If your contour is dropping and the jowls are sagging, look at Ultherapy first. If the skin itself is loose, fine lines are obvious and elasticity has dropped but your contour is still in place, look at Thermage first. The two have different emphases. Ultherapy focuses more on sagging tissue beneath the skin, and Thermage focuses more on tightening the dermis, but it is not that one handles only one layer and the other can’t reach it.
Many people ask whether doing both together doubles the effect. Usually it doesn’t. Which one to look at first depends on the thickness of the fat layer and the shape of the face.
If you need both, can they be done on the same day?
Yes. If you have both problems and really do need both treatments, they can usually be done together on the same day, with no need to split them into two trips just to set an order. For how a same-day session is arranged and what to confirm first, see getting Ultherapy and Thermage together.
If you’re still not sure which type you are, feel your face first. If the skin feels loose when you pinch it and is sagging downward, it’s a contour problem. If fine lines are obvious when your face is at rest but the skin still feels elastic when pinched, it’s a surface problem. If you have both, the in-person consultation decides which one is the main problem and whether you need both. For the fuller way to decide, see Ultherapy or Thermage.
