Does Thermage melt fat?

Thermage does not melt fat. The radiofrequency energy from Thermacool / Thermage causes the protein infrastructure of the skin, the collagen, to tighten by contracture. This is what can lift the forehead, and with that the eyelids, tighten sagging necks, loose skin of the belly, etc.

As with many procedures, there are indications and contraindications. Some people will be evaluated and found not to be candidates because they have bulging loose muscle or the fat is too thick. In the early days of Thermage, the protocol for treatment was not yet perfected and some fat thinning was noted.

Thermage was supposed to be used to tighten skin, not melt fat. Unfortunately, early treatments with Thermage did lead to some fat "melting," which left a lumpy appearance.

Very careful patient selection and technique are required to get good results with Thermage. If you are a regular viewer of this site, you will see that in the "real world" (people who have had procedures done), Thermage is usually ranked near the very bottom of the satisfaction list.

If you are going to try Thermage despite the high failure rate, make sure you pick someone that does a lot of Thermage and has lots and lots of great testimonials from their own patients... not the testimonials supplied by the company.

I have chosen not to offer Thermage at this time for the above reasons. I prefer the Lux Deep IR from Palomar to try to achieve similar results.

Michael Sinclair, MD

Thermage was meant to tighten the skin and improve wrinkles, but some people using the machines were not following the protocol set for the machines. This led to excessive heat internally and, yes, causing some fat to melt. This left some people with facial atrophy (or wasting).