Thermage in Singapore how Thermage FLX works, what drives the price, and how it compares

How it works

How Thermage tightens skin

Thermage uses monopolar radiofrequency (RF). An alternating current at 6.78 MHz passes from the treatment tip into the skin and returns through a pad placed elsewhere on the body. The tissue's natural resistance turns the current into heat across a broad volume of the dermis and the fibrous strands beneath it, while cryogen cooling protects the surface. Each pulse is delivered by pressing, or stamping, the tip onto a grid marked on the skin, in one or more passes.

Heated collagen contracts on the day; a wound-healing response then lays down new collagen over the following months. In an early multicentre study of the original device, the authors described an early tightening effect followed by further tightening over a time course consistent with that healing response.

That broad, even heating is the main difference from focused ultrasound such as HIFU or Ultherapy, which places heat in small points at set depths down to the SMAS. RF is usually described as tightening the skin itself, and focused ultrasound as lifting the support layer beneath.

Thermage FLX

Thermage FLX: what changed, and the tips

Monopolar RF was first cleared in the US for wrinkles around the eyes in 2002 and for the full face in 2004. Thermage FLX, cleared in 2017, is the current generation. Its regulatory summary describes the same 6.78 MHz frequency as the earlier CPT system, a disposable tip, monitoring of skin contact, and RF tuning to deliver energy across a range of skin impedances. The handpiece also vibrates, and the maker describes integrated cooling and vibration to help comfort.

The tip decides the area and much of the cost. The maker lists four tips. The 3.0 cm² face tip can stand in for the 4.0 cm² tip but may need more pulses, and the face tips are not used over the eye, where the eye tip is used with eye shields.

Price

Thermage Singapore price: what drives the cost

Thermage prices are set by each provider, and we do not quote other clinics' prices or market ranges. The total is easier to judge once you know what is in it.

Ask to see a new, sealed tip and its pulse count, and compare plans for the same device. For reference within our network: VF Lift is priced at consultation; SKINTIGHT, a different, non-medical microplasma treatment at SkinRev Lab, is S$588 per zone per session, before GST; and SKINLIFT® is S$888 for the face and S$488 for the double chin per session, before GST.

• The tip: each treatment uses a new disposable tip, and Solta reports more than five million tips used worldwide. Tips come in versions with different pulse counts, and larger tips or more pulses cost more.
• Pulses per area: the face, eyes and body need different numbers of pulses; ask how many are planned for each area, and on which tip.
• Areas: each area adds pulses, and treating the eyes or a body area as well as the face needs a second tip.
• Who performs it: a doctor's assessment and time are part of the price.
• Comfort and follow-up: whether numbing cream and a review visit are included.
• Terms: whether the price is per session, includes GST and is tied to a package.

The session

What a Thermage session is like

Most treatments take 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the area. A return pad is placed on the body, a grid is marked on the skin and a coupling fluid is applied. Each pulse is felt as a short burst of deep heat followed by cooling. The maker lists mild to moderate pain during treatment as common, and some clinics apply numbing cream first.

Technique has changed comfort a great deal. In a survey covering 5,700 facial treatments, 45% of patients found the original high-energy, single-pass method too painful, against 5% with lower energy, multiple passes and settings guided by the patient's own heat feedback. Tightening was seen at six months in 54% with the old method and 92% with the new one, though this was a survey of doctors rather than a controlled trial.

Speak up about heat during the session. Your feedback is part of how the energy is set, and too much heat in one spot raises the risk of a burn.

Results

When Thermage results show, and how long they last

Some firmness can appear on the day as collagen contracts, but the maker says measurable results appear gradually over two to six months after a single treatment. It describes results lasting one to two years, depending on skin condition and ageing, and presents Thermage as a yearly treatment.

The published evidence is shorter and more modest. In the multicentre study of 86 people treated once around the eyes, independent scoring of blinded photographs found at least a one-point improvement in wrinkles in 83% of treated areas at six months, and 62% of measured brows rose by at least 0.5 mm; yet the treating doctors noted improvement in only 29% of areas, and half the patients were satisfied. Most studies stop at six months, so durability beyond that rests largely on the maker's figures.

The face keeps ageing after any treatment. Judge your result with photographs at about three and six months, and decide on a repeat when the effect has softened rather than on a fixed date.

Who it suits

Who Thermage suits, and who should avoid it

Thermage tends to suit mild laxity with thin or crepey skin, fine lines and loss of firmness on the face, around the eyes or on the body. Its eye tip has a specific US indication for wrinkles on the upper and lower eyelids. It is less suited to heavy sagging with folds of skin, where a surgical opinion is more honest advice, or to a face whose main change is lost volume.

Because RF is not absorbed by skin pigment, skin colour is less of a barrier than with lasers, although any burn or inflammation can still darken Asian skin. A doctor's view of where the laxity sits, in the skin itself or in the support beneath, decides whether RF, focused ultrasound or a combination fits better.

• Not used with a cardiac pacemaker, cardioverter-defibrillator or any other electrical implant.
• Not studied over skin fillers, in pregnancy or breastfeeding, or in children; tell the doctor.
• Not studied in people with diabetes, autoimmune disease such as lupus, cold sores or epilepsy.
• Not studied over permanent make-up or tattoos, so mention eyebrow embroidery or eyeliner tattoo before any treatment near them.
• Heavy, folded skin or mainly lost volume: tightening alone will disappoint, and a doctor can explain the alternatives.

Risks

Thermage side effects and risks

The maker lists mild redness, usually gone within 24 hours, and swelling that usually settles within five days but sometimes lasts several weeks. Less often there can be burns, blistering, scabbing and possible scarring; surface irregularities lasting a month or more; numbness, tingling or temporary paralysis that may last several weeks; lumps or nodules, mostly in the neck, that usually settle in one to two weeks; and darkening of the skin that typically fades over several months.

How often these happen depends a great deal on technique. In the 86-person study of the original device, second-degree burns occurred in 21 of 5,858 RF applications (0.36%), and three patients had small scars at six months. In one clinic's review of 757 treatments in 290 patients, done with a small 1 cm² tip and overlapping pulses, burns occurred in 2.7% of sessions; persistent redness, fat atrophy, a burn at the return pad and nerve pain were also recorded, and the authors advised moderate energy without immediate overlapping.

RF is not absorbed by skin pigment the way laser light is, but any burn or inflammation can leave temporary darkening in Asian skin, so protect the area from the sun. Contact the clinic about blisters, crusts, a dent, or weakness or numbness that is not improving.

Compared

Thermage compared with VF Lift, HIFU and SKINLIFT®

Thermage FLX and VF Lift both use monopolar RF at 6.78 MHz, so the energy is similar; the differences are in how it is delivered and planned. Thermage stamps pulses onto a grid through a single-use tip with cryogen cooling, usually in one session. VF Lift, Dr Sin Yong's protocol on the Volnewmer, glides a water-cooled tip continuously along vertical lines planned against the way the face has dropped, adds Ultraformer MPT focused ultrasound where a deeper layer needs support, and is planned as a course.

To be fair to Thermage: it has a far longer research record, a single-session plan, an eye tip with a specific eyelid indication, and body tips. If your main concern is crepey eyelid skin or a body area, or you want one session from a widely studied device, Thermage at another provider may suit you better. VF Lift tends to suit established jowls and a blurred jawline where both the skin and the deeper support have loosened, and where you want a doctor to plan the direction of treatment. In a 3D scanning study of 30 Korean women given continuous 6.78 MHz Volnewmer RF, lifts of about 1.3 to 2.8 mm were measured across facial areas one month later; the study was small, short and had no control group.

In our network

Thermage and our network: where to go and what to ask

Neither SkinRev Lab nor IN Eternity Clinic lists Thermage among its treatments; if you want Thermage specifically, ask the clinic whether it is available, or choose another provider. If what you want is firmer skin and a tighter lower face, these are the options our site lists.

Wherever you go for Thermage, ask for a new sealed tip and its pulse count, the pulses planned for each area, who performs the treatment, and the total price including GST.

• VF Lift: Dr Sin Yong, SkinRev Lab's medical adviser, performs it himself at #B1-28 CityLink Mall, on the underground link between City Hall and Esplanade MRT; priced at consultation. WhatsApp +65 8266 9585.
• Svelte Touch: RF and ultrasound delivered together by Dr Sin Yong at IN Eternity Clinic, 9 Scotts Road, #12-01 Pacific Plaza, for early jowls and, on gentler settings, mildly heavy upper lids or puffy lower lids caused by lax skin; priced at consultation. WhatsApp +65 8815 3008.
• SKINTIGHT: non-medical microplasma on the Alma PrimeX at SkinRev Lab for crepey skin and texture, S$588 per zone per session, before GST. It is not monopolar RF.
• SKINLIFT®: non-medical ultrasound at SkinRev Lab for early jowls and the double chin, S$888 for the face and S$488 for the double chin per session, before GST.

Sources

References & sources

1. US Food and Drug Administration. 510(k) summary K170758: Thermage FLX System and accessories (Solta Medical). Cleared 22 September 2017.
2. Solta Medical. Thermage® FLX (US patient information website). Accessed October 2026.
3. Bausch Health. Solta Medical surpasses milestone of 5 million skin tightening treatments with Thermage® non-surgical system (news release with important safety information). 5 September 2025.
4. Fitzpatrick R, Geronemus R, Goldberg D, Kaminer M, Kilmer S, Ruiz-Esparza J. Multicenter study of noninvasive radiofrequency for periorbital tissue tightening. Lasers Surg Med. 2003;33(4):232-242.
5. Dover JS, Zelickson B; 14-Physician Multispecialty Consensus Panel. Results of a survey of 5,700 patient monopolar radiofrequency facial skin tightening treatments: assessment of a low-energy multiple-pass technique leading to a clinical end point algorithm. Dermatol Surg. 2007;33(8):900-907.
6. de Felipe I, Del Cueto SR, Pérez E, Redondo P. Adverse reactions after nonablative radiofrequency: follow-up of 290 patients. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2007;6(3):163-166.
7. Kim J. Comparative three-dimensional analysis of facial lifting effects across five aesthetic units following continuous radiation 115-watt 6.78-MHz monopolar radiofrequency therapy. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2024;12(9):e6137.

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