The Celebrity-Endorsed Lifting Device: Right for You?

TL;DR: The device names in celebrity-endorsed ads describe equipment and injectable brands, not outcomes. What actually separates the results is which skin layer receives the energy or the product, and how much of it goes in. At our Gangnam location, we treat Ulthera PRIME, Thermage FLX, Sofwave, OligioX, Potenza, and Rejuran as one shared toolkit and start every consultation by identifying where the sagging begins before naming any device.

Most consultations start the same way. A patient names the device they saw in an ad and asks for that exact treatment. We start further back, with a look at the skin layer that is actually causing the concern, because the same device name can mean two very different treatment plans depending on what we find there.

The Device Name Became Familiar First

Aesthetic device brands leaned hard into celebrity ambassadors over the past year. The trade publication MedEsthetics reported that in 2025, celebrities became spokespeople for specific devices, citing Kim Kardashian's association with Sofwave and Salma Hayek Pinault's with Ultherapy PRIME. Patients now remember the device name from the campaign before they have a name for what is happening in their own skin. That flips the usual order of a consultation: the device becomes the opening question instead of the diagnosis.

We treat the device name as one input among several rather than the starting point. A name tells us which company built the equipment. It says nothing about where a given patient's sagging originates or how much energy their skin can tolerate at a given depth.

Depth and Design Decide the Result

"Lifting device" covers more than one mechanism, and the mechanism is what determines the outcome. Ultrasound-based instruments heat tissue to more than 60°C, producing small thermal coagulation points at the deep dermis and the SMAS layer without disturbing the skin surface. A histologic study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology in 2025 examined this process directly. After standard triple-depth treatment, biopsies taken at 1.5mm, 3.0mm, and 4.5mm showed coagulation points at each depth, and by 90 days the tissue showed increased mature collagen along with newly synthesized elastin.

Radiofrequency devices sit under the same "lifting" umbrella in marketing, but they distribute heat across the dermis rather than targeting discrete points at fixed depths. That is a different mechanism aimed at a different structural problem. Ulthera PRIME and Sofwave work from the ultrasound side of that line; Thermage FLX and Potenza work from the radiofrequency side. Once we know which layer is involved for a given patient, we treat the two categories separately even though both get marketed under the same word.

Skin Boosters Follow the Same Rule

Skin boosters split along a similar line. Polynucleotide-based boosters, the category Rejuran belongs to, are injected into the dermis to stimulate fibroblast activity there. That is a different target than a hyaluronic acid booster addresses, even though both are sold under the "skin booster" label. A systematic review published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology in 2025 pooled nine studies covering 219 patients receiving polynucleotide treatment. It reported improvements in wrinkles, skin texture, and elasticity, while noting that the included studies were of low to moderate quality.

We set expectations inside that range rather than ahead of it. The evidence supports a real effect on texture and elasticity; it does not yet support the more dramatic claims that circulate around skin boosters online.

Three Questions We Ask Before Naming a Device

Before any device or injectable gets chosen, we work through the same three questions in consultation:

• Is the sagging coming from volume loss in the fat layer, reduced density in the dermis, or weaker support from the underlying fascia?
• How many recovery days does the patient actually have, and what is their pain tolerance?
• What procedures has the patient had in the last six months, and what is their current skin thickness?

Once those three answers are in place, the device selection mostly follows. Dr. Kim Yeonjin, our director in Gangnam, works through this order in consultation before proposing any combination of Ulthera PRIME, Thermage FLX, Sofwave, OligioX, Potenza, or Rejuran, rather than starting from a device a patient has already picked out.

Where the Consultation Happens

Our Gangnam location sits inside the UH FLAT SIGNATURE Gangnam building on Teheran-ro 8-gil, with Japanese, Chinese, and English interpreters on staff so this diagnostic conversation can happen in a patient's own language. Because the clinic occupies floors inside the hotel building, aftercare follows a short path: guests staying at the hotel receive a complimentary oxygen chamber session and vitamin IV drip as part of recovery, without needing to travel elsewhere for that part of the visit.

FAQ

Does the device I saw in an ad work for my skin?

Skin thickness and the layer where sagging starts vary by patient, so the same device gets set up differently for each one. Ask less about which device a clinic owns and more about how strength and interval are set after diagnosis.

Can I get a lifting treatment and a skin booster on the same day?

Combining them is possible, but the order and spacing need to be planned. Injectable treatments can leave the surface looking temporarily uneven, so patients with an event on the calendar sometimes split the two across separate visits.

When should I expect to see results?

Collagen remodeling takes time to show. The histologic research on mature collagen and elastin increases points to the 90-day mark, so we typically set that as the evaluation point after a lifting procedure.

Is a lifting device always the right first step?

It depends on where the underlying issue sits. If the concern is dermal density rather than structural support, a skin booster series may come first, with a lifting device added later based on how the skin responds.

If you're weighing ultrasound against radiofrequency in more depth, our related article, Ulthera vs Thermage: How Seocho Decides in Consultation, walks through that specific comparison. For the skin booster side of the decision, see Rejuran vs HA Skin Boosters: What Actually Differs?