Thermage 600 shots cost Korea: what moves the figure, whether 600 is enough, and which risks matter

Thermage 600 shots cost Korea: what changes the figure

Thermage 600 shots cost Korea: will 600 shots actually cover the parts of your face that bother you, or will the figure climb once you're sitting in the treatment chair?

The figure for a 600-shot session moves with three things: which Thermage protocol you choose, whether 600 shots covers your treatment area, and whether VAT is in the number you're comparing. The choice between 600 and 900 shots is made at consultation, from the area to be treated.

Hello, I'm Dr. Won Woo Choi, Chief Director at WELLS Clinic and a board-certified dermatologist who trained at Seoul National University Hospital. We've been one clinic, in Apgujeong, Seoul, since 2008.

Three facts bear directly on a Thermage quote here. A dermatologist does both your consultation and your treatment, and we use only genuine Thermage FLX tips: if a tip is ever found not to be genuine, WELLS compensates ten times over. You stay awake with Air NOX rather than sleep sedation.

If you'd like to know whether 600 shots fits your face before you plan anything else, send a front photo and both side views in daylight, without makeup, on WhatsApp, and mark the one area that bothers you most.

Two people can both ask for 600 shots and leave with different figures, because the shot count is only one line of the plan. The protocol, the areas and the tax finish the number.

The listed prices for both shot counts are on our page about Thermage cost in Seoul, with the listed prices and what's included. That page can't tell you which line applies to your face. Your photos are what start that part.

Thermage 600 shots cost Korea, in one line: the shot count is the starting point, and the protocol, the areas and VAT complete the figure.

Deposit and payment method are settled after the consultation, so put that question in the same WhatsApp message as your photos. Ask what the figure would be for your face with VAT included, and how deposit and payment work once you've been seen.

Is 600 shots enough for your face?

That's set by surface area. Each shot is one pulse of the FLX tip on one patch of skin, so the same number of shots spread over a bigger area means fewer passes on each part of it.

Adding the neck or the skin under the chin is the usual reason to look at 900. The total matters less than how the shots are planned for each area, and that's the question to ask any clinic. Because you're awake, you can also watch the counter on the device as the treatment goes.

Say you're 44, living in Singapore, with five days in Seoul. The lower cheeks have started to soften toward the jawline, there are fine crepey lines across the cheeks, and the skin under your chin looks looser in photos than it used to. If the chin and neck matter to you as much as the cheeks, I'd rather plan 900 than stretch 600 thinly across all of it. If the jawline is what you notice every morning and the neck is a minor point, 600 concentrated on the lower face and cheeks makes more sense, and the neck can wait for another trip.

Why we offer two Thermage protocols

Thermage FLX uses monopolar radiofrequency to heat the dermis, the layer where collagen sits. The heat tightens existing collagen fibers and prompts new collagen to form over the following months, a mechanism set out in a review in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.

In 2023, six WELLS dermatologists spent six months testing variations and agreed on one protocol, which became Thermage MAX. It runs on the same fourth-generation Thermage FLX machine, with three added steps.

Before treatment, a skin microbiome test measures oil and moisture levels, microbial diversity, barrier health and inflammation tendency; repeating it a year later shows how your skin is changing. You then receive the AQ MAX infusion, an amino acid called alanyl-glutamine. In WELLS cell-culture tests it helped heated skin cells survive and reduced the heat-related drop in collagen; these are laboratory results, not results in people. During treatment, a collagen booster serum is applied, which also eases the sting.

That's why the protocol line moves your figure more than people expect. Collagen Booster Thermage FLX is the FLX treatment with the booster serum applied during treatment. If you're still deciding whether Thermage is the right device at all, our overview of what Thermage FLX does and who it suits is a good place to start.

Thermage or Ultherapy: which one should your figure be for?

Thermage heats broadly through the dermis, so it suits firmness, texture and fine crepey lines across a surface. Ultherapy places small points of heat deeper, down to the layer surgeons lift, so it's aimed more at sagging along the jowls and brow. Every Ultherapy session at WELLS runs on the Ultherapy Prime system.

A systematic review and meta-analysis in Aesthetic Surgery Journal looked at the effectiveness and safety of microfocused ultrasound with visualization, the technology behind Ultherapy. If your photos show mainly heavy jowls, the figure you need may not be a Thermage figure at all. Some people do both on one trip, so ask about each one, and the combination, in the same message.

If what bothers you is fullness under the jaw rather than loose skin, that's a different device with different cost factors, covered in InMode cost in Korea and what sets it.

Burns, dents and ruined-face stories: what's true

Blisters or small burns are less common and are tied to energy and tip contact. Rarest of all is a small dent or contour change from shifts in the fat under thin skin. A retrospective analysis of more than 600 monopolar radiofrequency treatments in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology found side effects to be uncommon and mostly temporary.

Risks and side effects to know

Forum stories tend to make three claims. That Thermage melts facial fat: fat change is a recognized complication, but it is rare and it isn't the expected effect. That it did nothing: changes typically begin about two weeks after treatment and build over the months collagen takes to remodel, so a mirror check on day three says little. That a higher shot count means more risk: risk tracks energy per area and whether you can report heat, more than the total number.

Who should wait or tell us first: anyone who is pregnant, has a pacemaker or another implanted electronic device, or has an infection, eczema flare or broken skin in the area. Fillers or threads already in the cheeks belong in your message too. Air NOX isn't suitable in early pregnancy, with respiratory conditions, panic disorder or vitamin B12 deficiency.

How skin responds varies from person to person. If a blister, crust or firm dent appears after you've flown home, photograph it in daylight and send it on WhatsApp with your treatment date. See a local dermatologist promptly if the area is spreading, weeping or painful.

If any of this applies to you, a pacemaker, a pregnancy, or filler or threads placed in the face, put it in your WhatsApp message alongside your travel dates and ask whether it changes the plan.

Your days in Seoul, and what they add to the plan

Thermage adds very little to the length of your stay. With Air NOX you recover in about two minutes, no fasting is needed, and you can drive afterwards. Redness settles within a day or two, and changes typically begin about two weeks after treatment, so you'll see them develop at home rather than in Seoul.

We're on the 8th floor of the Apgujeong Building, about five minutes on foot from Apgujeong Station Exit 3 on Line 3. Hours are weekdays 10:00 to 20:00 and Saturday 10:00 to 17:00, with lunch from 13:00 to 14:00; we're closed on Sundays and public holidays, so a Sunday arrival means a Monday consultation at the earliest.

If you choose Thermage MAX and want the year-later microbiome comparison, that's a second visit to plan for. And if you're tempted to add pigment work to the same trip, laser toning cost in Korea follows different factors, mainly the number of sessions, which matters more when you can't come back monthly.

Send those daylight photos with your arrival and departure dates on WhatsApp, and ask one thing: with these dates, is there time for the consultation and the treatment, and would 600 shots cover what I've marked? In the consultation room, what settles 600 versus 900 is how far the looseness runs, from the cheeks along the jawline and down under the chin, and that's the first thing we'll look at together.

Results and recovery vary by individual. Every treatment carries possible side effects, which are explained at the consultation. Prices are in Korean won, including 10% VAT, and confirmed at your consultation. This article is general information from the clinic, not a diagnosis.

Written by

Dr. Won Woo Choi

Medical Director · M.D., Ph.D. · WELLS Clinic, Apgujeong

• Board-certified dermatologist in Korea; trained at Seoul National University Hospital
• Dermatology residency, Seoul National University Hospital; board certification in dermatology in Korea
• Ph.D. in Dermatology, Seoul National University
• Former clinical instructor, Seoul National University Hospital
• Adjunct professor, Department of Dermatology, Seoul National University Hospital

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