Four. A standard EMface course is four 20-minute sessions, about a week apart, which is BTL's protocol and the one we follow at our clinic. BTL allows two to fourteen days between sessions; at our usual weekly spacing the four sessions span about three weeks, and the main result arrives six to twelve weeks after the last session. Some faces benefit from a fifth or sixth session, and the clinician tells you that at your free consultation, before you start.
Why four, and why close together
The muscle part of the result behaves like exercise. HIFES, high intensity facial electrical stimulation, makes the lifting muscles of the face contract in pulses for 20 minutes, and like any muscle they gain density and resting tone with repetition and lose it without. Four sessions a week apart are enough repetitions, close enough together, for the gain to hold. That is also why a single session does not give a lasting lift: you feel fresher and lightly lifted for a few days, from fluid movement and tone, and then it fades.
The skin part works on a different clock. Synchronised radiofrequency warms the dermis, the living layer of the skin, in each session to the temperature at which it starts producing new collagen and elastin, and that production continues for weeks afterwards. The four sessions set it going; the three months after them are when you see it.
The course, session by session
| Feature | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Sessions in a course | 4 (BTL's standard protocol; some faces benefit from a 5th or 6th) |
| Spacing | BTL allows 2 to 14 days between sessions; most clinics, ours included, treat about a week apart, so the four sessions span about three weeks (six at the fortnightly limit) |
| First visible change | A fresher, lightly lifted look within days of each session |
| Main result | 6 to 12 weeks after the last session, as collagen and muscle density build |
| Peak | 6 to 12 weeks after the course in BTL's data; we take the after photograph at 3 months |
| Maintenance | One session every 3 to 6 months keeps the lift, or a 2-session top-up once a year |
Each session is 20 minutes for the forehead and cheeks, so a course of four is about 80 minutes of treatment time in total. The submentum applicator, for under the chin, adds about 20 minutes to each session.
When a fifth or sixth session helps
Faces with a little more laxity, or a brow that has dropped further, sometimes need more repetitions before the lift holds. The clinician sees that at the consultation, from your face at rest and moving, and quotes the course accordingly in writing. It is not something discovered at session four.
If you cannot come every week
Fortnightly works. BTL allows two to fourteen days between sessions, so a session every two weeks is within the protocol; the four sessions then span about six weeks instead of three, and the result is the same. What does not work is a long gap in the middle of a course, because the muscle gain starts to fade.
Maintenance after the course
For most people in our clinic's experience the result holds for around twelve months. One session every three to six months keeps the lift, or a two-session top-up once a year, and either is a fraction of the course. The how long EMface lasts page goes through this in detail, and the full EMface guide covers the whole course.
Plan your course
Book a free consultation at EMface Clinic on 0207 043 8102 or through the form below. The clinician confirms the number of sessions and the areas for your face, checks that nothing rules EMface out, and gives you the course price in writing, with 0% finance available over the course.
