Blog
What is Thermage?
July 06, 2010
Everyone wants to shrink skin without an operation with its attendant risks and downtime. Thermage is a system using radiowaves which are powerful stimulators of new collagen formation when they are applied directly to the skin through a chilled tip so the surface of the skin is not affected.
In terms of the electromagnetic spectrum radiowaves are to the right of infrared (heat) and visible light. Because the wavelength is so far away from the wavelengths that affect melanin (515-590nm) it can safely be used for individuals who have more tone in their skin.
Each treatment takes 4-6 months to provide the final result as it takes that long for all the new collagen to form. The skin becomes more smooth and tighter but not everyone is suitable as a candidate for Thermage. In our expertise, individuals who have fine dry skin do better than subjects who have thicker, oily skin. In addition, subjects who have 10-15 treatment passes over the entire area do better than those with only 3-4 passes.
To make the treatment more comfortable we provide the subject with some oral painkiller. We usually use Dilaudid, which is a short-acting relative of morphine which we find does not usually give any secondary feelings other than euphoria, and lasts 3-4 hours.
