“I have been working with radiofrequency for 15+ years now and I have to say that with proper, stimulative radiofrequency there is no or minimal pain during treatment, and quite often treatment is comfortable or even relaxing. With other types of RF though, such as RF microneedling, this is not the case and this is the reason that we don’t offer such treatments at the clinic. Read more below.”
Radiofrequency treatment safety, results and client comfort
What should I expect during radiofrequency treatment?
Proper radiofrequency treatment should never feel burning or painful
The pain threshold is also a very accurate safety and effectiveness threshold
There are two types of radiofrequency: the good one and the ugly one
LipoTherapeia® Plus: Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment with London’s cellulite experts
The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening
What should I expect during radiofrequency treatment?
What you will feel when you have proper (i.e. high-power, deep-acting) radiofrequency treatment, provided by a well-trained therapist, is mainly deep heat.
If RF is properly applied, i.e. with the correct protocol, the right treatment medium and proper equipment, the surface of your skin (epidermis) will feel warm/a little hot, while deep skin layers (hypodermis and dermis) will feel much hotter.
This will be experienced as deep heat but it should not be burning or painful for more than a split of a second, very occasionally, in which case your therapist should slightly lower the intensity or move to another segment of the same area. This would ensure you receive maximum benefit with minimum discomfort and maximum safety.
This deep heat action of radiofrequency is the opposite of external heat being applied on the skin (e.g. a hot pack or hot water), where the epidermis feels very hot and the dermis and hypodermis feel just warm.
Proper radiofrequency treatment should never feel burning or painful
You should NEVER feel burning or pain during a radiofrequency treatment.
If you feel burning or pain for more than a split of a second, i.e. if you feel pain/burning continuously for 20, 30, 40, 60 minutes of treatment, that means that the treatment is not provided properly and your therapist is taking chances with your skin safety.
Within a few minutes of the first treatment of properly applied deep tissue radiofrequency, most people get used to the feeling of deep skin heat and usually relax, finding the treatment comfortable or even soothing. By the second session some clients can even doze off during treatment, if they are tired.
A small minority of clients (5%) find the treatment uncomfortable but still acceptable.
And this is how properly applied RF treatment should feel: comfortable, sometimes uncomfortable but not painful or a struggle to cope for 20-120 minutes.
A very small minority (~1%) find RF treatment painful at therapeutic temperatures. This is because pain thresholds and body tissue structures are different from person to person.
The pain threshold is also a very accurate safety and effectiveness threshold
In general, the pain threshold largely coincides with both the effectiveness and safety threshold for radiofrequency treatment: going above the threshold improves effectiveness only a little bit while it disproportionately increases the risk of adverse reactions, so it’s not worth it.
So if treatment is painful even at low temperatures (<38ºC on the surface of the skin) there is no point continuing. In that case treatment has to be stopped and the client should be encouraged to perhaps have one of the following:
Deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation treatment which is as effective or more than RF for cellulite reduction
Or, unfortunately, a less efficient treatment for skin tightening, such as LED red/infrared treatment, or deep, strong cellulite massage for cellulite reduction
However, as mentioned above, the vast majority of people find deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency comfortable and benefit from the treatment.
There are two types of radiofrequency: the good one and the ugly one
Destructive radiofrequency, aims to literally burn the skin inside and literally produce scar tissue in order to hopefully harden the skin and reduce cellulite this way. A good example of destructive radiofrequency is RF microneedling, which is both barbaric and not that effective either.
We believe that this type of RF is inherently risky and not very effective either. Therefore on this website we don’t care to provide information or details about this type of RF.
Stimulative radiofrequency, that aims to stimulate collagen production and fat release with deep, strong heat - but never excessive heat that would lead to burning.
This type of (high-power, deep-acting) RF is safe and effective for both cellulite removal and skin tightening, if provided with good equipment and a well-trained, experienced and knowledgable therapist.
So this, and all our other articles about RF and ultrasound are for proper, i.e. high-power, deep-acting, SAFE radiofrequency.
LipoTherapeia® Plus: Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment with London’s cellulite experts
At LipoTherapeia we have specialised 100% in skin tightening and cellulite reduction for more than two decades and 20,000+ sessions.
This is all we study and practise every day and have researched and tried hands-on all the important skin tightening equipment and their manufacturers.
As strong, deep acting radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the technologies of choice for skin tightening and cellulite reduction, we have invested in the best RF/ultrasound technologies in the world.
(Of course, we keep looking for new technologies every day and if/when a better technology materialises we will be the first to provide it. However, we will never follow the latest ineffective gimmick, just because it’s good marketing to offer the latest hyped up - yet ineffective and/or unsafe treatment.)
Furthermore, over the last two decades we have developed advanced RF and cavitation treatment protocols in order to make the most of our technologies, for maximum results, naturally and safely.
And for even better, faster results, we now combine our RF/ultrasound treatments with high-power red/infrared light LED treatment.
Our radiofrequency/ultrasound/LED treatments are comfortable, pain-free, downtime-free, injection-free, 99.5%+ safe and always non-invasive.
(No unsafe and ineffective RF microneedling or HIFU and no safe but ineffective acoustic wave therapy, superficial RF (bipolar/tripolar/multipolar etc), low power RF/cavitation, electrical muscle stimulation, lymphatic massage, cupping, dry brushing and no ridiculous bum bum creams.)
Our focus is on honest, realistic, science-based treatment, combined with caring, professional service, with a smile.
We will be pleased to see you, assess your cellulite, skin laxity or fibrosis, listen to your story, discuss your case and offer you the best possible treatment.
Check prices and book an expert cellulite / skin tightening treatment at our London clinic.
Look Inside Your Skin™ with a Cellulite Ultrasonography™ scan, exclusive to LipoTherapeia in London, and assess your cellulite, skin laxity, post-liposuction fibrosis and more
We are proud to be the first and only cellulite clinic in the world to offer Cellulite Ultrasonography™ to our clients, for accurate assessment, better treatment and enhanced results. Since 2022 we have assessed and provided valuable insights to hundreds of clients to better understand their specific case, see how their skin looks from inside and make informed decisions.
You can now book your Cellulite Ultrasonography™ session and assess your:
Cellulite
Skin laxity
Lipedema
Subcutaneous fat levels
You can also assess the presence and severity of fibrosis and adhesions after:
Liposuction in all its forms, including vaser, smart lipo, bodytite, abdominoplasty/tummy tuck, thigh lift, arm lift, lipedema surgery etc
Cellulite surgery, such as cellulaze, cellutite, cellfina, subcision etc
Face-lift surgery
Non-surgical procedures, such as RF microneedling, extreme intensity HIFU, extreme intensity RF, extreme intensity ultrasound etc
Everything will be shown and explained to you clearly and you can see and understand how the different structures inside your skin affect your appearance.
If there is scar tissue / fibrosis, those will be clearly seen and you can differentiate between fibrosis, water retention or unremoved fat after all types of cosmetic surgery or harsh non-surgical procedures such as RF microneedling, extreme intensity HIFU etc.
(DISCLAIMER: Please note that this service is for your informational purposes only and does not constitute medical diagnosis or advice.)
The 45’ appointment includes full assessment and consultation and optional treatment plan for cellulite reduction and/or skin tightening.
If you do wish to have treatment with us, the ultrasound scan, assessment and consultation will be used to optimise your course of treatments and maximise your results.
The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening
Why train with The Cellulite School™?
We all know that training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening is as basic as it gets. It is typically a 4-6 hour training, involving only basic instruction from the manufacturer on how operators can use the machine; lots of myths, erroneous information and misconceptions; and some basic health and safety on how to use the machine.
There is no proper, real training in the science or cellulite, skin tightening, radiofrequency, ultrasound and all related technologies is non-existent - worldwide.
Do you want to deeply understand radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, LED phototherapy, cellulite and skin tightening?
Get proper training based on 24-year theory and practical application of cellulite reduction and valuable insights from 23,000+ sessions and 4,100+ clients.
Now you can get instant access to our expertise and save yourself literally thousands of pounds, dollars or euros of expensive mistakes and thousands of hours of study, research and practical application by attending one of our half-day, 1-day, 2-day or 3-day professional consultancy / training courses.
Understand deeply - and get properly trained in - the science of radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, LED phototherapy, cellulite and skin tightening and confidently offer your clients the safest, strongest and most effective treatment possible.
Service available via Zoom or at our central London practice.
Learn more or check prices and book training at our London clinic or via Zoom.