Each one is a device
Dr Sin Yong tells patients that each of these is a device, as a suture is a tool in a surgeon's hand. A device does what it is built to do. What a person notices depends on whether the energy suited that face, which layer was at fault, and how the treatment was planned.
He performs Time Freeze, Ultherapy Prime and Thermage FLX himself, along with HIFU and thread lifts, so this page is about what each energy does and not which one ranks higher.
Read more in the article on device or technique.
The three side by side
| Point | Time Freeze Laser LCLR® | Ultherapy Prime | Thermage FLX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | Long-pulsed 755 nm and 1064 nm laser | Micro-focused ultrasound with imaging | Monopolar radiofrequency |
| How heat is placed | Scanned across a zone | Points at set depths | Volume heating through a tip |
| Layers reached | Dermis and superficial fat | Dermis, fat and SMAS | Dermis and fibrous septa |
| Fat | Sculpting mode, in selected zones | Also reduces fat where delivered | Not aimed at fat |
| Settled filler | Sculpting mode, after mapping | No | No |
| Tends to suit | Laxity with a puffy or heavy lower face, compact fat, settled product | Structural descent in a face of normal fullness | Loose skin alone, with normal fat and no product |
| Not planned for | An already lean zone, marked skin excess, freshly tanned skin | Lean or hollow faces, marked skin excess | Fat, hollowing or settled product, an implanted electronic device |
| Neck | Yes, with conservative settings | Has a role in structural descent | He uses Time Freeze and the VF Lift instead |
Which suits which face
He reads the area, not the device list, and many faces need two.
| What he finds | Usually led by | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A lean or already hollow area | VF Lift | Planned for lean areas, where there is no fat to spare |
| A puffy or heavier area | Time Freeze | Tightening skin over a heavy pad leaves the heaviness in place |
| Settled filler | Time Freeze, after mapping | Hyaluronic acid is usually dissolved instead |
| Structural descent, normal fullness | Ultherapy or HIFU | Focused ultrasound reaches the SMAS |
| Loose skin alone | Thermage | The problem is the skin envelope |
| Marked skin excess | A plastic surgery specialist | No device removes skin |
Other laser lifts you may hear about
Titanium lifting sweeps a triple-wavelength diode laser, at 755, 810 and 1064 nm, across the skin to warm the dermis. Fotona 4D uses Er:YAG and Nd:YAG lasers in four steps, one of them inside the mouth. Titanium lifting is not offered here, and Fotona 4D is not one of the protocols on this site. Both are different lasers from Time Freeze, even where a wavelength is shared.
A wavelength number alone does not define a treatment. Pulse duration, energy, the way heat is delivered and the protocol around it decide where the heat ends up, so two lasers that share 755 nm and 1064 nm can behave quite differently in skin. See titanium lifting vs Time Freeze.
“Thermage and Time Freeze heat the same layer. What I need to know is whether the skin is simply loose, or loose over something that should not be there.”
What the studies cannot tell you
No published trial has tested Time Freeze Laser LCLR® as a named protocol, or compared it with Ultherapy or Thermage. The long-pulsed laser literature looks at other settings and goals, so comparisons between the three rest on what each energy does, and on clinical judgement.
A systematic review found one case of subcutaneous atrophy in the published literature, and the other reports are unverified voluntary device reports, so no rate can be given. [7] It is still one reason Dr Sin Yong matches the device to how much fat a face has to spare.
If you have had one of these before
Having had one of these treatments does not rule out another. Dr Sin Yong asks what was treated, when, and what you noticed. He then looks at each layer: is it laxity, fat, settled product or lost volume? If an area looks hollower after treatment, it is assessed in person, and the discussion turns to restoring support.
Collagen remodels over months, so a view formed in the first weeks is often early.
What each one cannot do
Reach the SMAS, replace lost volume, remove skin or dissolve filler.
Add volume, change skin texture or treat settled filler. Dr Sin Yong does not plan it for lean faces.
Treat sagged fat or settled product, reach the SMAS, or remove skin.
Relax neck bands, lift a true eyelid droop, or do what surgery does for marked skin excess.
Risks at a glance
Tenderness where excess was targeted, and less often crusting or temporary darkening. Rarely a burn, blister, lightening, scarring or more fat loss than intended.
Redness, tenderness, swelling, bruising or numbness for a time. Rarely a burn or temporary nerve weakness. Fat loss can read as hollowing.
Redness, warmth and mild swelling. Rarely burns. Fat atrophy is listed among less frequent reactions.
Screening differs: an implanted electronic device rules out radiofrequency, and a fresh tan postpones laser. Pregnancy, infected or inflamed skin and a recent course of oral acne medication also mean waiting for Time Freeze.