How to Choose a Medical Aesthetics Clinic in Laval
Five things to check before trusting a medical aesthetics clinic with your face. 2027 Consumer Choice Award, best aesthetics clinic in Laval.
Radiofrequency tightens skin that has lost its spring. A hyaluronic acid filler gives back volume where the face has hollowed. These are two different procedures for two different problems, and most faces have a bit of both.
This article builds on our guide to firming the face without injections. It does not push you toward either one and says what each does, what it does not do, how to sort it out in your own mirror, and why we sometimes combine them.
Two procedures, two problems
Over time, the face changes in two ways. The support underneath thins: fat shifts, bone remodels, temples and cheeks hollow. And the skin itself loses its spring, because collagen and elastin thin out. Coleman and Grover describe these changes in Aesthetic Surgery Journal (2006): facial volume loss comes on top of changes in the skin.
A hollow calls for volume. Skin that has loosened calls for firmness.
| Radiofrequency | Filler | |
|---|---|---|
| What it treats | Skin that has loosened | Volume that has decreased |
| How | Deep heat that tightens collagen and restarts its production | Material placed by a nurse where support is missing |
| What it does not do | Adds no volume, removes no skin | Does not tighten the skin |
| Who does it | A medical esthetician | A nurse |
What radiofrequency does, and what it does not
Our XERF heats the skin deeply to tighten it and restart collagen. According to the manufacturer, Cynosure Lutronic, it combines two frequencies (6.78 MHz and 2 MHz) and reaches the shallow, middle and deep layers. The effect builds gradually. According to the clinic, results can last up to 12 to 18 months after a full series, and that varies from person to person.
It adds no volume. If your cheek is flat because support has melted away, heat puts nothing back. It does not remove skin either: when there is real excess, surgery is the answer. The treatment covers the full face and the neck. We do not offer the chest yet.
What a filler does, and what it does not
Hyaluronic acid is a material the body knows. A nurse places it where the face has emptied out, and the hollow fills. Done well, the result does not read as "a filled cheek": people find you rested, without knowing why.
On skin that is clearly slack, adding volume does not tighten it. Your nurse judges at the assessment whether the support is enough or whether the skin needs to be tightened first.
How to tell which one you are looking for
A first sort can be done at home, in two minutes, with light from the side. Look at your face at rest and note what you see:
- A hollow, a shadow, a flat cheek (under the eye, at the temple, on the cheekbone): that looks like volume loss.
- A softer contour, skin that sags at the jaw or neck: that looks like laxity.
- Both: the most common case.
| What bothers you | What it suggests | What answers it |
|---|---|---|
| A hollow that makes you look tired | Missing volume | A filler, placed by a nurse |
| A jawline that is softening | Skin that is loosening | Radiofrequency, by a medical esthetician |
| A hollow and a softer jawline | Both | Both, in an order we decide together |
This sort gives you vocabulary, it does not replace an assessment. Our 3D skin analysis (LINE VU) exists to see what the eye blends together. For more on the diagnosis, our facial laxity page will help.
When both are useful
When volume and firmness have both dropped, the two procedures can be combined. The gap between them depends on the order:
- Radiofrequency first: at least 2 weeks before the filler.
- Filler first: at least 3 to 4 weeks before the radiofrequency.
Either way, we confirm it at the assessment. The nurse who injected knows what was placed, where and when.
The science on heat is not settled. A study by Jurairattanaporn and colleagues (Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2023) injected hyaluronic acid into the abdomen of 14 volunteers, then applied monopolar radiofrequency the same day, 14 days or 28 days later. The product had degraded in 5 people when heat followed the injection right away, and in one person at 14 days and at 28 days. The study is small, done on the abdomen, and says nothing about the reverse order. We cite it to explain why we keep a gap, not to draw a rule from it.
Who does what
A filler is an injection: it is placed by a nurse, never by an esthetician. Radiofrequency is handled by a medical esthetician, and a nurse can do it too. The rule only runs one way. That is why two people sign this article: Megan Lefebvre-Monette, nurse, for the filler, and Zuhal, medical esthetician, for the radiofrequency.
If you do not want anything injected
Many people do not want to add anything to their face, on principle. That is a legitimate position, and radiofrequency answers it for firmness. You just need to know what it leaves aside: a hollow caused by missing volume does not fill with heat. We tell you at the assessment, and we do not suggest what would not answer what bothers you.
If you want to see where your skin stands before deciding, the 3D skin analysis is a good starting point. For firmness, the XERF page explains how a session goes.
Your questions
Can radiofrequency replace a filler?
No, because it adds no volume. It tightens skin. If your concern is a hollow, it will not fill it. If it is laxity, it is made for that.
Can a filler firm the skin?
It can change how the skin falls by restoring support. It does not tighten the skin itself. On clearly slack skin, the nurse tells you whether it is the right procedure.
Can you do both? In what order?
Yes. Radiofrequency first: at least 2 weeks before the filler. Filler first: at least 3 to 4 weeks before the radiofrequency. We always confirm the gap at the assessment.
Does heat damage a filler already in place?
The only study cited here, small and done on the abdomen, saw degradation mostly when heat followed the injection the same day. That is why we ask at the assessment what you have had, where and when, even if it was done elsewhere.
Which one lasts longer?
We do not compare them: they do not solve the same problem. For radiofrequency, the clinic cites results up to 12 to 18 months after a full series, and that varies.
Sources
- Coleman SR, Grover R. "The anatomy of the aging face: volume loss and changes in 3-dimensional topography." Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 2006. PubMed 19338976
- Jurairattanaporn N, Amornpetkul W, Rutnin S, Vachiramon V. "The effect of combined hyaluronic acid filler injection and radiofrequency treatment: a clinic histological analysis." Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2023;22(3):798-803. PubMed 36374532
- Cynosure Lutronic (manufacturer). XERF product page. cynosure.com/xerf
