Ultherapy Skin Tightening Buzz: Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Aniston Get Treatment That’s Full Of Controversy

The term “Ultherapy” gets 22,000 searches per month, according to Google. Ultherapy represents a procedure where an ultrasound is used to lift and tighten saggy skin. Folks who don’t want to get more invasive treatments like Botox or facelifts via plastic surgery turn to Ultherapy in order to lift their skin. Ultherapy is not used on the butt, instead, treatments like Coolsculpting are used on the outer thighs in order to try and help lift the rear end area.

According to MSN, Kim Kardashian tried Ultherapy for face and neck lift on January 17.

Ultherapy is gaining more buzz, with celebrities like Jennifer Aniston admitting she likes Ultherapy, reports E! Online. The 45-year-old spoke of not being a big fan of Botox or bad plastic surgery that can kick some people in the rear end when it goes wrong. She prefers great sleep, lots of water, probiotics, and fish oil as her fountain-of-youth secrets, along with Ultherapy.

“I just take care of my skin, eat well, exercise. And I love lasers and [other noninvasive treatments like] Thermage [radio frequency] and Ultherapy [ultrasound]. I also like a good microcurrent facial.”

The Ultherapy treatment is sometimes combined with other treatments for a more complete look, reports ABC 7, based upon the results a particular patient seeks. For example, first, Sheena Kong, M.D. — a San Francisco specialist in cosmetics — uses Ultherapy as a skin tightening treatment, which combines the energy and heat of an ultrasound to tighten skin. There’s little recovery time for Ultherapy, which makes it attractive. However, Ultherapy doesn’t take care of any fat beneath the skin.

“What the Ultherapy wouldn’t be able to do is reduce fat. The inside-out neck lift could help with that. And then, with the collagen production [from Ultherapy], the skin would be tighter and gradually one would have a nice contour of the neck.”

Therefore, Ultherapy is often used to tighten skin while fat is removed with a heated laser beneath the chin, also helping to promote the growth of collagen. Merely getting Ultherapy doesn’t require much downtime, although it can take some time to see the final results. Sorting through all the ads of places promoting Ultherapy in the more than 7,000 posts tagged Ultherapy on Instagram turns up real people who’ve undergone Ultherapy.

Before and after photos of Ultherapy from real people who’ve undergone the procedure prove that it can have positive effects, and experts say it’s good to see such photos in the 60 days or more after the Ultherapy treatment has been completed. That’s because any swelling or bruising will have likely subsided, and the collagen production should start showing tighter skin. The collagen that’s stimulated by Ultherapy and elastin growth that happens in the 60 or 90 days or more after the Ultherapy treatment should result in firmer skin.

Although the Food and Drug Administration has only approved Ultherapy as the only non-invasive treatment to lift skin underneath the chin, over the eyebrows, on the neck and décolletage, Ultherapy continues to gain buzz — but it’s not cheap.

As reported by the Washingtonian, Ultherapy can cost $1,200 or more.

“There’s no downtime, and treatment typically takes 30 to 90 minutes—just one session is needed for most patients. Those with too much excess skin might not be good candidates. Cost: $1,200 and up.”

Ultherapy is not without controversy. A look through the post on Real Self titled “Ultherapy ruined my face” reveals photos of a woman from Seal Beach, California, who reportedly paid $2,400 for Ultherapy but didn’t like the results. She wrote that at 41 years of age, she got greedy by wanting Ultherapy and says that it left her looking like a “boney caricature” of herself. In the six months after her Ultherapy treatment, she writes that she doesn’t recognize herself. Her review was posted on April 21 and has gathered 88 comments in that time.

“At 41 I got greedy and now I look like a boney caricature of myself. Lifted things but aged me and I don’t recognize my pretty face. Will things go back? I can’t take a decent pic. Spent life modeling etc please beware. Very depressed. Good clinic. Etc can anyone relate to this. Perhaps it melted fat? Did your look return?”

Not everyone is displeased with Ultherapy. On July 20, Dr. Jennifer Levine gave an Ultherapy demo during the Secrets And Wives “Pre-Finale Party With Ultherapy.”

[Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for EvolveMKD]