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Lifting · Mid-Dermal Ultrasound
Sofwave: Seven Beams, One Depth
Sofwave fires seven ultrasound beams at the same moment into a single layer of your skin, about 1.5mm down, where collagen and elastin actually live. The surface stays cooled the whole time, so a full face takes 30 to 45 minutes and you go straight back to your day.
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Quick Answer
What is Sofwave?
One depth, done thoroughly — not the deepest layer, the one that holds skin taut.
In Brief
Mid-dermal ultrasound, seven beams at once.
Sofwave treats one depth and treats it thoroughly. Seven parallel beams fire together at around 4MHz, leaving a row of tiny heated points at about 1.5mm — the mid-dermis, where the fibres that hold skin taut sit. Nothing reaches the fat, so a thin face does not end up looking emptier. Firmness builds over the following months rather than appearing on the day.
Pillar
Lifting
Type
Synchronous ultrasound (SUPERB)
Often chosen for
Fine lines, early laxity, brow and neck
What’s special
Surface cooled to -4°C while treating
Rhythm
One session; peaks at 3 to 6 months
Compare with
Ultherapy · Thermage · Liftera
The Technology
One Depth, Seven Beams
Most ultrasound devices work point by point at several depths. Sofwave does the opposite: one depth, seven beams at once. That single choice is what makes it quick, comfortable, and unlikely to hollow a face.
SUPERB
Seven beams, fired together
Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam. Seven beams at about 4MHz deliver energy at the same moment rather than one spot after another, which is why a full face takes 30 to 45 minutes instead of an hour or more.
1.5mm
The mid-dermis, deliberately
Sofwave treats one depth only — the layer where collagen and elastin sit. It stops above the fat, which is why it does not hollow out a thinner face the way deeper devices sometimes can.
60–70°C
Hot enough to remodel
Each beam creates a small coagulation point at 60 to 70°C. Your body clears it and lays down fresh collagen and elastin over the months that follow. That repair is the result — not the heat itself.
Understanding It
Why Depth Decides Everything
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“Seven lines of heat laid down in one layer at once — like stitching, not dotting.”
Skin holds itself up with collagen and elastin, and most of that sits in the dermis — roughly 1 to 2mm below the surface. When those fibres thin out, fine lines appear and the skin stops springing back. Sofwave aims at that layer and nothing else. It is a different idea from the deep devices, which reach down to the layer a surgeon lifts. Deeper is not automatically better; it depends on where your looseness actually is, and on how much fat you have to spare.
A Fair Question
“If it only goes 1.5mm deep, is it strong enough to do anything?”
Depth and strength are separate things. At 1.5mm, each beam still reaches 60 to 70°C — well past the point where collagen contracts and the body starts rebuilding. What changes with depth is which problem you are treating. Sofwave is built for fine lines and early laxity in the skin itself. If your sagging sits in the deeper foundation, your doctor should say so and point you to a device that reaches it.
How It Works
Cool. Treat. Build.
Chilled at the surface, heated beneath it, then months of collagen.
01
The surface is chilled first
SofCool holds the top of your skin somewhere between -4 and 0°C throughout. That protects the surface from heat it does not need and takes most of the sting out of the session — which is the reason there is nothing to recover from afterwards.
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02
Seven beams fire at once
The handpiece is placed, and seven parallel beams deliver energy together into the mid-dermis. Each pass leaves a row of tiny coagulation points at 60 to 70°C. A full face and neck usually takes 30 to 45 minutes.
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03
Then months of quiet building
Each heated point becomes a small repair site. New collagen and elastin fill in over the weeks that follow — subtle at 1 to 4 weeks, clearer at 8 to 12, and at its best around 3 to 6 months. Most people hold that for 6 to 12 months.
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onlif-device-sofwave.webp | Sofwave (Sofwave Medical) product cut-out on white, portrait | 900x1200 | ONLIF SUPPLIES
The Device
Sofwave
- Device Sofwave, by Sofwave Medical
- Technology SUPERB — Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam, seven beams at about 4MHz
- Depth A single target at roughly 1.5mm, the mid-dermis
- Cooling SofCool, holding the surface between -4 and 0°C
- Session 30 to 45 minutes for a full face
Sofwave holds FDA clearance for lifting the brow (2019), for lines on the neck and under the chin (2022), and for the look of cellulite (2023). It is approved by the MFDS for use in Korea.
A Note on Surgery
We don’t perform surgery here. If your sagging has gone past what skin-level ultrasound can reach, we’ll tell you that in the room.
Onlif works entirely without surgery. For fine lines and early laxity, Sofwave does real work. For heavy, settled sagging it will not, and no amount of sessions will change that — you would be spending money on the wrong tool. In that case we would rather point you toward a deeper device, threads, or a surgical opinion than sell you something that cannot do the job.
Candidacy
Who It May Be For
— Fine lines and an early loss of firmness are what bother you, more than heavy sagging.
— You have a slimmer face and don’t want a treatment that could leave it looking emptier.
— You can’t afford downtime. You want to leave and carry on with the day.
— You’re happy to let the result build over a few months rather than see it the same week.
The Visit
What to Expect
01
Assess
Doctor-led consultation across all four pillars.
02
Plan
Where your lines and laxity actually sit, and whether skin-level ultrasound is the right answer for them.
03
Treat
The surface is chilled, then passes are placed across the planned area. Thirty to forty-five minutes for a full face.
04
Care
No downtime — you can go straight back to normal. Skip saunas, hot springs and hard exercise for about a week while the repair gets going.
Planning
Commonly Planned Together
Lifting
Ultherapy
For when the deeper foundation layer needs lifting too.
Lifting
Thermage FLX
Radiofrequency across a broader area, where ultrasound works in rows.
Balance
ONVolassom
Adding structure back while the collagen work builds underneath.
We would rather plan a combination around your face than offer one off a shelf.
Honest Alternatives
If Something Else Fits Better
Lifting
Ultherapy
If your sagging sits in the deep foundation, not the skin.
Lifting
Thread Lifting
If tissue has descended past what energy can lift.
Lifting
Thermage FLX
If skin texture and overall tightening matter more than lines.
Lifting
Liftera
If a few small zones are what need the work.
Side by Side
How the Lifting Treatments Differ
A clinic that offers all of these should be able to say plainly which one fits you, and why the others do not.
| Sofwave | Ultherapy | Shurink Universe | CoolSoniq | Thermage FLX | Alltite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | Synchronous ultrasound | Focused ultrasound | Focused ultrasound | Focused ultrasound | Radiofrequency | Radiofrequency |
| Reaches | One depth, 1.5mm | SMAS, 4.5mm | 1.5–4.5mm, seven cartridges | 1.5–4.5mm, cooled tip | The skin itself | Dermis and SMAS in one pass |
| Guided by | Seven beams fired together | Live imaging | Cartridge choice per area | Cartridge choice per area | Even coverage | Depth set per area |
| Comfort | Surface cooled throughout | Moderate; numbing used | Moderate; numbing used | Usually no anaesthetic | Numbing used | Moderate |
| Course | Usually one | Usually one, yearly | 2–3, 3–4 weeks apart | 2–3, 3–6 months apart | Usually one, yearly | 3, 3–4 weeks apart |
| Best when | Fine lines and early laxity | The deep layer has loosened | Different areas need different depths | Pain has put you off before | The skin itself has lost firmness | Skin and support have both softened |
These overlap, and more than one may suit you. Which is right depends on where the change actually sits, and that is settled by examination rather than preference.
Key Points
What to Take Away
- Synchronous ultrasound: seven beams at about 4MHz fire together, not shot by shot.
- One depth only, 1.5mm — the mid-dermis, where collagen and elastin sit.
- Each beam leaves a coagulation point at 60 to 70°C. The repair is the result.
- SofCool holds the surface at -4 to 0°C. Most people need no numbing.
- A full face takes 30 to 45 minutes. Usually one session.
- Subtle at 1 to 4 weeks, clearer at 8 to 12, at its best around 3 to 6 months.
- Holds 6 to 12 months before most people think about another.
- Stops above the fat, so it does not hollow a thin face.
- Wrong answer for heavy sagging. That needs a deeper device, threads, or surgery.
- FDA cleared for brow, neck and submental lines. MFDS approved in Korea.
- No downtime. Skip saunas and hard exercise for about a week.
FAQ
Questions People Ask
Far less than most people expect from ultrasound. The applicator chills the surface to between -4 and 0°C while it works, so what you feel is a warm pressure rather than the sharp pulses deeper devices produce. Most people sit through a full face without numbing cream. Tell us if any area feels sharp and we’ll adjust.
A little by 1 to 4 weeks, clearer around 8 to 12, and at its best between 3 and 6 months. It’s collagen, so it builds on its own schedule. Most people hold the result for 6 to 12 months before thinking about another session.
Depth. Ultherapy reaches down to the SMAS, the layer a surgeon lifts, and is the better answer when the deep foundation has loosened. Sofwave stays at about 1.5mm and works on the skin’s own collagen, which makes it the better answer for fine lines, early laxity, and for a thin face where you don’t want to touch the fat. They treat different problems — which one you need is settled by examination.
It shouldn’t. Sofwave stops above the fat layer, so there is nothing for it to reduce. That is the main reason it suits slimmer faces, where a deeper device has to be used with more caution.
Usually one, repeated when you feel the firmness easing — commonly 6 to 12 months later. There is no downtime, so you can go back to work immediately. Skip saunas, hot springs and hard exercise for about a week while the collagen work gets underway.
Further reading: Ultherapy vs Thermage vs HIFU: which lifting treatment does what
Assessment Comes First
Whether this device suits you, or something else would work better, depends on a doctor examining your skin first. Onlif Clinic is in Seocho-gu, Seoul.