How to read this list
A device is a tool. The same platform can be used in several protocols, and one protocol can be unsuitable for you even when the device is well known. Device choice follows your examination. It does not follow a brand name.
The groups below follow the type of energy. The order within each group carries no meaning, and nothing here says that one device is more effective than another. Results vary, and no device can promise an outcome. Every energy-based device here is registered with the Health Sciences Authority, and you can ask to see the registration.
Focused ultrasound
Micro-pulsed focused ultrasound. Face cartridges sit at 1.5, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.5 mm, and body cartridges at 6, 9 and 13 mm. It is used for mild to moderate laxity, early jowls, a softening jawline and neck laxity. Marked, heavily mobile laxity is a surgical matter. See HIFU.
Micro-focused ultrasound by Merz Aesthetics, with live imaging of tissue layers. It places thermal points at 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 mm for mild to moderate laxity. It is not used on a lean face, because heat over thin areas can look more hollow. See Ultherapy.
One platform with focused ultrasound for the SMAS and deep dermis, and radiofrequency for the mid-layer and surface tightening. It is the lifting foundation of 3D Facial Reconstruction.
Radiofrequency
Monopolar radiofrequency at 6.78 MHz with water cooling. It heats the dermis and fibrous septa zone by zone. It runs the VF Lift and GF Lift. It is not focused ultrasound.
Monopolar radiofrequency by Solta Medical at 6.78 MHz, with cryogen cooling, reaching about 4.3 mm. It is used for mild to moderate laxity of the face, eyelids, neck and body. It does not add volume, reduce fat or remove skin. See Thermage.
Radiofrequency microneedling, typically 0.5 to 3.5 mm deep, with a 1540 nm non-ablative fractional laser. It is used for rolling and shallow boxcar scars, pores, texture and early laxity. See RF microneedling, the 4K Body Lift and the Luminescence Laser.
Resurfacing and fractional lasers
Fractional ablative CO2 laser at 10,600 nm. Water absorbs this wavelength, which creates columns of ablation with intact skin between them. It is used for acne and other scars, and for the vaginal lining in G Lift. Pigment change is a higher risk in Fitzpatrick III to V skin. See S3 Resurfacing Lift, 4D Scar Reconstruction and G Lift.
Fractional 675 nm laser with contact cooling. Collagen absorbs this wavelength, and the effect reaches about 2 to 3 mm without ablating the surface. It is used for facial redness, the vascular part of rosacea, acne inflammation, pores, laxity and brightening.
Pigment, ink and hair lasers
Offers 785 nm in picosecond mode, and 532 and 1064 nm in nanosecond mode, with a thermal mode. It is used for uneven tone and deposited pigment. It does not shrink pores, and melasma is approached conservatively, if at all. See pico laser.
Picosecond Nd:YAG. PQX is listed at 1064 and 532 nm. It is used for ink, with wavelength chosen by colour, density and skin type. Complete clearance cannot be promised. See tattoo removal.
Long-pulsed 755 nm alexandrite and 1064 nm Nd:YAG. It is used for laser hair removal and for R2 Glow. The 755 nm wavelength suits dark or finer hair on Fitzpatrick I to III skin, and 1064 nm suits Fitzpatrick IV to VI and recently tanned skin. It is not used for melasma.
A dual-wavelength lifting protocol on the same long-pulsed 755 and 1064 nm platform. It heats the dermis and has a lipo-modelling arm. Areas include the jowls, neck, eyelids, underarms, tummy, flanks and thighs. It is also used on Sculptra and Ellansé deposits, each mapped by ultrasound first. Marked skin excess is referred for a surgical opinion. See Time Freeze.
Other platforms
Coolwaves microwave at 2.45 GHz, with contact cooling. Adipose tissue absorbs the energy preferentially. It is used on the abdomen, flanks, thighs, arms and under the chin, and a finer handpiece serves the lower face.
Dual-frequency, unfocused, low-intensity ultrasound. It is used for dehydrated, sensitive or reactive skin and for recovery after laser. It does not lift or tighten. See the LDM facial.
Not an energy device. Three small scalp punch biopsies are processed into micrografts and injected in the same visit, for male and female pattern hair loss. It is not a hair transplant. See hair restoration.
What aesthetic devices in Singapore cannot do
No device here replaces surgery where skin excess is marked. Heat devices do not add volume, and some can make a thin face look more hollow. Subcision and TCA CROSS come first for icepick tracts and tethered scars, before fractional passes. Laser hair removal cannot target grey or white hair, which has no pigment. Hair treatment acts on living follicles, not on lost ones. A device also cannot correct a concern that has a different cause, which is why the examination comes first. Whichever device is used, results vary.
Who should avoid certain devices
Radiofrequency is not used with a pacemaker, other implanted electronics, or metal implants in the treatment field. Exclusions for ONDA Pro include a pacemaker, a nerve stimulator, pregnancy, current or recent cancer and clotting disorders. Elective laser is generally deferred in pregnancy, so please tell the doctor if you are pregnant, planning to conceive or breastfeeding. Active infection at the site is a reason to wait. Your history decides what applies to you.
Risks to know about
After laser, warmth and fine crusting can be expected. Thick, yellow or oozing crusts, blisters, or increasing pain, swelling or warmth may mean infection or a burn, and need review. Late dark marks may be post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which arises more readily in Fitzpatrick III to V skin and with high settings. Settings are planned around your skin tone. Our page on complication care sets out what to do, and the consultation process explains how risks are discussed.