Volnewmer Singapore:
monopolar radiofrequency, explained

What does Volnewmer do to the skin?

Volnewmer delivers monopolar radiofrequency: an alternating electrical current at 6.78 MHz flows from a single treatment tip, through the tissue beneath it, to a return pad placed elsewhere on the body. Tissue resists the current, and resistance generates heat within the dermis and the fibrous septa that run down into the fat beneath it. Because the current must pass through the whole depth of tissue under the tip, the heat is produced as a volume rather than at a point, and the entire treatment zone warms together. Water cooling runs continuously across the skin surface so the epidermis stays protected while the layer beneath is heated. It is the platform on which the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift is built.

Heated collagen fibres contract, and fibroblasts then respond by laying down new collagen, which is the remodelling monopolar radiofrequency relies on. The glossary entry on monopolar radiofrequency explains the circuit and the terms; the point for a patient is that this is bulk conditioning of the dermal envelope, not a lift of a deeper structural layer.

How does Volnewmer differ from Thermage?

Volnewmer and Thermage FLX belong to the same family: both are monopolar radiofrequency at 6.78 MHz, both heat the dermis and septa volumetrically, both use a return pad, and both protect the surface with cooling. They differ in generation, in how the surface is cooled, with Volnewmer using continuous water cooling and Thermage FLX using bursts of cryogen before, during and after each pulse, and in how the energy is delivered and tuned across a zone. The Thermage page describes how that device is planned and who it suits.

The practical difference for a patient is less the badge than the protocol around it. On Volnewmer the treatment here is the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift: zones are heated along vertical vectors, with the energy in each calibrated toward one of three aims, Lift for laxity, Reduce for excess puffiness and Restore where the face is deflating, so that a slim face is not treated the way a fuller one is. The ultherapy, VF Lift and Time Freeze comparison explains why facial shape decides which energy helps and which can hollow.

“HIFU or radiofrequency is the wrong question. They do not do the same job.”

Dr Sin YongOn the commonest comparison request

How does Volnewmer differ from HIFU?

Volnewmer and HIFU use different energy placed in different ways. High-intensity focused ultrasound converges sound energy to small focal points at set depths, including the SMAS layer at around 4.5 mm that a surgical facelift tightens, and leaves the tissue between those points largely unheated. Monopolar radiofrequency heats the dermis and the fibrous septa broadly, as a volume, and does not place points at the SMAS. Dr Sin Yong uses the Ultraformer MPT for focused ultrasound, and the HIFU page sets out how cartridge depths are mapped to each zone.

They are not rivals for the same job, which is why the comparison of Thermage, HIFU and Volnewmer on this site names no winner. Laxity concentrated at the structural layer argues for focused ultrasound; dermal thinning, crepey or loosely draped skin argues for volumetric radiofrequency; many faces show both and are planned in stages. Where both appear in a plan they are separate treatments on separate days, and the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift itself never uses focused ultrasound or the Ultraformer.

Volnewmer by zone: mid-face, jawline, neck and body

Volnewmer in Singapore is planned zone by zone, because the same monopolar radiofrequency behaves differently over a thick cheek, a thin neck and a large area of abdominal skin. The manufacturer supplies four tips for that reason: a 0.25 cm² I tip for the eyes, nose and marionette lines, a 3.0 cm² F tip for the jawline and chin, a 4.0 cm² V tip for the face, and a 16.0 cm² S tip for the abdomen, arms and thighs. On Volnewmer the protocol here is the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift, with energy in each zone calibrated to one of three aims, Lift for laxity, Reduce for excess fullness and Restore where the face is deflating; on the body the same protocol is called the VF Lift – Vertical Figure Lift. Before any energy is planned, Dr Sin Yong palpates the thickness of skin and fat in each zone, and where earlier filler is suspected he maps it with ultrasound first.

Zone	Manufacturer tip for the zone	What is assessed	How it pairs with the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift	Page
Mid-face	V tip (4.0 cm²), with the I tip for the fine zones near the eye	Whether the cheek has descended, is puffy from fat or filler, or has hollowed; profile and animation, a pinch of the cheek, earlier photographs, ultrasound where filler is suspected	Set to Lift for descent, Reduce for puffiness or Restore for hollowing; hyaluronic acid filler causing puffiness is dissolved before any heat	VF Lift – Vertical Facelift: mid-face
Jawline and jowls	F tip (3.0 cm²) along the jaw edge and chin	Which layer leads: a pinchable jowl fat pad, loose skin at the jaw edge, or a heavy mobile jowl; the marginal mandibular nerve and thin skin over the mandible are kept in mind	Lift zones over the lower cheek and jaw edge along vertical vectors; Reduce over the jowl fat pad; heavy, mobile jowls are referred rather than heated harder	VF Lift – Vertical Facelift: jawline and jowls
Neck	V tip, with heating set lower than on the face	Whether the problem is skin laxity, localised submental fat, platysma bands or horizontal creases; only the first two are radiofrequency questions	Conservative Lift across the front and sides of the neck and Reduce under the jaw; the thyroid and midline are kept out of the field	VF Lift – Vertical Facelift: neck
Body: arms, abdomen, thighs, knees	S tip (16.0 cm²)	Whether lax skin still has reasonable recoil, how thick the dermis and fat are in each area, and whether skin hangs as a fold, which is referred	The VF Lift – Vertical Figure Lift: larger zones, vectors set to each limb, more conservative heating over thin or bony areas; not fat removal and not the 4K Body Lift	VF Lift – Vertical Figure Lift: body

The tip decides the footprint of each pulse; the assessment decides the energy. Monopolar radiofrequency at 6.78 MHz passes from the tip through the full depth of tissue to a return pad, so the whole zone under the tip warms as a volume while continuous water cooling protects the surface. That is why the neck, where the dermis is thinner than on the face, is heated more conservatively, and why a face in which heating carelessly would spend volume is set to Restore rather than treated like a fuller one. Where laxity sits at the structural SMAS layer rather than in the dermis, the plan moves to focused ultrasound on the HIFU programme, planned as a separate treatment on a separate day; Volnewmer and VF Lift – Vertical Facelift never use focused ultrasound.

Who suits Volnewmer, and who should not have it?

Volnewmer suits skin whose problem is distributed through the dermal layer: early to moderate laxity of the cheeks, jawline and neck, crepey or thinning skin, softening of the lower face where the deeper structures are not yet markedly descended, and faces in which heating tissue carelessly would spend volume that cannot be spared, since the Restore arm of the VF Lift is calibrated for exactly that case. Assessment palpates the thickness of skin and fat in each zone before any energy is planned.

It is not used in anyone with a cardiac pacemaker, implantable defibrillator or other implanted electronic device, because the current passes through the body to a return pad, and metal implants in or near the treatment field change the plan. It is postponed in pregnancy and over skin that is infected, broken or inflamed, including an active cold sore or an eczema flare. A face whose real problem is volume loss is not helped by heating it harder, and established descent with skin excess is a surgical problem referred to a plastic surgery specialist.

What are the risks, and what determines the fee?

The common effects are redness and warmth as the skin cools, and mild swelling or tenderness that settles. Less commonly, too much heat in one spot can cause a blister, a crust or a small burn, a patch of altered sensation, or a dent where fat beneath thin skin has been over-heated, and in darker skin any surface injury can be followed by temporary pigment change. Zone-by-zone mapping, surface cooling and energy calibrated to tissue thickness reduce these risks without removing them. Contact the clinic for a blister, increasing pain, or numbness or weakness in the face; the complication care page explains what to do.

Singapore's rules prevent clinics from advertising prices, so this page gives the factors. The fee depends on the area treated, such as full face, lower face or neck, on what the assessment finds the laxity and volume to be, on whether radiofrequency alone or a staged combination is indicated, and on the single-use components involved. A written quote is given after consultation, as the fee page explains.