Ultherapy on LA Channel 11 News

Announcer: Tonight on NBC.

Host: If your skin is starting to sag and wrinkle — it's normal — but you're too afraid to go under the knife, this latest cosmetic procedure might be just for you.

Co-host: Listen, it happens to people. Your face looks great, but if you catch a glimpse in the mirror and you look like you're texting and you're not, you might want to say, what has happened to my neck? So a few months back, I paid a visit to the office of my dear, dear friend and dermatologist Patricia Wexler. She and her husband performed Ultherapy. You ask where — we're going to tell you. Take a look.

Co-host (in taped segment): We are in the esteemed Dr. Patricia Wexler's dermatological office. Look how beautiful it is — she has these gorgeous fresh flowers and glamour pictures all over the walls. She's like Earth Mother, everybody.

Dr. Wexler: A lot of women worry about their face. They put a lot of creams on their face, but they neglect their neck. Then all of a sudden, you end up having your face not look age-appropriate to your neck.

Co-host: So she told me about this — something called Ultherapy. I have no idea what it is, but I trust her. She can tell you what it is.

Dr. Wexler: Ultherapy is focused ultrasound, and ultrasound is heat energy.

Co-host: She's ready, she's relaxed, she's raring to go, she's excited.

Patient: I am not. I'm scared to death.

Dr. Wexler: You're doing really well.

Patient: Yeah, it's not pleasant, you know. Nobody said it was fun.

Dr. Wexler: The party girl Rose — she's done unbelievably well. She's really comfortable, and I can't wait to see the result. It's a good day.

Host: Yeah, it took about 45 minutes, and Dr. Wexler is here to tell us more about Ultherapy, and how it works, and why it works.

Dr. Wexler: Ultherapy is focused ultrasound, and ultrasound is energy — it's heat. And we direct the heat to three levels in the skin. The first level is the level of the muscle. The second level is the deep dermis, or the skin. And the third level is superficial — the wrinkles. And even Jean was telling me the reason it hurt in one place more than the other is where you go down to the muscle — where, actually, if you were having a facelift, that's the level that it would go to. So we're actually tightening with stimulating collagen and elastic tissue with heat, because the heat is stimulating the fibroblasts in the skin to release pro-collagen, and pro-collagen stimulates collagen and elastic tissue.

Co-host: Like the next day, I felt better. I felt better.

Host: Did it hurt?

Co-host: It's mildly uncomfortable. It's less painful than the injections, than the fractionated resurfacing. It passes the skin — it lifts muscle and skin.

Dr. Wexler: Other things can tighten, but this is approved for tightening and lifting the chin, the neck, and the brows, actually.

Co-host: I can't wait till they can do these ultrasound waves into our brains. They would only let us do her neck.

Host: Oh, interesting.

Co-host: Now that I've seen the results — you can do my thighs. We asked — what about the décolletage?

Dr. Wexler: Well, décolletage is actually on-label now. So you can actually get rid of the wrinkles, and you can lift the breast area.

Co-host: The peach bed, as Bette Midler calls it. And how much does it cost? Because it's different in different parts of the country.

Dr. Wexler: In different parts — in New York it's going to be more expensive, and it can vary from $4,000 and up, depending on the doctor. In some parts of the country, it's $2,500.

Host: You see the best results after about two to three months, right?

Dr. Wexler: Yes, but some people say two weeks and they already see a dramatic amount.

Host: And how long does it last?

Dr. Wexler: It lasts until you age more.

Co-host: There are no side effects that I saw.

Dr. Wexler: Some people see a little bruising. Some people are prone to bruising, and you might see a few little bruises. Some people swell more than others.

Host: Were you going to try it on her right now?

Dr. Wexler: Yeah. We want a good candidate — somebody with mild-to-moderate laxity or, you know, aging of the skin.

Host: And you said I was a good candidate because I didn't have much sun damage.

Dr. Wexler: Exactly. You're not going to feel much. Feeling anything?

Host: You know what it feels like? Remember in the old days when we used to have a beeper, and somebody would call and your beeper would go off on a little vibration? That's what it feels like. It feels like a little vibration.

Co-host: Oh, but it doesn't hurt you?

Host: Not a bit.

Co-host: Oh, I am a wimp then.

Host: Dr. Wexler, I love you. I will see you next week for something.

Co-host: Wow. Okay — another way to hide your imperfections: a little fashion makeup. Now, from mascara to cold cream and hairspray, tried-and-true beauty products after this. Some of them are going to surprise you.