Skin Tightening Treatments Episodes

In light of the FDA’s October 2025 warning about RF microneedling, Dr. Bass explains what it actually means for anyone considering the treatment. He explains that RF microneedling isn’t your average facial, but rather a medical procedure that uses tiny needles to deliver radiofrequency energy beneath the skin. Done incorrectly, it can cause complications like burns, scarring, or nerve damage. The FDA warning is worthwhile but provides a single point of view about a very broad range of devi...

Your beauty plan should be tailored to you—your goals, your timeline, and what you're comfortable with when it comes to recovery and results. Dr. Bass explains his idea of “right-sized beauty planning” and why having a personalized approach makes all the difference in plastic surgery. Whether you’re looking to address one specific feature, maintain your look over the next year, or map out a long-term transformation, having a clear plan helps you prioritize, budget, and coordinate treatments mo...

Because the neck tends to reveal your age more clearly—and age faster—than your face, it is a key area to address when talking about facial aging. Some people catch the early signs, like skin texture changes, and horizontal lines across the neck. For these concerns, skin treatments, like chemical peels, energy treatments for skin and dermal stimulating filler treatments can help. For minimal sagging or excess fat is approached with liposuction, or muscle tightening through small incisions. As s...

If you want better results from your anti-aging efforts, planning ahead is key. Teaming up with a plastic surgeon can help you restore right when it's needed, not when it's screaming to be done. While restorative treatments become more essential with age, prevention and maintenance are crucial at every stage. Dr. Bass explains the importance of creating a personalized anti-aging plan that works with your budget. Find out how to know when it's time for surgical interventions like facelifts or n...

Dr. Bass wraps up his “Lifting Without Cutting” series with a summary of non-surgical skin lifting and tightening options. For those who aren't quite ready for surgery, this series delves into non-invasive and minimally invasive treatments for milder degrees of skin laxity. While these treatments can delay surgery, they aren't a substitute for a facelift or neck lift if you have significant sagging. Explore the variety of treatments based on aging stages and areas of concern, keeping in mind t...

In the past, looking younger usually meant surgery. But plastic surgeon Dr. Julius Few believes that dramatic results are possible with less invasive methods. He uses a “treatment ladder” to combine nonsurgical procedures to improve skin texture, volume loss, and sagging skin all at once. Stacking nonsurgical treatments, namely giving multiple treatments in a single sitting, used to be seen as too risky. Now, doctors see that combining them can often be done safely, delivering more complete rej...

Sofwave is the newest generation of non-surgical tightening for the skin in the face and neck. Ideal for younger patients who aren’t quite ready for a facelift, Sofwave delivers ultrasound energy to tighten skin without the need for a long series of treatments. Unlike previous energy-based treatments, Sofwave gets the job done with fewer sessions and minimal discomfort. Radiofrequency treatments typically involve a series of several treatments. While also using sound energy, Ultherapy has a dif...

Plastic surgeon Dr. Sherrell Aston, who uses FaceTite or AccuTite as a complementary procedure with almost every facelift he does, joins Dr. Bass in the 4th episode of our series "Lifting Without Cutting," to discuss how it delivers more complete rejuvenation. Dr. Aston often pairs these bipolar radiofrequency treatments with face and neck lifts to address what surgery alone cannot, such as wrinkles or localized areas of laxity. While FaceTite and AccuTite are in a large class of devices using...

Non-surgical skin tightening is the “holy grail” of plastic surgery, and Ellacor is the latest and greatest step toward it. Since conducting the clinical trials for Ellacor, Florida plastic surgeon Dr. Jason Pozner has treated hundreds of patients – including himself! By punching out numerous tiny cylinders of loose skin and stimulating the surrounding skin’s healing response, Ellacor is designed to reduce laxity and generate healthier skin without leaving any scars. Dr. Pozner joins Dr. Bass...

Guest expert dermatologist Dr. Vic Ross joins Dr. Bass to review technologies that have come to market in recent years and preview the pipeline for the future of aesthetics. Looking back on the history of aesthetic medicine, a pivotal breakthrough was the ability to precisely target abnormal areas of skin rather than damaging the skin globally. As this advancement transformed aesthetic treatments, researchers continued to find ways to make these technologies more powerful, cost effective, and ...

Dr. Gregory Mueller is the innovator of MyEllevate, a minimally invasive technology for lifting skin and muscle in the neck. He joins Dr. Bass In this second episode of our mini series “Lifting Without Cutting.” Using a light-guided delivery to lift the skin and muscle together as a composite, MyEllevate offers a research-based, data-driven approach with obvious improvement, minimal recovery time, and long-lasting durability. Early in his career, Dr. Mueller recognized many people needed atten...

Lifting the face and neck without surgery is the holy grail of aesthetic medicine. While there’s no meaningful substitute currently available that can give the degree of laxity correction in the face, neck and jawline as the facelift, there are good non-surgical skin lifting and tightening treatments for mild to moderate signs of aging. Non-surgical skin treatments started with various smoothing treatments such as chemical peels. As doctors noticed the more aggressive use of these treatments cr...

Starting early with minimally invasive treatments postpones the need for more aggressive treatments. Dr. Bass and special guest & dermatologist Dr. Joel Cohen share their expertise to bring us the definitive anti-aging treatment plan. Spoiler alert: the key to facial rejuvenation is combining laser and energy treatments with other treatments such as Botox and injectables. Regular maintenance treatments help you target the whole package, from skin texture and pigmentation to volume loss and wrin...

In the second installment of our mini-series “Decades of Face,” Dr. Bass advises people in their 30’s who want to be proactive and have an effective facial rejuvenation treatment plan in place before aging signs appear. Find out which treatments are best for the common skin concerns of this decade, including Botox, injectable fillers, radiofrequency microneedling, and lasers. Learn which treatments you should be doing right now and which products you should be using to look your best. Hint: if...

Until the 1980’s, doctors used a small set of lasers as a continuous wave for every medical and cosmetic skin condition, heating and burning off the surface of the target. Dermatologist Dr. Vic Ross characterizes this approach as being like “napalm in the forest,” Then, Harvard researcher and dermatologist Dr. Rox Anderson recognized these treatments would be much more selective if they were delivered in short pulses and tailored to each condition. From there, researchers in laser medicine bega...

Many people are interested in treatments that have a significant positive impact on appearance without a big investment in recovery time or money. Dr. Munique Maia joins Dr. Bass for a deep dive into the most powerful minimally invasive treatments and minor surgeries, and reveals which small aging changes can make a huge difference in appearance when addressed. Everyone has a busy schedule and a budget, and it’s a good idea to think about what procedures will truly make a difference. Drs. Bass...

To help you find the best laser or energy treatment for your goals, dermatologist Joel L. Cohen, MD, joins Dr. Bass for a conversation about the devices which have changed the aesthetics game and how treatments can be modulated to fit your goals. Finding the right device means first consulting with and building a relationship with an expert dermatologist or plastic surgeon, who will help you select the treatment that will best address your concerns. Getting to your goals requires an entire too...

Needles are everywhere in medical aesthetics, from injectable treatments to needling treatments that use tiny sterile needles to create tiny punctures and energy based microneedling. Creating a lot of punctures in the skin is microtrauma that the body recognizes and responds to biologically, creating biostimulatory effects such as neocollagenesis, the formation of new collagen in the skin, and neovascularization, the formation of new blood supply in the skin. Some needles are big, some are tiny ...

What's in store for the future of medical aesthetics? Dr. Bass gives an inside look at where we are right now and his expert predictions. Injectable fillers and neuromodulators began to gain momentum in the 1990’s, and the rate of innovation with these technologies has been expanding ever since. These advances in non-surgical treatments will continue to decrease the need for big restorative surgery and revolutionize aesthetic medicine. As technology continues to improve, we can expect to see the...

Cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Christopher Zachary joins Dr. Bass to share the miraculous history behind some of today’s most popular treatments and discuss the impact of developments and research in medical aesthetics. With every new treatment and technology to enter the world of aesthetics, the landscape grows more confusing for patients. Finding the ideal treatment for every concern starts with the patient understanding what each treatment does best. Providers need to work out how each device fit...

You know you are not ready for a facelift yet but your face is not looking as youthful as you want. There are many non-surgical options and minimally invasive options that are increasingly important to maintaining appearance if a facelift might be in your future in the next decade. If you are counting down “T-Minus 10 Years” to a facelift or necklift, listen to Dr. Bass review your options to look your best until you are ready to launch a surgical project and to help extend the time until surger...

If you’re avoiding the plastic surgeon’s office for fear of being sold something you might not need, know that it is much easier and more affordable to prevent your face from aging now than it will be to fix it later. Dr. Bass outlines how planning for the future and a great relationship with the right aesthetic provider will give you much more success throughout the years. The first step is finding a provider who you enjoy and trust. This person should be a good listener and have a refined appr...

Planning Your Care to Match The Season

How Modern Aesthetic Medicine Has Given Us A Decade of Delay in Facial Aging