Active Fx / Deep Fx for Face and Thermage vs Velasmooth for Body

Good morning Dr Rivkin:

I am seriously considering active fx for over all skin refinement. I just read a couple of people who wrote into you complaining of bad scarring and pock marks - is this common? I know you have stated it is safe and has great
effects on skin. Just wanted to get your feedback on this.

Also- what about thermage for body tightening or have you seen the results of the vela -smooth?

Thanks so much!


hi,
i still think that active fx / deep fx is a great technology. if done correctly it should not cause any scarring or pigmentation problems. i have not seen scarring among my patients, although i have seen a case of temporary hyper-pigmentation that resolved. however, we do active fx daily, so one case is not a large percentage. ask any place you're thinking of going to how much experience they've had with the procedure. also, a doctor should either be doing the procedure or closely supervising the nurse or PA. this is not a laser that should be done at the mall.

thermage is very expensive. i tried their cellulite tip and i was not that impressed with the results. it was certainly not worth the price. skin laxity on the abdomen tends to respond well to thermage. the key with thermage is that, if there is a subtle laxity, the results will be good.
anything more than that will not really respond to thermage.
i think velasmooth is pretty good, as long as the person is exercising during the treatment period. it tends to improve the results. you need at least 8 treatments - 2 treatments a week for 4 weeks.

hope that helps