Home Care or Lifting? What Creams Can and Cannot Do for Sagging Skin

What changes when elasticity falls?

The first sign is usually a feeling that skin is looser than it used to be: pillow marks last longer in the morning, makeup does not sit smoothly, fine lines show more easily. As the supporting structure weakens, fine lines increase around the eyes and mouth and the cheeks descend, blurring the jawline.

When skin feels thinner and less firm without the whole face having dropped, it is worth separating this from simple dehydration. Elasticity loss is not corrected by adding moisture to the surface — structural change is happening underneath.

Why is home care alone not enough?

Home care's great strength is that it can be done daily. Moisturiser reduces water loss and maintains the barrier, sunscreen reduces photodamage, and elasticity cosmetics help manage condition. But these products are applied to the surface. Once skin has loosened and the facial line has collapsed, no amount of cream or ampoule lifts descended tissue physically or delivers heat energy to deep layers.

Home care is necessary to maintain skin and manage decline; actively improving visible laxity may need a treatment that targets deeper layers.

In a randomised study following 903 people for 4.5 years, the group applying sunscreen daily had 24% less skin ageing — the clearest evidence behind any home-care step.^[1]

How does XERF lifting work?

XERF is a non-invasive lifting treatment that delivers radiofrequency energy into the skin to generate heat. Its characteristic is dual monopolar radiofrequency at 6.78MHz and 2MHz, using different frequencies to reach shallow and deep layers. The heat triggers a tissue response that stimulates the collagen associated with elasticity. A cooling system protects the surface while energy is delivered.

The essential difference from home care is this: instead of supplying moisture to the surface, it delivers RF energy inside the skin to drive elasticity improvement.

In a multicentre study of 39 patients treated with dual-frequency monopolar RF, the improvement rate rose from 84.6% at 30 days to 92.3% at 90 days.^[2]

What makes XERF different for laxity?

It does not approach laxity by pulling the face; it induces tightening with heat. Where skin is generally loose and the jawline blurred, energy can be delivered across regions to manage firmness and tightening together. Because it uses dual frequencies, the energy can be designed to the thickness and concern of each area rather than treating the whole face identically.

Thin areas and thicker areas such as the cheek and jaw do not need the same approach. And because it needs no incision, elasticity can be addressed without cutting skin or inserting anything.

What changes can be expected?

XERF is used for cheek descent, jawline blurring, a loose feeling of the skin, fine lines and overall tightening. When skin begins to descend the contour loses definition and the face looks heavier; improving elasticity helps the jawline and contour look tidier. Because RF delivery induces collagen-related responses, the aim is the skin's own firmness and density rather than a temporary pull.

It does not remove facial fat or excise loose tissue as surgery does, so it fits laxity and mild descent — not severe laxity at the level surgery corrects.

What is the difference between 300 and 600 shots?

Shot count relates to how many times RF energy is delivered; 600 shots generally cover a wider area more fully than 300. Three hundred suits focused work on a specific region, while 600 suits the whole face or a broader area of firmness and contour.

More is not automatically better. The question is which regions to cover and how widely. Even at 600 shots, spreading evenly across the face and concentrating on the jawline or cheek produce different results — so energy intensity, target area and skin thickness must be planned together.

Read alsoThe difference between 300 and 600 shots is covered in “XERF 300 versus 600 shots: why maintenance differs” (Korean).

How is skin managed after XERF?

Heat sensation can follow treatment, so avoid over-stimulating the skin. Moisturising and sun protection are the basics immediately afterwards. On the day, avoid saunas and hot baths, heavy drinking, and rubbing the skin.

Home care should continue alongside treatment: if XERF works on elasticity inside the skin, home care maintains the barrier and moisture that hold the result. They are not substitutes but different roles.

XERF lifting: common myths and facts