It is widely accepted today that high-power, low-frequency ultrasound treatment represents one of the few effective methods of cellulite reduction and, to a limited extent, subcutaneous fat reduction too. It often provides good results on its own, if the right equipment is used with the right protocols, and even better results when combined with high-power, deep-tissue radio frequency. But what is ultrasound cavitation and how does it work?
A very common question we are asked at the clinic is what is the difference between unipolar, monopolar, bipolar and multipolar (i.e. tripolar, tetrapolar, octipolar) radio frequency? Which one is best for skin tightening and cellulite? On this article we examine the merits of bipolar vs monopolar RF and…
Exercise and general movement do lead to tighter skin and, as mentioned above, they are absolutely essential to maintain tight skin. However, exercise and healthy nutrition act very slowly in reversing skin laxity and can only go so far in tightening skin in specific areas or throughout the body. So, indeed you can tighten your skin with exercise but usually not enough and not fast enough. Hence the need for a good, strong skin tightening treatment, for faster, more pronounced results than from just exercise…
Deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency is the strongest SAFE technology for skin tightening and cellulite reduction and provides good results in 6-12 sessions. This kind of technology works always under the pain threshold* and with an experienced therapist should be 99% safe or better. Experience has shown that with proper, deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency the results of any given…
In the instant gratification world we live today in the West, where everything is instant and miraculous if you have money to pay for it, it seems that many people are obsessed in magically “breaking down” fat “forever”. And breaking down means zapping fat with a laser, ultrasound or radiofrequency device or mechanically breaking it with a therapist’s fingers or with a suction / vibration / shockwave machine, with the fat then evaporating into thin air forever so one can eat as much as much as they want from then on, without putting on any more fat or cellulite on their thighs, stomach etc.
It is widely accepted today that high-power, low-frequency ultrasound treatment represents one of the few effective methods of cellulite reduction and, to a limited extent, subcutaneous fat reduction too. It often provides good results on its own, if the right equipment is used with the right protocols, and even better results when combined with high-power, deep-tissue radio frequency. But what is ultrasound cavitation and how does it work?
Exercise and general movement do lead to tighter skin and, as mentioned above, they are absolutely essential to maintain tight skin. However, exercise and healthy nutrition act very slowly in reversing skin laxity and can only go so far in tightening skin in specific areas or throughout the body. So, indeed you can tighten your skin with exercise but usually not enough and not fast enough. Hence the need for a good, strong skin tightening treatment, for faster, more pronounced results than from just exercise…
The fact is the properly applied STIMULATIVE radiofrequency / ultrasound cavitation can both lead to adipocyte apoptosis, i.e. programmed cell death of fat cells. This is fat cell death that gradually happens over days and weeks with a course of SAFE treatments provided under the pain threshold (less than 41-43ºC on the skin surface or 43-47ºC in the deeper skin layers). This ensures safety of all other tissues, except fat cells, and in fact also stimulates fibroblast (collagen cell) function, which leads to skin tightening, especially with RF.
We typically use radiofrequency-only when cellulite is combined with skin laxity (most common); and ultrasound cavitation-only when skin laxity is not a concern (less common). In many cases we use a mix of those technologies. But in all cases we now combine RF and/or cavitation with high-power LED red/infrared light therapy, as it provenly enhances the results of RF and cavitation. However, every body is different and there are many considerations on whether to use…
It is true that most non-surgical cellulite treatments do not really work. Most such treatments range from generally safe but ineffective (think palper-rouler massage, acoustic wave therapy (AWT), microneedling, bipolar/tripolar RF etc) to dangerous and generally ineffective (high intensity HIFU, high intensity RF microneedling etc). As a result many people think that cellulite surgery is a better, so-called “one-off” option...
Claims that a non-surgical treatment (be it ultrasound, radiofrequency, laser, electromagnetic waves etc) removes fat from the body completely, by first "melting the fat which is then removed from the body via the kidneys and the urine" are utterly false (pure lies, basically) and have no physiological basis...
Deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and deep acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the two best technologies for both cellulite removal and skin tightening. With a high-power setup, the optimum frequency for treatments is twice a week, with a two or three day gap between sessions. The 2-3 day gap allows for recovery between sessions, which means maximum intensity can be used during treatment (in the few cases where deep, strong treatment is provided)…
After almost all “lipo” surgery (liposuction, liposculpture, laser lipo/smart lipo, vaser lipo, bodytite, abdominoplasty/tummy tuck, Brazilian butt lift/BBL, cellfina, subcision, cellulaze, cellutite, profound RF etc) inflammation and oedema (water retention). Inflammation / oedema are followed by scar tissue development (known as fibrosis, adhesions or simply ‘hard lumps’) in one of more areas or widespread throughout the operated area…
The truth is that quite often even professional RF treatments do not offer any significant benefits, simply because they are provided with the wrong equipment, usually cheap chinese low-power, bipolar machines, which are too superficial, too weak and, quite frankly, not very safe or sturdy to use in a professional setup. Home-use radio frequency equipment is even worse than cheap professional equipment, as it is even lower spec…
Yes, there are usually considerable differences. Physiotherapy ultrasound is usually of 1MHz (and sometimes 3MHz) frequency and of maximum power of around 10 Watts. Quite often it is used at a fraction of this maximum power, usually anything between 1 Watt and 5 Watts. This is because physiotherapy ultrasound is meant to stimulate and it is also used in a very small area, hence the low powers. Sometimes, low frequency ultrasound (300kHz) is used in physiotherapy but at very, very low powers (0.5-1 Watt). Some machines used in beauty, for cellulite reduction or other purposes, can also be of…
High-power ultrasound cavitation is one of the two most effective SAFE methods for cellulite reduction, especially when provided by a well-trained, experienced and knowledgable therapist. Normally cavitation is not recommended for skin tightening, as it only exerts a weak skin tightening effect, when applied as usual…
“Radiofrequency” is an all encompassing term for treatment with different types of high frequency electrical currents. Different machines utilise different frequencies, from an extra low of 300kHz to an extra high of 5GHz. The types of physical phenomena at play on those different machines are quite different…
In a previous article we analysed everything to do with fibrosis after liposuction/cellulite surgery (normal liposuction, vaser, laser lipo, body tight, abdominoplasty/tummy tuck, thigh lift, cellfina, subcision, cellulaze), including what causes it. On this article we focus on the specifics of how to perform a safe and effective anti-fibrosis massage fibrosis after lipo/cellulite surgery.
Radiofrequency and ultrasound cavitation treatments, when provided with good equipment and by a well-trained, experienced and knowledgable therapist, remain THE best technologies for skin tightening and cellulite (far better and safer than HIFU and RF microneedling). However, most such machines available on the market are of low to very low power and are suited more to face treatments or to tiny body areas, than larger body areas…
What really works and what is a gimmick | 2025 update
At LipoTherapeia we preach what we practise. Our 100% focus is how to offer you the safest and most effective treatment possible, without cut corners or compromises. I put myself in your shoes and personally preach on this website and practise at the clinic what I would do myself if I needed skin tightening and cellulite reduction. Here is some more context into the technologies and active ingredients we use…
Ultrasound-induced cavitation is a phenomenon that occurs when high-intensity sound waves are used on certain tissues, such as human skin. When the intensity of the sound waves is strong enough, it can create small gas bubbles in the tissue. These bubbles can then quickly collapse, releasing energy in the form of heat and force. Research has shown that this process can reduce the amount of fat and shrink the size of fat cells in the skin.
Visceral fat is the fat responsible for the so-called “beer belly” look. It is also the most unhealthy fat you can have, as it increases the risk if diabetes and cardiovascular disease. So it is no wonder people ask whether they can reduce visceral fat with any method. However, as we can see healthy eating, weight loss and exercise (and lately anti-diabetic injections) are the only ways to reduce visceral fat…
Unless you are a shallow blogger/journalist about to write a “Forget abc, xyz is the newest celebrity-endorsed cellulite treatment that took the world by storm in 2025” type of article, it doesn’t really matter what is the newest cellulite treatment. Every year a bunch of new, hyped-up beauty/aesthetic treatments appear and in a few years, when people realise that said treatments are not that miraculous after all, they gradually disappear…
The LipoTherapeia® Plus treatment, a combination of deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency, deep acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation and high-power LED phototherapy, is arguably the strongest SAFE skin tightening/lifting, natural anti-ageing and cellulite treatment in London
The treatment is provided with advanced protocols based on the Physics of radiofrequency, ultrasound and phototherapy and on the anatomy and physiology of cellulite and skin laxity
The LipoTherapeia® Plus treatments are exclusively provided at our practice in central London (The Light Centre Marylebone, 10 Portman Square, London W1H 6AZ)
This website is human-written 100%. We do not use Chat-GPT or any other AI tool for our pages and articles to bombard you with low quality, copy-paste spam articles and inaccurate information.
Chat-GPT and similar tools copy the web to regurgitate meaningless lowest common denominator platitudes, i.e. generally accepted myths that often have nothing to do with reality. Plus plenty of inaccuracies, misinformation and a healthy added dose of literally made up stuff - what AI experts call “AI hallucinations”.
No AI tool has the depth of experience accumulated over tens of thousands of sessions with real human beings (in fact, AI tools have zero experience, obviously). Neither can an AI tool discriminate what is reality and what is made up BS on the web.
Of course, the aesthetics industry is already full of myths, inaccuracies, platitudes and hallucinations anyway, so the advent of AI does not make much of a difference. The beauty industry has always been full of BS (sorry, that’s the correct word), AI or no AI.
So 24+ years on, we still keep it real, regardless of AI.
Copyright: All text and before & after pictures: © 2003-2025, LipoTherapeia Ltd. All rights reserved. No reproduction without written permission (plagiarising web pages will be reported to search engines for removal from their index).
Trademarks: Meso-CRF®, LipoTherapeia®, and Celluence® are registered trademarks in the UK & EU and belong to LipoTherapeia Ltd. All rights to the usage of those trademarks and copyrights are strictly reserved and are only allowed with prior written approval. The term LipoTherapeia® Plus is used by us to refer to our skin tightening / cellulite / anti-ageing treatments based on ultrasound, radiofrequency and phototherapy.
Efficacy: As with any medical / aesthetic treatment or skin product, results vary from person to person depending on lifestyle, genetics, state of health (how each individual body responds to treatment), so specific results cannot be guaranteed. BTW, there is NO cellulite removal or long-term skin tightening/lifting with one, two or even three sessions and there is neither 100% (nor permanent) cellulite removal/skin tightening/lifting, with ANY technique, including ours, so we never make such misleading claims.
Safety: Our treatments have proven 99%+ safe over the last 14+ years (with minor/temporary irritation occurring in the other 1%- of treatments). However, as with any medical/aesthetic treatment or skin product, sensitivity varies from person to person, and from time to time even on the same person, depending on lifestyle, genetics and state of health (how each individual body responds to a treatment at a specific time), so we cannot guarantee 100% safety.
Accuracy: The information presented on this website is based on our interpretation of peer-reviewed research and/or our extensive 24-year experience and study in our field of specialisation, but it cannot be guaranteed 100% accurate or impartial.
Prices and special offers: Subject to change without prior notice. Special offers can not be combined.
Non-medical: No information, treatment or product on this website aims to treat or diagnose any medical condition or to provide/replace medical advice. Always consult your doctor.
Not professional advice: No information on this website is intended as direct or indirect professional (or personal) advice
For information purposes only: All content on this website is strictly for information purposes only.
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