Korean Anti Aging Before and After: Measuring Thermage by Skin Age

Can you measure Korean anti aging before and after?

Hello, I'm Dr. Won Woo Choi, a board-certified dermatologist and Chief Director at WELLS Clinic in Apgujeong, Seoul. I completed my residency at Seoul National University Hospital and hold a Ph.D. in dermatology from Seoul National University. Patients often ask me how to judge Korean anti aging before and after a treatment, and this article is based on my YouTube video from October 2026 above, where I test my own skin and then have Thermage.

Yes, you can measure it, but not reliably with photos alone. We read the skin's biological age with a skin-microbiome test before Thermage and again one month later, then compare the two reports. It shows what the mirror misses: oil, moisture, microbial balance and how old the skin behaves.

Why don't photos show what Thermage changed?

I have Thermage about once a year, and it is the treatment I rate most highly for overall freshness. But when I ask patients at follow-up, one to two months after treatment, roughly half say their skin looks brighter and better, and the other half say they're not sure.

Clinics around the world compare results with standardized photos, because memory is unreliable. Yet when I review our own photos taken before and after Thermage, it is hard to find a clear marker of change. Thermage works gradually inside the skin, and a camera only sees the surface.

How does the skin-microbiome test read your skin age?

The microbes living on your face change with the skin's biological condition. Many studies show their pattern can predict skin age, and my research team at CutisBio has spent three years building a method that estimates the real age of Korean skin from that pattern. The report covers several things:

• Oil: one common skin bacterium feeds on certain lipids, so its share rises as the skin gets oilier.
• Moisture: hydrated skin is good, but some bacteria thrive when skin is too wet or inflamed, and the test reflects that too.
• Diversity: the mix of skin microbes changes with age, which gives a biological marker of how old the skin is.
• A combined skin-age score that our team built with statistics and AI, for a more precise estimate.

The test itself is simple. Come without makeup; a nurse rubs a sterile swab from the test kit over the skin 20 to 30 times. It stings a little because I ask the nurses to press firmly for an accurate sample. You also sign a consent form first, because the analysis reads microbial DNA.

What changes after Thermage, and when do you test again?

So far we have about 500 tests taken before and after Thermage, and the analysis is still ongoing. The early trend is that skin age generally moves in the younger direction. The individual markers move differently from person to person:

• Oil tends to return toward normal: very oily skin comes down, very low levels rise.
• Moisture rises fairly consistently in dry or thin skin; in skin that was already moist, it varies.
• Diversity that sat outside the normal range tends to move toward the healthy range.

The schedule is test, Thermage, then a second test one month later. Results take about four weeks now, because the lab extracts and standardizes DNA, runs next-generation sequencing and passes the data to an AI tool that writes the report; we are working to bring that down to two weeks. When you return for Thermage a year later, the test can be repeated again. The basics of the test are in my skin analysis Seoul article.

What the Thermage MAX session itself was like

I had Thermage MAX with 600 shots. Most faces get 600; a larger face or skin that has lost more elasticity moves to 900. Numbing cream goes on for more than 40 minutes under wrap, which keeps relatively high energy tolerable without sleep sedation.

Before the RF treatment, I had the AQ MAX infusion, which runs slowly over about 90 minutes. In a comparison of roughly 200 patients with the infusion and 200 without, those who had it averaged about five years younger in skin age; individual results vary. During treatment we apply a serum that adjusts the skin's conductivity to ease the sting, and I recommend continuing it at home for a month or two.

The outer line of the face was hottest, with a strong flash at the end of each pass, but it stayed bearable. Most people notice the skin feeling firmer and tighter around one to two months, which is why we test again at one month. For the longer timeline, see Thermage before and after.

How to plan a measured anti-aging visit to Seoul

Thermage MAX is ₩3,465,000 for 600 shots or ₩4,477,000 for 900 shots (VAT excluded), and the dermatologist confirms the shot count at consultation. Send a photo and your travel dates on WhatsApp, and allow about 90 minutes for the infusion on treatment day. If you are curious where this research is heading, my article on korean anti aging covers the microbiome work behind it.

WELLS is on the 8th floor of the Apgujeong Building, about five minutes from Apgujeong Station (Line 3), Exit 3. Results vary from person to person, and your plan is decided with your dermatologist.

This article explains general medical information from the video. It is not a diagnosis; results vary by person and are decided in consultation.