Aesthetic Treatments Compared: Downtime, Sessions and Results
Medical Director Dr Sin Yong compares the main aesthetic treatments by what each treats, the usual downtime and sessions, when results show and who should avoid or wait.
WhatsApp to Enquire →Key facts ↓This page has aesthetic treatments compared in one table: what each treats, typical downtime, usual number of sessions, when results show and who should avoid or wait. In general, injectables act within days to weeks, collagen-building devices over two to six months, and lasers over a course. The right choice depends on the cause of the concern, found at assessment.
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- Filler results can be measured: in a randomised trial of 235 adults, about 85.6 in 100 treated with a volumising hyaluronic acid filler for midface volume loss were responders at six months, and nearly half kept the correction at two years [1].
- Pico laser evidence: a systematic review of 77 studies rated the evidence for picosecond laser highest for tattoo removal and level I to IV for benign pigmented lesions [2].
- Pico in Asian skin: a meta-analysis of 200 Asian patients rated pigment clearance after picosecond laser excellent in about 56 in 100 at three months [4].
- Laser hair removal and skin type: a review of laser hair removal concluded that the longer 1,064 nm Nd:YAG wavelength suits pigmented skin [3].
- Settings change darkening risk: after fractional resurfacing in Chinese patients, post-inflammatory pigmentation rates differed with energy and density settings, 7.1 vs 12.4 in 100 [5].
How do the main aesthetic treatments compare?
The table compares 20 treatments offered at IN Eternity Clinic by what each treats, typical downtime, usual sessions, when results show and who should avoid or wait.
| Treatment | What it treats | Typical downtime | Usual sessions | When results show | Who should avoid or wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-wrinkle injections | Frown lines, forehead lines, crow’s feet; also jaw slimming | Little; tiny bumps for minutes, occasional bruise | One; repeated about every three to four months | Over several days to two weeks | Pregnancy or breastfeeding; infection at the site; some neuromuscular conditions |
| Dermal fillers | Volume loss and contour: cheeks, chin, lips, under-eyes, temples | Swelling peaks in two to three days; bruising possible | Usually one; sometimes staged | Immediately; settles over one to two weeks | Pregnancy; active infection or cold sore at the site; recent or planned dental work |
| Skin boosters | Hydration, fine texture, crepiness | Small raised bumps for hours to a few days | A short course a few weeks apart | Over weeks | Pregnancy; active skin infection or flare at the site |
| Rejuran | Skin quality; shallow acne scars (Rejuran S); thin under-eye skin | Small bumps, usually a few days | A course of sessions | Gradually, over weeks | Fish or salmon allergy; pregnancy; active infection |
| Profhilo | Skin laxity and crepiness without changing shape | Small bumps at the injection points, settling in 24 to 48 hours | Two or three sessions four weeks apart | Over weeks | Pregnancy; sagging that needs lifting rather than skin quality |
| Juvelook (PDLLA) | Texture, pores, shallow scars, crepiness | Grid of small bumps for days; allow a week before an event | Two or three sessions | Hydration in days; collagen over months | Pregnancy; wanting volume or a same-day change |
| Sculptra | Deep volume loss: temples, cheeks | Swelling and bruising for days | Usually two or three sessions weeks apart | Builds over about three months | Wanting a same-day change; the lips |
| HIFU | Early jowling, softening jawline, loose skin under the chin | Short: mild redness, swelling or tenderness for hours to days | Usually one, with maintenance planned individually | Over two to three months | Thin tissue where heat could cost facial fullness; heavy skin excess |
| Ultherapy | Mild to moderate laxity of brow, jaw and neck | Little; tenderness possible | Usually one | Over two to three months | Heavy skin excess that needs a surgical opinion |
| Thermage FLX | Mild to moderate laxity of face, eyelids, neck and body | Little for most people | Usually one, often repeated about yearly | Firming builds over three to six months | Pacemakers or other implanted electronic devices; advanced sagging |
| VF Lift – Vertical Facelift | Sagging, heaviness and hollowing addressed along vertical vectors | Usually little; most return to work the same day | Typically two to four sessions | Gradually over weeks to months | Decided at assessment; heavy skin excess may need surgery |
| Thread lift | Mild to moderate descent of jowl, mid-face, brow or neck | Bruising, swelling, tightness; one to two days off work for most | One; repeated as threads dissolve | Repositioning at once; collagen over months | Heavy skin excess; active skin infection; unrealistic expectations of a surgical result |
| Pico laser | Sun spots, freckles, post-acne marks, some melasma, tattoos, uneven tone | Toning: redness for hours. Spots: fine crusts for about a week | Sun spots often one to three; melasma and tattoos longer courses | Spots lift in about a week; tone builds over a course | Fresh tan; unstable melasma; any pigmented spot not yet examined |
| Laser toning | Dull, uneven tone; some post-acne marks; cautious melasma support | Mild redness for a few hours | A course, one to a few weeks apart | Gradually across the course | Fresh tan; treating too often |
| Fractional CO2 laser | Acne scars, texture, selected lesions | Surface heals in about a week; redness longer | Planned per scar type, often more than one session | Over months as collagen remodels | Active acne or infection; recent tan; keloid tendency; recent oral acne medication |
| RF microneedling | Acne scars, enlarged pores, texture | A few days of redness | A course, usually four to six weeks apart | Over months | Active acne or infection at the site; keloid tendency |
| Chemical peel | Acne, closed comedones, dullness, some marks | Superficial peels: little visible peeling, a few days of flaking | A course a few weeks apart | After one to a few sessions | Sunburn or eczema flare; recent oral acne medication for stronger peels |
| Hydrafacial | Congestion, dullness, dehydration | Most return to their day straight after | Often about every four weeks | Same day; short-lived | Melasma, scars or laxity, which it does not treat |
| Laser hair removal | Unwanted hair; long-term reduction | Redness and bumps for hours | A course; face about every four to six weeks | Gradual reduction over the course | Fresh tan; new coarse facial hair, which may need a medical check alongside |
| 4K Body Lift | Body contour: abdomen, flanks, thighs, upper arms, under the chin | Bruising possible for 10 to 14 days; most return to work | One to three sessions six weeks apart | Reviewed at six weeks | Weight loss goals; significant loose skin needing a surgical opinion |
Read across a row to see what a treatment involves, or down a column to compare one dimension. Pregnancy and breastfeeding are a reason to postpone most elective treatments; the detail is in pregnancy and breastfeeding safety. How long each result usually lasts is set out separately in how long aesthetic treatments last.
What is the difference between injectables, energy devices and lasers?
Injectables place a product in the skin or deeper tissue; energy devices heat tissue at set depths to tighten and build collagen; lasers target pigment, water or hair with light.
| Category | What it does | Examples | Downtime pattern | How results develop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neuromodulators | Relax the muscles that crease the skin | Anti-wrinkle injections | Minimal | Days to two weeks; wears off over months |
| Fillers | Replace volume or add structure | Hyaluronic acid fillers | Swelling and bruising for days | Immediate, settling over two weeks |
| Skin boosters | Improve skin quality in the dermis | Profhilo, Rejuran, Juvelook | Bumps for hours to days | Over weeks, built over a course |
| Collagen stimulators | Prompt your own collagen over months | Sculptra, Juvelook (PDLLA) | Swelling and bruising | Over about three months |
| Focused ultrasound and radiofrequency | Heat deep layers to tighten and remodel | HIFU, Ultherapy, Thermage FLX, VF Lift – Vertical Facelift | Usually little | Over two to six months |
| Pigment and toning lasers | Break up pigment or ink | Pico laser, laser toning | Hours to a week | Spots in a week; tone over a course |
| Resurfacing and needling | Controlled injury that remodels scars and texture | Fractional CO2, RF microneedling | Days to a week | Over months |
The category also tells you what a treatment cannot do. A filler does not tighten loose skin; an energy device does not replace lost bone or fat; a pigment laser does not treat sagging. Many plans combine categories in a planned order.
Which aesthetic treatments have the least downtime?
Hydrafacial, laser toning, anti-wrinkle injections, most skin boosters and focused ultrasound usually allow a return to normal activities the same day.
“Little downtime” still means something: bumps after a booster for hours to a few days, redness after toning for a few hours, an occasional bruise after an injection. Treatments that injure the surface on purpose, such as fractional CO2 laser and RF microneedling, need days to a week, and filler or thread lift swelling can be visible for several days. If you are planning around an event, the downtime planner shows which treatments generally fit a given date, and lunchtime treatments lists those that fit a working day.
Which treatments take longest to show results?
Treatments that work through your own collagen take longest: Sculptra, Juvelook, HIFU, Ultherapy, Thermage FLX, RF microneedling and fractional CO2 laser usually show change over two to six months.
Fillers and anti-wrinkle injections act within days to two weeks; pigment spots treated with pico laser usually lift within about a week. Collagen-building treatments are judged against photographs taken before treatment, at a review months later, because the change is too gradual to notice day to day. Filler results have been measured in trials: in one randomised study of a volumising hyaluronic acid filler, about 85.6 in 100 people were responders at six months, and nearly half kept the correction at two years [1].
“Downtime, sessions and how soon you see a change are not measures of how good a treatment is. They are the price of what it does, and the right one is the one whose price fits the problem.”
Who should avoid or postpone aesthetic treatments?
Most elective treatments are postponed during pregnancy and breastfeeding, with infection at the site, after recent sun exposure for lasers, and within a period after oral acne medication for resurfacing.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding: most injectables and lasers are deferred.
- Infection or cold sores at the site: treatment waits until healed; a history of cold sores is mentioned before lip or perioral treatment.
- A fresh tan: lasers and resurfacing wait, because tanned skin darkens more easily. Most people in Singapore have skin that tans readily, so settings are planned around post-inflammatory pigmentation, which varies with settings [5].
- Recent oral acne medication: resurfacing and stronger peels are timed with the prescribing doctor; see acne medication and procedures.
- Keloid or poor-healing tendency: needling and resurfacing are planned cautiously or avoided.
- Blood thinners and some supplements: raise bruising; never stop prescribed medicines without your doctor.
- A pigmented spot not yet examined: it is checked before any laser; see mole check before removal.
Device choice also follows skin type: for laser hair removal, the longer 1,064 nm wavelength suits pigmented skin [3], and the Lutronic Clarity II offers both 755 nm and 1,064 nm. For pigment, picosecond laser has a broad evidence base [2] and has been studied in Asian patients [4].
What Dr Sin Yong looks for
- The cause of the concern: volume loss, laxity, muscle activity, pigment, scarring or skin quality.
- How much downtime you can accept, and whether there is an event or travel to plan around.
- Your skin type and history of darkening, scarring or keloids.
- Previous treatments, including old filler, which change what is added and when.
- Pregnancy plans, medicines, supplements and medical conditions that mean waiting.
- Whether one treatment is enough, or two categories in a planned order would serve you better.
General clinical observations used at consultation; they describe what is checked, not any individual result.
How is the right aesthetic treatment chosen?
The right treatment is chosen from the cause of the concern, not from the table: the same visible problem can have different causes needing different treatments.
A heavy lower face may be muscle, fat, sagging or old filler; a dark patch may be melasma, a sun spot or a lesion that needs checking first. At an assessment, Dr Sin Yong examines the area, explains what he sees, and sets out options with their downtime, sessions and risks, including doing nothing. If this is your first treatment, the step-by-step journey is in the first aesthetic treatment guide, and the questions worth asking are in questions to ask your aesthetic doctor.
For the full list of treatments offered, see aesthetic treatments A–Z; for treatments the clinic chooses not to offer, see treatments we do not offer.
Frequently asked questions
Which aesthetic treatments have the shortest recovery?
No treatment is entirely without after-effects, but Hydrafacial, laser toning, anti-wrinkle injections, most skin boosters, HIFU and VF Lift – Vertical Facelift usually allow a return to normal activities the same day. Expect minor redness, small bumps or an occasional bruise for hours to a few days.
Which aesthetic treatment gives the fastest results?
Dermal fillers show a change immediately, settling over one to two weeks, and anti-wrinkle injections act over several days to two weeks. Pigment spots treated with pico laser usually lift within about a week. Collagen-building treatments take two to six months.
How many sessions do aesthetic treatments need?
It depends on how the treatment works. Fillers, HIFU, Ultherapy and Thermage are often single sessions with later maintenance; skin boosters, Profhilo, Juvelook and Sculptra are usually a short course; lasers for pigment, scars and hair run as courses spaced weeks apart. The number is decided at assessment.
Can different aesthetic treatments be combined?
Often, yes, because they work on different layers: for example an energy device for laxity with a skin booster for quality, or filler for volume with anti-wrinkle injections for movement. The order and spacing matter, and some combinations are done on separate days. This is planned at assessment.
Is HIFU or a thread lift better for sagging?
Neither is better in general. HIFU suits early laxity and builds collagen over two to three months with little downtime; a thread lift repositions mild to moderate descent at once, with a few days of swelling. Heavy skin excess may need a surgical opinion instead. The choice follows the degree and pattern of sagging.
Are skin boosters the same as fillers?
No. Fillers add volume or structure and change shape; skin boosters are placed in the dermis to improve hydration, texture and elasticity without changing shape. Some products, such as Juvelook and Sculptra, stimulate collagen over months rather than filling immediately.
Which treatments are safe for darker or Asian skin?
Most treatments in the table can be used in skin that tans readily, with settings and timing planned around the risk of post-inflammatory pigmentation. Lasers and resurfacing are the main concern; for hair removal the 1,064 nm wavelength suits darker skin. A fresh tan is a reason to wait.
How do I know which treatment I need?
Start from the concern and its cause rather than a treatment name. An in-person assessment identifies whether the problem is volume, laxity, muscle, pigment, scarring or skin quality, and the options follow from that. At IN Eternity Clinic this is done by Dr Sin Yong.
Book an assessment
IN Eternity Clinic, 9 Scotts Road, #12-01 Pacific Plaza, Singapore 228210. By appointment with Medical Director Dr Sin Yong. Monday to Saturday, 11am to 8pm. WhatsApp or call +65 8815 3008. At IN Eternity Clinic a consultation fee applies, and it is waived if you go ahead with any medical treatment; the fee is S$120.
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References
- Jones D, Murphy DK. Volumizing hyaluronic acid filler for midface volume deficit: 2-year results from a pivotal single-blind randomized controlled study. Dermatol Surg 2013;39(11):1602-1612. doi:10.1111/dsu.12343
- Wu DC, Goldman MP, Wat H, Chan HHL. A systematic review of picosecond laser in dermatology: evidence and recommendations. Lasers Surg Med 2021;53(1):9-49 (online 2020). doi:10.1002/lsm.23244
- Gan SD, Graber EM. Laser hair removal: a review. Dermatol Surg 2013;39(6):823-838. doi:10.1111/dsu.12116
- Dong W, Wang N, Yuan X, Zhang W. Treatment of pigmentary disorders using picosecond laser in Asian patients: a meta-analysis and systematic review. Dermatol Ther 2021;34(1):e14709 (online 2020). doi:10.1111/dth.14709
- Chan HH, Manstein D, Yu CS, et al. The prevalence and risk factors of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation after fractional resurfacing in Asians. Lasers Surg Med 2007;39(5):381-385. doi:10.1002/lsm.20512
These sources describe mechanisms and general evidence. They are not a promise of any individual result; suitability is decided at an in-person assessment.