Emface
Emface pads sit on the forehead and cheeks. They work the muscle and the skin at once.
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Dermapedia / CompareProcedures
Emface vs Ultherapy
Emface works on muscle as well as skin. It is a course of four short visits, and most people feel nothing worse than warmth and a tapping sensation. Ultherapy heats one deep layer, the sheet of tissue a surgeon pulls on in a facelift. It is a single long session, it hurts, and it is the better answer for a jawline that has genuinely dropped. No published trial has put the two side by side.
At a glance
| The difference | Emface | Ultherapy |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Radiofrequency plus muscle stimulation | Ultrasound heat, aimed deep |
| What it feels like | Warmth and tapping | Sharp, deep pulses of heat |
| How long until it works | Six to twelve weeks | Two to three months |
| Downtime | None | None, but you may be sore |
| Cost | Priced as a package of four | Priced per area, usually one session |
Ultherapy
Ultherapy uses focused ultrasound. The handpiece is moved along the jawline and neck in lines.
Side by side
The differences that matter
What it is
Emface
Radiofrequency plus muscle stimulation
Two things at once. Gentle radiofrequency heat in the skin prompts new collagen. Electrical pulses contract the muscles that hold the face up.
Ultherapy
Ultrasound heat, aimed deep
A handpiece places heat at chosen depths, down to about 4.5 mm. That is below the fat, in the layer that supports the lower face.
What you do
Emface
Four visits, about 20 minutes each
Applicators are strapped to the forehead and cheeks. You lie still. Visits are usually a week or so apart.
Ultherapy
Usually one visit, 60 to 90 minutes
The operator sees the tissue on a screen and delivers hundreds of pulses, line by line.
Conditions treated
Ultherapy
Wrinkles and Fine Lines
Focused ultrasound heats a deep layer to tighten it, aimed at the jaw, neck and brow rather than at lines. The change is modest and takes three to six months to show, and it is nothing like a surgical lift. It can be uncomfortable, and results vary enough that it is worth seeing a provider's own before-and-after photographs.
What it feels like
Emface
Warmth and tapping
The muscle pulses feel strange rather than sore. Numbing cream is not needed.
Ultherapy
Sharp, deep pulses of heat
Numbing cream is standard and many clinics add oral pain medicine. Some people rate it the most painful treatment they have had.
What you should see
Emface
A lifted brow and fuller cheeks
Smoother forehead lines, a slightly raised brow, more shape across the cheek.
Ultherapy
Some lift along the jaw and neck
Firmer skin as well, but the selling point is lift where the face has dropped.
What it will not do
Emface
It does not reach the deep support layer
Ultherapy
It does nothing for muscle tone
Related topic illustrations
Ultherapy
Botulinum toxin
Strong evidence for lines caused by movement, and no effect on laxity. Frequently done alongside rather than instead.
How long until it works
Emface
Six to twelve weeks
Some change shows in the first week or two. Then it builds.
Ultherapy
Two to three months
Almost nothing happens on the day. The result is new collagen.
How it works, illustrated
Ultherapy
How long it lasts
Emface
About a year
Ultherapy
About a year, sometimes longer
Downtime
Emface
None
A little pinkness for an hour. You can go straight back to work.
Ultherapy
None, but you may be sore
Swelling and tenderness for a few days. Patchy numbness along the jaw can last a week or two.
Cost
Emface
Priced as a package of four
Ask what a maintenance visit costs on top, because the plan assumes you will have them.
Ultherapy
Priced per area, usually one session
Ask which areas the quote covers. Face, neck and under the chin are often billed separately.
The at-home or drugstore version
Emface
Facial toning gadgets are not the same
Home microcurrent wands pass a tiny current across the surface. They do not contract a muscle the way the clinic device does, and the heat they add is negligible.
Ultherapy
There is not one
Nothing sold for home use focuses ultrasound several millimetres down. A device that could would not be safe without training.
Who each suits
Emface
- Best for — Early softening in your thirties to fifties, a flattening cheek, a heavy brow.
- The trade-off — Little lift once skin is truly loose, and repeat visits built into the plan.
Ultherapy
- Best for — Jowls, a slack neck, a drooping brow.
- The trade-off — An uncomfortable hour, and a higher price.
They are aimed at different tissue
Emface
Emface treats skin and muscle together. The radiofrequency side warms the skin so it makes collagen. The electrical side makes the lifting muscles of the face contract, hundreds of times per session, which is meant to leave them firmer.
Ultherapy
Ultherapy treats one deep layer and ignores the muscle. It heats the fibrous sheet below the fat until it contracts, then your body rebuilds collagen there over the following months.
Comfort is the real practical difference
Emface
Emface is easy to sit through. Twenty minutes, warmth, and a pulsing that feels like a light tap. People book it in a lunch hour and go back to work.
Ultherapy
Ultherapy is hard to sit through. The sensation is a deep, sharp burst of heat, repeated hundreds of times. The brow and the neck are the worst of it. Some people need medication to finish the session.
What the evidence looks like
Emface
Emface has a shorter record, and much of it comes from the maker. The published studies are small, and the follow-up is short. That is normal for a new device, but it means the numbers quoted in clinics should be treated as early.
Ultherapy
Ultherapy has the longer published record. It has been studied for well over a decade, and the lift it produces along the brow, jaw and neck is modest but real.
Common questions
Questions Patients Ask
Can you have Emface and Ultherapy together?
Yes, and clinics often combine them because they act on different tissue. Most space them out rather than doing both in one visit, so any swelling settles before the next treatment.
Which one hurts more?
Ultherapy, by a wide margin. Emface feels like warmth and tapping and needs no numbing cream, while Ultherapy is a deep, sharp heat that many clinics manage with numbing cream and oral pain medicine.
Which one is better for jowls?
Ultherapy. It reaches the deep support layer under the fat, which is what has to tighten for the lower face to lift. Emface works higher up and does more for the brow and cheeks.
How many Emface sessions do you need?
The standard plan is four sessions, usually spaced about a week apart. Most clinics then suggest a maintenance session every six to twelve months.
Does Emface work if my skin is already loose?
Not well. It is aimed at early to moderate softening. Once skin genuinely hangs, muscle stimulation will not pull it back up, and surgery is the honest comparison.
How long before I see anything?
Emface shows some change within a week or two and peaks at around six to twelve weeks. Ultherapy shows almost nothing at first and peaks at two to three months.