Sofwave in London: cost, results, jowls, pain and how it compares

Sofwave is the newest of the ultrasound tightening devices and has become the first choice for people who want tighter skin at the brow, jawline and neck in one session, without needles and with little time off. This guide covers how many sessions you need, when the result shows, how a full face is priced and whether it will help your jowls, and it is reviewed by our clinician.

What Sofwave is

Sofwave is a non-invasive ultrasound device made by Sofwave Medical. Its handpiece carries seven parallel ultrasound transducers (the technology is called SUPERB, Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam). Each pulse heats a band of tissue centred about 1.5 mm below the surface, in the mid-dermis, to 60 to 70 degrees for a few seconds. That controlled injury makes the skin lay down new collagen and elastin over the following weeks, which is what tightens and lifts it.

Two design choices separate it from older ultrasound treatments:

• One shallow depth, centred on about 1.5 mm. Ultherapy and other deep ultrasound devices also fire at 3 mm and 4.5 mm, into the fat and the SMAS layer, to reach deeper laxity. Sofwave is designed to stay in the dermis, and its clearance studies reported no fat loss or nerve injury.
• Integrated cooling (SofCool). The surface of the skin is cooled while the energy passes through it, so the top layer is protected and there is no blistering.

Sofwave is cleared by the US FDA for treating fine lines and wrinkles (2019), lifting the eyebrow and lax tissue under the chin and on the neck (2021), short-term improvement of cellulite (2022), acne scars (2023) and skin laxity of the upper arms (2023). It has carried a CE mark since 2020. The company's studies behind those clearances report high patient satisfaction and no serious or unanticipated adverse events, which matches our own experience.

Will Sofwave help jowls?

This is the question people actually type, so here is a straight answer. Yes, if the jowl is early to moderate: the skin along the jawline has started to soften and gather at the corner of the mouth, but when you tilt your head back the line is clean. Sofwave tightens the skin of the lower face and the neck, and in those cases, in our experience, it sharpens the jawline noticeably at three months; the jawline page explains.

No, if the jowl is a hanging fold of skin and fat that stays when you lift your chin, or if the problem is a heavy fat pad under the chin. Loose skin with no elasticity left is more than Sofwave tightens, and a fat pad is not a skin problem. The clinician tells you which you have at your free consultation, before you pay for anything.

Between the two, a combination often works: Sofwave for the skin, and EMface to lift the muscles of the midface so the jowl has less to fall into.

What Sofwave treats

On the full face: brow lift and hooded eyelids, forehead lines, the temples, crow's feet and under-eye crepiness, cheek laxity, nasolabial folds, marionette lines, lip lines, the chin and the jawline and jowls. Below it: the submental area under the chin, neck laxity and lines and the décolletage. On the body: loose skin on the upper arms, the abdomen after pregnancy or weight loss and the knees, cellulite on the buttocks and thighs, and the inner thighs. It also softens acne scars.

Who it suits, and who should not have it

The best candidates are people from their mid-thirties to their late sixties with mild to moderate laxity, of any skin type, who want a single session and to be back at work the same day. It suits men as well as women, and for the brow, jawline and neck it is the treatment we recommend first.

Sofwave is not suitable, or needs a conversation first, if you:

• are pregnant or breastfeeding;
• have an active implanted electronic device such as a pacemaker or defibrillator;
• have metal implants, plates or non-dissolving threads in the treatment area;
• have an open wound, active infection, cold sore or severe cystic acne in the area;
• have had filler in the area in the last four weeks, or threads in the last three months;
• have a history of keloid scarring, a bleeding disorder, or an autoimmune disease affecting the skin;
• have severe skin laxity, more than Sofwave can tighten.

Our clinic works with your own collagen and muscle. If you want injectable treatments as well, our doctor can provide them, and we time them around your Sofwave session: we leave two weeks after an injectable treatment in the area and four weeks after dermal filler, here or elsewhere, before treating it.

What a session is like

1. Consultation. The clinician examines the skin at rest and with your head tilted, confirms Sofwave is the right tool, and agrees the areas. Photographs are taken in standard light.
2. Numbing. A topical anaesthetic goes on for 45 to 60 minutes. This step matters, and we give it the full time because it makes the treatment easier.
3. Treatment. Ultrasound gel is applied and the handpiece is placed and fired in a grid across each area, a few seconds per pulse. A full face takes 30 to 45 minutes, face and neck about an hour. The brow alone is 15 minutes.
4. Pain. Each pulse is a short, deep hot sting, strongest over bone (the brow, the jawline, the forehead) and milder on the cheeks and neck. With numbing most patients rate it 4 to 6 out of 10 and describe it as "sharp but quick". The clinician adjusts the energy pulse by pulse. It stops the moment the handpiece lifts.
5. After. The skin is pink and slightly puffy for an hour or two, sometimes with faint welts along the pulse lines that fade the same day. You can go straight back to work and put makeup on.

Downtime and aftercare

There is none worth planning around. Redness lasts one to three hours, mild swelling or tenderness up to a day, and a few patients feel a dull ache in the treated area for two or three days, as if they had a bruise under the skin. There are no scabs, no grid marks and nothing to hide. You can exercise the next day, have an event the same evening, and go in the sun with SPF. We ask you to avoid retinoids and acids for a week and to drink plenty of water.

Results: when they show and how long they last

The result is a lifted brow, a more open eye, a crisper jawline, a smoother neck and firmer, finer-textured skin. It builds gradually, so it looks natural from day to day, and it is obvious in the before-and-after pair at three months. Nothing is added and nothing is cut: it is your own skin, tightened.

How many sessions? Most clinics, ours included, treat in one session, and for mild to moderate laxity that is usually enough. The company's clearance studies used two sessions a few weeks apart for cellulite and for the brow and neck, so a second session at six to twelve weeks is reasonable for more advanced laxity or the neck, and a session a year keeps the result.

Our patients review the clinic on review.clinic, where Sofwave at our clinic holds 4.9 out of 5 from 63 reviews with 100% saying it was worth it (October 2026).

What Sofwave costs in London

Because it is one session rather than a course, one visit covers the treatment, and over a year it is often cheaper than a course of sessions. We price Sofwave from £799 per area, confirmed in writing at your free consultation, and we price match any comparable written quote. The brow, the lower face and jawline, the neck, and the full face are priced separately and combine at a lower rate. 0% finance is available. Consultations and follow-up reviews are free whatever you decide.

Sofwave compared with the alternatives

Each works at a different depth with a different recovery, and we provide them all; the clinician tells you which fits your face at your free consultation.

What is better than Sofwave? Nothing is better across the board; each tool has a job, and we provide them all. Ultherapy goes deeper and can move more on a heavier face. Morpheus8 does more for texture and scars, with a few days of recovery. EMface lifts the muscles, which no ultrasound does. For tightening the brow, jawline and neck in one session with little time off, and no serious side effects reported in its clearance studies, Sofwave is the one we recommend first.

Sofwave vs Ultherapy. The two are closest, and we provide both. Ultherapy's deep transducers reach the SMAS, so it can lift a more advanced face, and it has been around longer. Sofwave works in the dermis, and it is quicker, more comfortable and costs less per session. Our rule: moderate laxity, Sofwave; more advanced laxity, Ultherapy. The clinician tells you which fits at your free consultation.

Sofwave vs HIFU. "HIFU" at a beauty salon is usually an unbranded deep-ultrasound device used without medical supervision. Sofwave is a specific, FDA-cleared device that treats at one fixed depth of about 1.5 mm, in a doctor-led clinic.

Sofwave vs Thermage. Thermage, which we also provide, heats the skin from the surface with radiofrequency and is comfortable. The two tighten at different depths, and for the brow, jawline and neck Sofwave is the one we recommend first; the clinician tells you which fits your skin.

Side effects, and the online stories explained

The stories of fat loss, hollowing and numbness you find online are almost all about HIFU, not Sofwave. Sofwave treats at about 1.5 mm, in the dermis. The studies behind its FDA clearances reported no serious or unanticipated adverse events, and we have not seen fat loss or nerve injury in our clinic.

The side effects that do occur are minor: redness and swelling for hours, tenderness for a few days, small temporary welts along the pulse lines, and rarely a small bruise or a patch of numbness over a bony area that resolves within weeks. Burns are prevented by the cooling and by correct gel and contact; rushed contact can leave a surface mark.

If a treatment somewhere else has gone wrong, ask the clinic for the device name, the settings and the depths used, photograph the area daily, and have it seen by a doctor promptly; a consultation with our doctor-led team is free. Most heat-related effects improve with time and correct care.

How to choose a Sofwave clinic, and what "official" means

• Check it is a Sofwave device. The handpiece and the tower carry the Sofwave branding, and the clinic should be able to show you the system. Sofwave Medical lists its UK providers in its clinic finder; our clinic is in it under our group name Chelsea Clinic, and we run every Sofwave applicator, including the Precise applicator for small areas such as the eyes and the lip line.
• Who is treating you, by name, and on which register? Doctors are on the GMC register, nurses on the NMC. Our clinic is doctor-led; this guide is reviewed by Dr Marie Duggan, GMC 7488383.
• Is the clinic CQC registered? Ours is.
• Ask for the clinic's own before-and-after photographs at three months, not brochure images.
• Ask how pain is managed. We apply numbing cream for 45 to 60 minutes before treating; ask any clinic what it does and why.
• Ask for the full-face price in writing, with the neck listed separately.
• Ask how many sessions are planned. One per area is the usual protocol for this device.

Frequently asked questions