Cosmetic Surgery and Beauty Magazine #66

skin
Thermage is great
for people who
don’t have time, or
the inclination, for
multiple treatments
and visits
Where once your jawline was firm and defined, it may be now jowly and
heavy, your eyelids may have started to droop, and your stomach
mightn’t be as toned and tight as it used to be. While these are all signs
that the process of ageing is beginning to take hold, they do not necessarily call
for major surgical intervention. Thermage from iNova Aesthetics is a non-surgical
and effective way to treat these problem areas and return youthfulness to both
the face and body.
‘Thermage treatments are most commonly performed for firming the jawline,
smoothing skin around the eyes and treating loose or crepey skin at the front
of the neck,’ explains Melbourne plastic surgeon Dr Chris Moss, co-founder of
Liberty Belle Skin Centre. ‘Thermage can also treat poor skin tone in many other
areas, including the stomach after pregnancy and loose skin on the arms or legs.’
The different Thermage handpieces can be used to address areas that are
traditionally very difficult to treat – for example, rejuvenating the eyelids without
surgery, or reducing the appearance of cellulite.
‘By far the most popular area to treat is the face,’ explains Danielle Ellett, a
dermal clinician at the Melbourne Institute of Plastic Surgery. ‘Eyelids can be
targeted for reduction of laxity and increased eyelid show. As well, skin tightening
can be achieved on the legs, buttocks, arms and abdomen, with some degree
of improvement with cellulite.’
The Thermage system uses radiofrequency (RF) energy to stimulate the
production of new connective tissue in the dermis. This helps reduce the
appearance of wrinkles, smooth the skin’s surface and – quite literally – rebuild
the skin from within.
‘One advantage of using RF to reduce wrinkles and tighten skin is that it is
non-invasive, so doesn’t require needles like those used in injectable treatments;
there isn’t the downtime that can occur with laser resurfacing; and it is great for
people who don’t have time, or the inclination, for multiple treatments and visits,’
explains Perth plastic surgeon Dr Anh Nguyen. ‘There are minimal risks, and the
results are gradual, natural-looking and subtle so others cannot pinpoint that
treatment has been performed – a factor important to many patients.’
The system works by delivering RF energy to the skin’s deeper layers. This
causes a thermal effect and triggers the process of coagulation – or tissue
tightening – in the dermis.
The heat also kick-starts the body’s natural healing processes, increasing
blood flow and collagenases (the production of new collagen) at the site.
Importantly, the heat energy is focused at a precise depth within the skin and
cooling technology is used to protect the upper epidermal layers.
‘Thermage skin firming treatment is scientifically proven to work by heating
the deeper layers of the skin to tighten and stimulate collagen,’ says Dr Moss.
‘Thermage effectively stimulates collagen and elastin levels in the skin to improve
skin tone and elasticity without surgery, needles or downtime. It can deliver highly
pleasing and lasting results.’
A key benefit of RF energy is that it can be used on all skin types without the
risk of post-inflammatory pigmentation, which sometimes occurs in darker skin
types following collagen-inducing treatments.
‘All skin colours can be treated with RF as Thermage is essentially
“colourblind”,’ explains Ellett. ‘Because RF follows the path of least resistance,
which is collagen and collagen-based structures, the whole dermis is heated.
This triggers an inward pull to reduce areas of bulk, such as the jowl area. The
only patients that cannot receive Thermage treatment are those with internal
cardiac devices (ICDs) and we don’t treat pregnant patients.’
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