“TL;DR: After liposuction or other cosmetic surgery, skin tightening and cellulite reduction using deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and ultrasound cavitation are highly effective. However, these treatments should not be applied until at least 8 weeks post-surgery, as skin remains inflamed and sensitive during this period. Applying radiofrequency or cavitation earlier risks further inflammation or injury. Manual massages, starting gently and increasing in intensity, along with ice or healing creams, are recommended for recovery in the initial weeks. Non-thermal effects of radiofrequency are minimal and less effective than massage, making early treatment costly and inefficient. By day 56, most skin is healed and ready for treatment, though some cases may require longer if inflammation persists. Treatment intensity must always align with skin tolerance to ensure safety and effectiveness. Early low-intensity treatments at 4–6 weeks are possible but offer minimal benefits, providing poor value. Long-term sensitivity post-liposuction may persist for years, requiring adjusted treatment plans, such as lower-intensity radiofrequency, to achieve results safely, potentially necessitating more sessions for equivalent outcomes. ”
Wait 8 weeks for post-lipo skin tightening / cellulite removal
Skin tightening and cellulite removal with radiofrequency and cavitation after liposuction or other cosmetic surgery
Irresponsible advice
How about the non-thermal effects of radiofrequency?
What about ultrasound cavitation?
Start RF/cavitation From day 56 after lipo
Too early treatment after surgery means low safety and low effectiveness
Long-term internal skin sensitivity after lipo
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Skin tightening and cellulite removal with radiofrequency and cavitation after liposuction or other cosmetic surgery
Deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and deep acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the two best technologies for skin tightening and cellulite. Therefore these technologies are ideal after body cosmetic surgery, which can leave skin looser and with much more visible cellulite.
After body cosmetic surgery (liposuction, vaser, smart lipo, bodytite, cellfina, cellulaze, brazilian butt lift, tummy tuck, thigh lift etc) skin is initially very inflamed for a few weeks and stays inflamed and sensitive for about 8 weeks / 56 days.
Having radiofrequency and/or cavitation treatment earlier than 8 weeks after surgery will result in further inflammation, damage or injury.
So skin tightening and cellulite reduction with cavitation and/or radiofrequency will have to wait to be safely applied after the 56-day mark.
For this safety reason we would never do post-lipo radiofrequency or ultrasound cavitation treatment at the clinic before the 8th week after surgery.
Irresponsible advice
In some cases, you may feel (or you may be told by a clueless surgeon who has never held an RF handpiece in their life*) that skin is already fine by the 3-4 week mark, but believe me, it’s not.
Inside, skin is sensitive and needs to be left alone for a while to heal properly. You can do progressively stronger massages and you can daily apply ice or skin healing creams to help it recover faster, but you cannot safely apply RF / cavitation treatments on it.
* In fact, some clueless AND irresponsible surgeons advise that it’s OK - even good - to have RF just a few days after surgery. I cannot believe how such bad advice is given to patients by surgeons, no less…
How about the non-thermal effects of radiofrequency?
Some people talk about the non-thermal effects of radiofrequency, that in theory would aid with healing after surgery.
However, such effects are minimal (if not infinitesimal) and definitely not better than a simple manual massage (gentle lymphatic massage to begin with and stronger massage as the weeks go by).
Given that RF is much more expensive than massage and less effective too at this stage, it is waste of the client’s time and money. The client’s interests would be better served with RF after 8 weeks to tighten up the loose skin and reduce cellulite.
What about ultrasound cavitation?
The above also apply to ultrasound: manual massage is far better, more accurate and pleasant than the very low intensity ultrasound that can safely be applied before the 56-day mark (high intensity cavitation in the first few weeks after surgery is stupid and irresponsible).
High-power ultrasound can then be used to reduce cellulite and break scar tissue after the 8th week post-surgery.
Start RF/cavitation From day 56 after lipo
By the 56th day after lipo, in 90% of cases skin has healed and is ready for proper radiofrequency/ultrasound treatment.
However, in some cases skin isn’t ready and remains painful and inflamed even at the 8th week mark. In that case we would delay treatment until full resolution of sensitivity, pain and inflammation.
Of course the 56th day mark is not set in stone: it can be day 46 or day 76, but we would never initiate treatment in less than about 8 weeks after surgery.
In all cases, after lipo surgery treatment, intensity should always match the skin tolerance / pain threshold to ensure 99%+ safety (the safety rate at our clinic).
And sometimes the case is that RF/ultrasound cannot be used at high intensities for several months - or even years - after lipo, as surgery often leaves tissues sensitive, weak and damaged.
That’s the real reality on the ground, after hundreds of cases and decades of experience.
Too early treatment after surgery means low safety and low effectiveness
Theoretically, if ultrasound/radiofrequency intensity is reduced to very low levels (or if a weak, low-end machine is used), skin tightening and/or cellulite treatment could commence from the 4th-6th week after surgery.
(Many such machines exist on the market, some featuring as low as 60W maximum RF output, which is completely pointless for body treatments.)
The problem with that approach is that with very low intensities comes very low or even zero effectiveness, which negates the whole point of having RF/ultrasound treatment early.
At the clinic we always aim to offer maximum value for money per session.
Doing a treatment at the 4th or 5th week mark after surgery will mean 20-30% effectiveness, which represents awful value for money, so we just don’t do it.
Instead, the client can wait for a few more weeks to get maximum results from their session.
Or, of course, they can always go to another clinic to have early skin tightening/cellulite treatment and receive low effectiveness treatment and/or get injured.
So we don’t do early treatment.
Long-term internal skin sensitivity after lipo
As mentioned above, in some cases liposuction leaves skin sensitive inside for 2, 5, even 10 years after surgery. This is because tissues have been injured or have reacted too much to surgery.
In those cases we still follow our usual pain threshold principle (i.e. the person should never feel pain or burning during RF/cavitation treatment), which ensures 99%+ safety and maximum effectiveness under the circumstances.
At the time of writing this article I was treating a client who had liposuction several years earlier and she is still very, very sensitive - especially to ultrasound cavitation - so we do just radiofrequency and at a reduced power level.
This practically means that the client will need double the amount of sessions, to achieve the same result she would achieve if she did not previously have lipo - and there is not much that can be done about cases with such permanent damage: we just have to go slow.
Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts
At LipoTherapeia we have specialised 100% in skin tightening and cellulite reduction for more than two decades and 20,000+ sessions.
This is all we study and practise every day and have researched and tried hands-on all the important skin tightening equipment and their manufacturers.
As strong, deep acting radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the technologies of choice for skin tightening and cellulite reduction, we have invested in the best RF/ultrasound technologies in the world.
Furthermore, over the last two decades we have developed advanced RF and cavitation treatment protocols in order to make the most of our technologies, for maximum results, naturally and safely.
And for even better, faster results, we now combine our RF/ultrasound treatments with high-power red/infrared light LED treatment.
Our radiofrequency/ultrasound/LED treatments are comfortable, pain-free, downtime-free, injection-free, 99.5%+ safe and always non-invasive.
(No unsafe and ineffective RF microneedling or HIFU and no safe but ineffective acoustic wave therapy, superficial RF (bipolar/tripolar/multipolar etc), low power RF/cavitation, electrical muscle stimulation, lymphatic massage, cupping, dry brushing and no ridiculous bum bum creams.)
Our focus is on honest, realistic, science-based treatment, combined with caring, professional service, with a smile.
We will be pleased to see you, assess your cellulite, skin laxity or fibrosis, listen to your story, discuss your case and offer you the best possible treatment.
Advanced, infrared / blue / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia
At LipoTherapeia we are passionate about phototherapy (also known as photobiomodulation/PBM, red light therapy, infrared light therapy, blue light therapy, LED light therapy etc) and we use the most powerful equipment available today (up to 200mW/cm2), for best results and treatment of large body areas.
We use specialised therapy protocols for skin rejuvenation / anti-ageing, pigmentation / post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), moderate/severe acne, skin redness, sensitive/inflamed/irritated skin, wound healing, sports injuries / musculoskeletal pain and overall wellness / well-being.
Our LED phototherapy sessions are comfortable, deeply relaxing and super-safe and are great to enhance our radiofrequency/ultrasound treatments for skin tightening / cellulite reduction.
On our booking page you can book stand-alone phototherapy sessions or combine them with our other treatments, as an add-on.
Learn more or check prices and book an expert LED phototherapy treatment at our London clinic.
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