermage matters on this site

Thermage is radiofrequency, not light, so it has no wavelength and no chromophore: 6.78 MHz current heats the dermis and subcutaneous septae by resistance across a field, with the surface cooled by cryogen. It is the reference device for monopolar RF, and this site uses it mainly as the comparison point for the protocol Dr Sin Yong runs on the same class of platform.

Thermage heats a field and ultrasound heats a point; I decide which the face needs before I decide which machine.— Dr Sin Yong

• Thermage FLX: the treatment page, covering what the FLX generation does and where it stops.
• Thermage vs Volnewmer: the head-to-head between cryogen cooling and continuous water cooling at the same frequency.
• VF Lift – Vertical Facelift: Dr Sin Yong's monopolar RF protocol on Volnewmer, along vertical vectors.
• Thermage for the eyes: the eyelid application, one of the few places monopolar RF is used over thin skin.
• Thermage vs HIFU vs Volnewmer: the three lifting energies compared by what they heat.

For the bigger question of radiofrequency against focused ultrasound, the Ultherapy vs Thermage page sets the two mechanisms side by side.

Not to be confused with

Thermage is one brand of one class of device, and most of the confusion comes from treating it as a synonym for tightening.

• Ultherapy and HIFU. Focused ultrasound, which heats points at set depths down to the SMAS. Thermage heats a field in the dermis and does not place focal heat in the SMAS.
• Volnewmer. Same class and frequency, cooled with water rather than cryogen; the platform of the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift. A lookalike device, not a lookalike result.
• RF microneedling. Radiofrequency delivered through needles, usually bipolar, into the dermis at chosen depths. Different delivery, different indication.
• Bipolar RF and "lifting facials". Shallow surface RF between two electrodes on a handpiece, with none of the depth of a monopolar return-pad system.
• Sofwave and Emface. Other energy platforms marketed for lifting; see Sofwave vs HIFU vs monopolar RF and Emface vs VF Lift.

The term monopolar radiofrequency, and why the return pad matters, is defined under monopolar radiofrequency.

What decides whether Thermage matters for you

Monopolar RF suits a specific picture: laxity in the dermis and septae without a volume problem or heavy skin excess. These are the questions that settle it.

• Where is the laxity? Dermal and subcutaneous looseness answers to field heating; a lax SMAS along the jawline is a focused-ultrasound question.
• Is there unwanted volume? Radiofrequency does not reduce a fat pad. Where descent comes with fullness, Dr Sin Yong weighs the Time Freeze Laser LCLR® instead or alongside.
• Is there volume loss? Tightening a deflated face can make it look more hollow, so fat and filler are mapped with ultrasound first.
• Skin excess. Heavy, redundant skin is not retracted by any energy device, and that is said plainly at consultation.
• Pain and cooling. Cryogen and water cooling feel different; the Thermage side effects page covers what is expected and what is not.

VF Lift – Vertical Facelift is Dr Sin Yong's protocol on this class of device; whether the picture suits it is decided in person.