XERF
XERF is a non-invasive radiofrequency skin tightening treatment, designed to firm early skin laxity on the face, jawline and neck, with no needles, no numbing cream and little downtime.
Request a consultationAt a glance
Onset
1–3 months
A little firming can show on the day; the main change builds over the next one to three months as new collagen forms.
Longevity
6–12 months
The span over which a top-up session is usually considered; your skin keeps ageing, so the result is reviewed with you and the timing of any top-up agreed then.
Downtime
None
Most people head straight back to work; any pinkness or slight puffiness is mild and has usually gone within a day or two.
Discomfort
3–4/10
Cryogen cooling meets every pulse, so each registers as a brief wave of warmth, with no needles and no numbing cream, and the intensity is set to what feels right for you.
Procedure time
90–120 min
The whole appointment for the full face and neck, the treatment itself taking up to 45 minutes of it, and XERF is given in that one visit.
Firming for the jaw, cheeks and neck, with no needles
Many people notice loosening long before they would consider an injection, a procedure or time away from work: a jawline losing definition, cheeks losing firmness, early laxity on the neck. We offer XERF for that stage, because it can firm loosening skin with no needles, no numbing and very little to recover from, and it sits comfortably in a wider plan when more than one change is at work.
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How XERF works
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How XERF works
XERF is a monopolar radiofrequency device, made by Cynosure Lutronic. Its energy travels through the skin's surface and is converted to heat in the tissue below. Each pulse combines two frequencies, 6.78 MHz and 2 MHz, designed to deliver heat at several depths at once, and your practitioner can choose between three depth settings and 10 intensity levels.
That heat is designed to work on collagen in two ways. Existing collagen fibres can contract straight away, tightening the skin a little on the day; over the following months, the skin can be prompted to form new collagen, which is where the gradual firming comes from. Throughout each pulse, built-in cryogen cooling protects the surface, which is why no numbing cream is needed.
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Your laxity, assessed first
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Your laxity, assessed first
Your practitioner examines each area that concerns you, the cheeks, jawline, under the chin and the neck, and judges how far the skin has loosened in each. They also note any flattening in the cheeks, fullness under the chin or loss of structure at the jaw, so the plan can look after those beside the firming. A medical history follows, taken with radiofrequency in mind, including anything implanted and any filler already in the area, and your XERF plan is then set for your skin, area by area.
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Set for your skin, planned around your diary
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Set for your skin, planned around your diary
Which areas are treated, and at what depth, is decided for your skin, and the intensity is adjusted during treatment so that it stays comfortable throughout. The timing is yours as well. With little to show afterwards, the appointment can sit anywhere in your working week, and if you have an occasion in mind, tell us early: because the result builds over months, the plan can start in good time for it.
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"Will it actually do anything?"
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"Will it actually do anything?"
It's a question we hear often about XERF, usually from people who have tried energy-based tightening before and noticed little. When that happens there is usually a reason: settings that weren't matched to the skin, a hope for a different kind of change, or a result judged too soon, before new collagen had formed.
We plan around all three. Your settings are chosen for your skin, area by area; you'll know from the outset that the aim is firmer skin and a crisper line at the jaw and neck; and your result is reviewed once the new collagen has had time to form. Matched to early laxity, XERF can give a visible improvement in firmness, in a face that is still unmistakably yours.
Where XERF fits
in your plan
Skin loosens gradually, and XERF does its best work early on. Your assessment looks at each area in turn, since the neck is sometimes further along than the cheeks, and your plan is built from that picture.
Early laxity
What it looks like
Loss of firmness in the cheeks, the first softening of the jawline, slight looseness under the chin or on the neck. The skin still has much of its elasticity.
What your plan uses
XERF, given in one session, firming the skin and sharpening definition gradually over the months after it.
Loosening with lost volume
What it looks like
Cheeks that have flattened, or a jaw that has lost structure, alongside early loosening.
What your plan uses
XERF for the firming, with dermal fillers or a biostimulator for the volume, each answering its own part of the change.
Established laxity
What it looks like
Jowling and loss of contour along the jaw, looser skin on the neck, often with some fullness under the chin.
What your plan uses
Endolift® Face, performed by our doctors, tightens from beneath the skin and reaches deeper; XERF can add firming from the surface in the same plan.
What happens,
in order
Step 1 of 5 · Before your XERF date is booked
Your XERF plan, agreed first
A face-to-face consultation comes first, and you leave with a plan that sets out the areas to be treated and the fee. From there, the date of your session is yours to choose.
Four treatments
weighed against XERF
XERF firms skin that has started to loosen, with heat from the surface. These four reach the same concern another way, and several can share a plan with it.
Endolift® Face
Endolift® also tightens with heat, but delivers it from beneath the skin: under local anaesthetic, a fine fibre carries laser energy straight to the loosened tissue. Working from there, it can also reduce small fat deposits, under the chin for example. You are back to your day the same day, with minor swelling from the local anaesthetic.
Biostimulators for thin, lax skin
One of the biostimulators is made of hyaluronic acid alone and indicated for laxity on the face and neck. People weigh it against XERF when they would rather have a few small injections than heat: it is given in two sessions about a month apart, and a plan can include both.
Dermal fillers
Some of what reads as sagging is lost volume: cheeks that have flattened, or structure lost at the chin and along the jaw. Dermal fillers restore that volume, with a difference visible straight after treatment, and because they answer a different cause, the two can sit in the same plan.
Biostimulators for lost support
Where a firmer lower face is the aim, the collagen-building biostimulators work from within rather than with heat. One uses poly-L-lactic acid to build support gradually over a short course; another pairs a lifting gel with calcium hydroxyapatite that keeps working over the following weeks. Your practitioner explains which would suit your cheeks and jaw, and how it can sit alongside XERF.
Often more than one change is at work. Your assessment separates them, then sets out which treatment answers which, and in what order.
Why heat needs a clinician
XERF offers three depths and 10 intensity levels, and every treatment is built from passes across the skin. The right combination depends on the tissue under the handpiece: thin skin on the neck is set differently from the cheek, and people tolerate heat differently. Too little energy and the collagen barely responds; the aim is enough heat to reach it while the cooling keeps the surface comfortable. The person treating you chooses the settings, then adjusts them as your skin reacts and as you tell them how it feels.
XERF Pricing
One XERF session treats the full face and neck, and its fee depends on who treats you.
XERF, full face and neck
Dr Priya
Aesthetic Practitioner
One session
£2,750
£2,500
Your XERF fee is confirmed at the consultation, along with who will carry out the treatment, so you know the full cost before the day itself.
Full price listWhat people ask us
about XERF
Most people arrive with three questions: whether it hurts, whether it shows, and how many sessions it takes. Those are answered here, along with the others we hear most.
Does XERF hurt?
Most people find it very manageable. Cooling is built into every pulse, so what you notice is a short burst of warmth that fades as the handpiece moves on, with no needles and no need for numbing cream. Your practitioner sets the intensity area by area and turns it down whenever you ask, so nothing is rushed.
Will anyone notice, and can I go back to work?
You can usually go straight back to work. Your skin may be red, slightly swollen or tender for a short while, which tends to settle quickly. Any change develops gradually, over months, so what people tend to notice is firmer skin along your jaw and neck, not that you've had anything done.
How many sessions will I need?
Just one. At ART Clinic XERF is a single appointment, and the firming it starts goes on building for months as your skin lays down new collagen. Once that collagen has had time to form, your result is reviewed with you, and any thought of a top-up in later years belongs to that review.
When will I see a difference?
Possibly a little straight away, as the heat can make existing collagen contract. Any further improvement can build over the months after treatment, as new collagen forms, so the time to judge XERF is at your review, not the morning after a session.
How long does the result last?
Your skin keeps ageing after any treatment, so instead of a fixed schedule, your practitioner reviews the result with you and advises whether, and when, more would help.
Is XERF enough for jowls?
For jowls that are only beginning to form, it can be: firming the skin along the jaw can improve the line. Where a jowl is well defined, or holds fat, Endolift® Face reaches deeper, and XERF can work alongside it. The small hollow that can form in front of a jowl is lost volume, which filler restores in the same plan.
Where jowls come from
XERF or Endolift®: which would suit me?
If your laxity is early and you would rather avoid needles altogether, XERF is usually the better fit. If it is more established, or there is fat under the chin, Endolift® goes further: it is given under local anaesthetic, and you return to your day the same day, with only minor swelling from the anaesthetic. Your consultation covers both, so you can compare them for your own skin.
Can XERF be combined with filler or other treatments?
Often, because they answer different causes. Hyaluronic acid filler and XERF can be part of the same plan, spaced apart. Where permanent filler sits in an area, your practitioner plans that area with a treatment suited to it. Biostimulators such as Profhilo or Sculptra can also sit alongside XERF.
I've had tightening treatment elsewhere. Can I have XERF?
In most cases, yes. Bring what you know: the device, if you have its name, when you had it, which areas were treated, and what changed. If it did little for you, your assessment looks at why, so your XERF settings and plan can take it into account.
Is XERF suitable for men?
Yes. Men often come to us about the jaw and the neck, wanting a result nobody puts down to treatment, from appointments that fit around work. Where the laxity is early, XERF can offer both.
For men
Can XERF treat the brow, or around the eyes?
XERF is designed for use along the brow and on the forehead as well as the lower face. Heavier upper eyelids are often a matter of excess skin, which your practitioner assesses on its own terms and talks you through at the consultation.
Can XERF treat the neck, or the body?
The neck, including the area under the chin, is one of the main areas XERF is designed for. Looser skin on the body can also be treated with Endolift® Body.
Endolift® Body
Who is XERF suited to?
Adults whose skin has begun to loosen on the face, jaw or neck and who want to firm it with little time away from their day. Your practitioner checks a few things first: pregnancy or breastfeeding, any skin infection or condition that slows healing, and, because this is radiofrequency, any implanted electronic device such as a pacemaker, and any permanent filler or metal implant where XERF would be used.
What are the risks?
Most people have nothing more than a little pinkness, mild puffiness or tenderness, which settles quickly. Rare effects include a small blister or a slight dip in the contour, and the cooling and your practitioner's choice of settings are there to keep them rare; your practitioner goes through each one before you consent. If anything seems wrong afterwards, contact us straight away; the MHRA, which regulates medical devices in the UK, also takes reports through its Yellow Card scheme.
See what XERF could do for your jaw and neck
A comprehensive diagnostic consultation: a thorough assessment leading to a truly bespoke treatment plan, created by you and your practitioner.
For XERF, that means your cheeks, jawline and neck examined one at a time at the clinic in Belgravia, and a plan for the firming you want, with the fee and timing set out before you commit to anything. You won't be sold to, and you won't be pushed.
Request a consultation Call 020 3355 2030 About your consultation