“I specialise in cellulite reduction for more than 24 years and I try new technologies way before they make headlines in tabloids, glossy magazines, instagram and tiktok. So I tried hands on and assessed RF microneedling already in 2014 and found it lacking. Here I am presenting my rationale why the results of this technology are not worth all the pain, downtime and adverse reactions and why plain, no-needle, deep tissue radiofrequency does a much better job, much more safely and effectively.”
Tried RF microneedling for cellulite? Didn’t work? Perhaps you should try a safer, less hyped-up, more effective treatment.
RF microneedling for cellulite/skin tightening didn’t work? Got burned, literally?
RF microneedling: the juice is not worth the squeeze
RF microneedling vs deep, strong, responsibly applied radiofrequency - without any needles
Why puncture the skin to get to 3-8mm skin depth with RF microneedling, when…
Why burn the skin at 60-90ºC, when you can achieve better results and SAFELY?
Why take an hour to treat two A4-sized body areas when you can achieve betterresults in less time, at less cost and SAFELY?
Anything above 1% adverse reactions is too much
Continuous RF microneedling sessions are unsustainable
If you have found RF microneedling to be unsafe or ineffective…
What about plain microneedling - no RF? Does it work?
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
RF microneedling for cellulite / skin tightening didn’t work? Got burned, literally?
We specialise in cellulite for the last 24+ years and over the years we have seen a lot of gimmicky treatments come and go.
As with any other sector of beauty, in cellulite reduction and skin tightening there are fashions: treatments go in and out of fashion, not because the previous, tried and tested technology does not work anymore, but because equipment and cream manufacturers try to sell their latest gimmicks. It’s about “sales growth”.
Furthermore, the last few years there is the generalised perception by the public that if a procedure is very painful, very medicalised, very unsafe, very hyped up, very “instant”, very expensive or all the above, the rewards of taking the risk with such a procedure will be higher and cellulite or skin looseness will apparently disappear overnight with one session - and “forever”. However, as well all know - and all forget - there is no forever in this universe, let alone human biology.
RF microneedling fits all the above requirements and people flock to have it for both body and face. Hence all the horror stories in the media lately, including this RF microneedling disaster (as far as RF microneedling disasters go, this is a light one.)
I have tried hands-on and researched RF microneedling back in 2015, way before the hype broke in 2020s, and when almost no-one knew about it.
And I found that this procedure, that penetrates the skin with multiple needles and then deliberately burns it at 65-90º C, to be highly unsafe (too much pain, too much downtime, too many things can go wrong), and too ineffective too, especially for all the risks, the downtime and the suffering.
So I refused to adopt this technology. This is despite the fact that with RF microneedling clinics can charge 2x or 3x more for the same length of treatment time.
But money is not everything in life.
RF microneedling: the juice is not worth the squeeze
Click here to see what happens when you try to force change in 1-4 sessions with RF microneedling (~30% of the reviewers, i.e. one in three, suffer this fate). More examples here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.
Many of the examples here are for face, but RF microneedling works the same on face and body, with the only difference being that on the body you can hide the burns, bumps and scars more easily.
This is not how the body works, how beauty treatments should work and how medical treatments should work either, as in first, do no harm. Unfortunately, in aesthetic medicine this part of the Hippocratic Oath is all but forgotten.
Away from the virtual reality of marketing hype, the real reality is that even with the best possible technology in the world, cellulite reduction and skin tightening require an average of 6-12 deep-acting, strong (but never painful) treatments, for good, long-term results, produced naturally by STIMULATING the connective and adipose tissues, RATHER THAN BURNING THEM.
RF microneedling vs deep, strong, responsibly applied radiofrequency - without any needles
Why suffer the consequences of RF microneedling when you can have all the benefits - and more - without the needles and without burning your skin at 60-90ºC?
At our clinic we aim to offer maximum effectiveness and maximum safety, and that’s why we did not get swayed by the gimmick of RF microneedling. Instead we did our best to increase effectiveness and efficiency by investing in the best radiofrequency and ultrasound equipment in the world and by incessantly researching and improving our treatment protocols. And the results speak for themselves.
Why puncture the skin to get to 3-8mm skin depth with a medieval torture technology…
…with all the bleeding, injury and adverse reactions RF microneedling entails, in order to treat cellulite (which is indeed located at such skin depths)?
At the clinic we daily do exactly the same, safely and more effectively, with proper high tech (deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation) and smart treatment protocols. In fact, we can now focus our technique to go to depths of 2-20mm with accuracy and 99.9% safety.
Why burn the skin with hot needles? No reason.
Why burn the skin at 60-90ºC…
…and taking enormous risks with burns, inflammation, deep fibrosis, scarring and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, for results (that don’t usually materialise, anyway) in 1-4 very expensive, very painful sessions and SEVERE, LONG-LASTING, adverse reactions with RF microneedling and high-power HIFU* in 35% and 38% of the cases, respectively?
(* Low-power HIFU, as practised at salons up and down the country is usually safe but achieves very little.)
At the clinic we offer better results, every single day, in 6-12 super-safe, comfortable sessions and with less than 0.1% risk of irritation, always mild and temporary.
Why LITERALLY BURN the inside of your skin with HOT NEEDLES or hot concentrated ultrasound? No rational reason.
Why take an hour to treat two A4-sized body areas with RF microneedling or high-power HIFU…
… (i.e. treat 1/6 of your thighs and buttocks) and thereby pay 6x more to treat the whole thighs and buttocks?
At the clinic we daily treat the ENTIRE thighs and buttocks at almost the same time (60 minutes) with strong, deep tissue radiofrequency and ultrasound - much more effectively and way more SAFELY.
Why burn the skin with hot needles or concentrated hot ultrasound? No rational reason.
Anything above 1% adverse reactions is too much
I do not say here that RF microneedling never works or that it always causes skin damage. I say that the juice is not worth the squeeze, i.e. that the risks, the pain, the downtime and the high cost far outweigh the rewards.
And I don’t believe in any treatment that can cause more than 1% adverse reactions, especially severe adverse reactions. Levels of 10% or 20% reactions, even mild, are a total no-no for us.
And severe reactions, even at 1%, are unthinkable for us. This is because nobody wants to belong to that 1% that costs them thousands of pounds and years of visiting consultants and professors in Harley Street to repair.
That’s also why we do not do cryolipolysis, with its 1:1,800 risk of disfigurement (check the Linda Evangelista’s experience and other reactions). You do not want to be one of those 1:1,800 cases.
Continuous RF microneedling (or HIFU) sessions are unsustainable
There are four more problems with RF microneedling and HIFU:
You cannot realistically get rid of cellulite or skin looseness with 1-4 sessions, RF microneedling or not. It ain’t gonna happen, no matter what they tell you at the clinic.
There is no permanent cure for cellulite or skin laxity
The more you do an unsafe procedure, the more your luck runs out
The more you puncture your skin, to “rejuvenate it”, the closer you move to long-term skin sensitivity
These four things combined mean that to effectively reduce cellulite and tighten skin you will need 6-12 sessions the first time and top-ups in the months / years later for maintenance.
However, the more RF microneedling sessions you have, the more you increase your chances of adverse reactions and/or long-term sensitivity. In simple terms, by repeating an inherently unsafe treatment, either for the main course of treatments or for the maintenance sessions you luck will eventually run out. Simple.
Compare that to responsibly applied RF or ultrasound, where you can have as many sessions as you want for years with zero adverse reactions, if applied skilfully and responsibly.
At the clinic we have clients who have had monthly maintenance treatments for 7-8 years, with zero reactions, ever.
If you have found RF microneedling to be unsafe or ineffective…
…find 3-4 good clinics in our area, do your due diligence, talk to them, even have one treatment with some of them to assess if they are customer-focused (i.e. not just money focused) and to see if they know what they are talking about. And then have a safe and effective RF/cavitation treatment with the best clinic.
If you have scarring, fibrosis or other similar adverse reaction after RF microneedling you will have to wait for 8 weeks after your last RF microneedling session before you have any other treatment, except massage.
If you still have inflammation after 8 weeks you will need to wait until all inflammation is eliminated.
What about plain microneedling - no RF? Does it work?
Nope. Plain microneedling is done at a more superficial level, usually UP TO 2mm, while cellulite starts FROM 2mm and can go on up to 30mm depth. No microneedling - RF not not - reaches that deep.
Also, microneedling is very “bloody” from 2.5mm onwards and at that level it causes more of its usual adverse reactions, i.e. post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation etc.
Deeper microneedling treatment will also risk the creation of fibrosis, which is also one of the problems of RF microneedling.
So you get all those issues without even making any significant impact on hypodermal adipose tissue, i.e. the most important aspect of cellulite.
Microneedling can be great for more superficial work on the epidermis and the dermis but not suitable for the hypodermis, where cellulite is found.
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.