Final Up to date on February 24, 2026 by Giorgia Guazzarotti
Exilis vs Ultherapy, which is healthier for pores and skin tightening? It’s a query lots of people ask quietly – normally after standing in a sure type of gentle, or catching themselves in a photograph and considering, “my neck seems a bit softer and pores and skin that used to only… keep up, is doing one thing completely different now.” So that you begin wanting into issues. Somebody mentions Ultherapy. Another person swears by Exilis. A clinic tells you one is healthier and (shock!) it’s the one they provide. You allow extra confused than if you began. This text cuts by means of that, utilizing precise medical proof, that will help you work out which therapy genuinely is sensible in your pores and skin, your considerations, and your life.
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Exilis VS Ultherapy: What They Are
So first issues first: these two get bundled collectively always as “pores and skin tightening therapies” and whereas that’s technically true, they work in fairly alternative ways.
Exilis, made by BTL Aesthetics (you would possibly see it known as the Exilis Elite or Exilis Extremely 360 relying on which model a clinic has) makes use of radiofrequency vitality. Radiofrequency waves create warmth, and that warmth penetrates into the dermis and the subcutaneous tissue sitting beneath. The newer Exilis Extremely therapy technically combines RF with ultrasound know-how, however the radiofrequency vitality is doing the heavy lifting when it comes to pores and skin tightening. The therapy itself includes a handheld applicator being moved slowly over the therapy space – most individuals describe it feeling like a heat therapeutic massage, genuinely not disagreeable. You’ll normally want 4 to 6 therapy classes to get the very best outcomes, spaced roughly per week aside.
Ultherapy is a distinct beast. It makes use of microfocused ultrasound with visualisation. In plain English, it makes use of ultrasound waves targeted into very exact factors at particular depths beneath the pores and skin’s floor. We’re speaking 1.5mm, 3mm, and 4.5mm, all focused independently. That 4.5mm depth is the one that basically issues, as a result of it reaches the SMAS layer (the superficial musculoaponeurotic system), which is similar structural layer a surgeon would work on in a surgical facelift. It’s the one non-invasive process with FDA clearance to truly attain and stimulate that layer, which is a genuinely significant distinction. One ultherapy therapy is usually all you want, and then you definitely wait – outcomes develop steadily over two to a few months because the tissue responds.
The quick model: Exilis heats broadly throughout the pores and skin tissue. Ultherapy heats in exact, focused factors, deeper.
Associated: Profound RF VS Ultherapy: Which One Is Right For You?
What Are Their Advantages?
Each therapies are essentially attempting to do the identical factor, ie set off collagen manufacturing, however the way in which they get there’s completely different, and that issues for understanding what sort of outcomes you may realistically anticipate. Once you warmth pores and skin tissue to the appropriate temperature, collagen fibres contract after which, over the next weeks, your physique will get to work producing new collagen to restore and reinforce the realm. A histological study on radiofrequency treatment found a statistically significant 7.9% increase in dermal collagen content and a 34.7% increase in collagen synthesis in treated areas.
Ultherapy works by creating what are known as thermal coagulation factors – tiny, intentionally managed zones of thermal injury at every focused depth, heating tissue to round 65°C at these particular spots. Your physique treats this as an damage and responds by producing new collagen and elastin as a part of the therapeutic course of. On the SMAS stage, this additionally causes structural tightening of the tissue itself, which is why Ultherapy can produce a measurable raise slightly than only a common firmness. A 2023 systematic review pooling data from sixteen Ultherapy studies found that 92% of patients showed measurable improvement in skin tightening at ninety days.
Now right here’s the half that’s genuinely value understanding, since you gained’t hear it from most clinics: a randomised, split-face clinical trial published in Dermatologic Surgery put Ultherapy on one side of subjects’ faces and monopolar RF on the other, concurrently, and located no statistically vital distinction between the 2 therapies at thirty, ninety, or 100 eighty days. So when clinics let you know one is dramatically superior to the opposite, the printed proof doesn’t actually assist that.
The place they do genuinely diverge is on the physique. The Exilis therapy is FDA-cleared for fats discount alongside pores and skin tightening – radiofrequency vitality on the proper depth causes fats cells to bear apoptosis, basically breaking them down. So if you happen to’re coping with cussed fats deposits and free pores and skin in the identical space (assume post-weight-loss stomach, interior thighs, higher arms) Exilis can deal with each concurrently. Ultherapy doesn’t do that and isn’t designed to. It’s a facial rejuvenation and neck lifting device, and that’s it.
Which Areas Do They Goal?
This is likely one of the most virtually necessary variations and it’s value being clear about earlier than you e book something. Ultherapy’s FDA-approved goal areas are the forehead, chin, neck, and décolletage. That’s the record. It’s particularly constructed for facial pores and skin and neck lifting, and in case your foremost considerations are a forehead that’s beginning to drop, jowls forming alongside the jaw, or a neck that’s dropping its definition, Ultherapy is working precisely as supposed in these areas.
Exilis is significantly broader. Sure, it really works on the face (jowls, underneath the chin, across the eyes) however it’s additionally extensively used on the abdomen, interior thighs, higher arms, love handles, and areas the place the looks of cellulite is a priority. In case your pores and skin considerations lengthen past your face and neck, otherwise you wish to deal with fats deposits and pores and skin laxity on the physique on the identical time, Exilis is just the extra versatile choice as a result of Ultherapy isn’t acceptable for these areas in any respect.
Exilis VS Ultherapy: Ache and Consolation
There’s a actual, persistently documented distinction right here, and it issues. Exilis is snug. The hand piece strikes over the pores and skin and the warmth, whereas noticeable, is gradual and managed – no numbing cream wanted, no ache aid advisable. Most individuals genuinely take pleasure in it. A extra snug therapy expertise is likely one of the foremost causes individuals select it over alternate options.
Ultherapy isn’t snug. Ache throughout the process comes up in research after research as one in all its most persistently reported options. Topical anaesthetic and oral analgesia are generally advisable earlier than therapy. The feeling is usually described as transient, sharp pulses (nearly like a deep zapping or aching feeling) significantly alongside the jawline and cheekbones the place the bone is near the floor. Most individuals get by means of it fantastic with correct preparation, however getting in anticipating it to be enjoyable is a mistake.
Exilis VS Ultherapy: Facet Results And Restoration Time
Each have low facet impact profiles in comparison with invasive surgical procedure, which is the entire level. Restoration time for each is basically zero – you will get again to your every day actions the identical day, no downtime, no use of needles concerned.
With Exilis, you’re sometimes some momentary redness and heat within the handled space for just a few hours afterward. As a result of the heating is gradual and distributed slightly than targeted, the chance of uneven thermal damage is low when it’s completed by somebody who is aware of what they’re doing.
With Ultherapy, post-treatment redness, swelling, and tenderness are widespread and normally settle inside a day or two. Some sufferers get momentary tingling or numbness within the handled space, which might sometimes stick round for just a few weeks. Bruising is feasible. The extra severe unwanted side effects – nerve irritation, extended numbness, momentary facial weak point – are uncommon however they’re documented within the literature, they usually’re value understanding about. (PS: These dangers lower considerably when the therapy is carried out by a board-certified dermatologist or skilled aesthetic doctor who’s utilizing the imaging steering correctly and never speeding by means of the process.)
How Lengthy Do Outcomes Final?
Exilis outcomes construct steadily throughout the therapy classes and proceed bettering for a number of weeks afterward as collagen remodelling retains progressing. Individuals sometimes describe a gentle firming, improved pores and skin elasticity, higher pores and skin texture, and on physique areas, modest however actual fats discount. Upkeep classes each six to 12 months are normally advisable to maintain the outcomes going.
Ultherapy outcomes develop extra slowly – many of the seen change is available in across the ninety-day mark, with some enchancment persevering with as much as six months. The only-session format is genuinely handy. Scientific information suggests outcomes lasting one to a few years for most individuals, although that varies rather a lot relying on age, baseline pores and skin high quality, and the way shortly your pores and skin laxity continues to progress.
Right here’s the sincere factor to say about each: neither delivers the type of raise you’d get from surgical procedure. If you happen to’re anticipating a dramatic transformation, you’ll be upset. What each therapies genuinely provide is significant enchancment in delicate to average sagging pores and skin * the type of change that makes you look extra like your self) with out the restoration time or value of going underneath the knife. That’s an actual and worthwhile factor, simply not a miracle.
The Backside Line
The medical proof doesn’t hand a transparent win to both therapy for facial and neck pores and skin laxity – head-to-head randomised trials present comparable outcomes for each. The correct therapy comes right down to what you’re really attempting to repair, how a lot discomfort you’re prepared to tolerate, whether or not physique areas are a part of the image, and what number of classes suit your life. Ultherapy is sensible if you would like a single-session facial lifting therapy, you’re okay with some discomfort, and also you need the therapy with the deepest attain and the most important printed proof base behind it. Exilis makes extra sense if you would like a cushty multi-session choice, you’re treating physique areas alongside your face, or fats discount is a part of what you’re after. Both manner, a personalised session with a board-certified dermatologist who has real expertise with each applied sciences is how you determine which therapy plan is definitely proper in your pores and skin – not a clinic that solely affords one in all them.
