Profound RF in London: what it is, what the studies show, and what it costs

This guide is written by the team that provides Profound RF at our clinic on Devonshire Place and reviewed by the doctor who treats. It sets out what the device is and what it is cleared for, what the trials measured, which areas it is used on, how a session runs, what to expect afterwards and what it costs. It ends with the questions people ask us most, including whether Profound has been discontinued and how it compares with Morpheus8.

What Profound RF is

Profound is a radiofrequency microneedling system. A handpiece carries a cartridge of fine needle pairs, and each pair works as a tiny electrode. The needles pass through the skin to a set depth, and radiofrequency energy flows between each pair. It heats the tissue around the needle tips to a temperature the doctor sets, 65 to 75 degrees Celsius in the US clearance, for three to five seconds. The heat causes a controlled injury deep in the skin, and the body repairs it by laying down new collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid over the following weeks and months. That is what firms the skin and softens wrinkles.

Two things set Profound apart from the radiofrequency microneedling devices people compare it with. The first is the dose: the maker calls it a "real-time, temperature-controlled" device, in which sensors read the tissue temperature and the system adjusts the power to hold the set point, rather than delivering a fixed amount of energy. The second is that it is planned as a single treatment, not a course of three or four.

The US clearance describes two handpieces with their cartridges: a 25-degree Dermal one with five needle pairs for facial wrinkles, and a 75-degree SubQ one with seven pairs for the appearance of cellulite. The SubQ needles go in more steeply and reach deeper. The doctor explains at the consultation how your area is treated.

What it is cleared for, and the Matrix question

In the United States the Profound System is FDA-cleared under record K161043 of September 2016, which added the cellulite indication to a facial wrinkle clearance from 2009 (K082391). The wording covers electrocoagulation and hemostasis in dermatological and general surgical procedures. The 25-degree Dermal handpiece and cartridge are "used for percutaneous treatment of facial wrinkles". The 75-degree SubQ handpiece and cartridge are "used to improve the appearance of cellulite in patients with Fitzpatrick skin types I-III as supported by long-term clinical data (6 months)". A 510(k) clearance is a finding that a device is substantially equivalent to devices already on the market; it is not an approval, which is why we call Profound FDA-cleared. We make no claim about a UK or European registration for Profound.

People ask whether Profound has been discontinued. Candela's own Profound web page now redirects to a newer device called Matrix, which uses short radiofrequency pulses and has its own US clearances from 2021 and 2024 for facial wrinkles. Candela has published no notice and no end date for Profound. The position is this: Candela now markets Matrix, Profound systems remain in use, and any clinic should tell you plainly which device it treats you with. We treat with Profound, and we say so.

Does Profound work? What the studies show

The trials are single-session studies with follow-up of up to six months. That is the longest controlled follow-up published, so figures beyond six months are expectation, not measurement.

• Face and neck, 100 people, seven US centres (2013). One pass with the dermal cartridge. At six months the average gain in the 42 people graded was 25.6% on the wrinkle scale and 24.1% on the laxity scale, and more than 90% of patients said they were satisfied. The study is often summarised as a "100% response rate"; that figure is for wrinkles, meaning every graded patient improved by some amount, and 95% responded on laxity. The threshold for counting a response is not published. Redness, swelling and bruising lasted one to five days, and there were two incidents of temporary pinpoint depressions.
• Temperature matters, 15 people (2015). A three-arm trial compared target temperatures. The authors found 67 degrees best: wrinkles improved by 40% and laxity by 34%, against 29% and 36% at 62 degrees.
• The "third of a facelift" figure, 15 people (2010). Blinded assessors compared photographs of patients treated with the predecessor device against photographs of surgical facelift patients. The average laxity gain was 37% of that seen after a facelift. That is where the "a third of a facelift" line comes from: a comparison of photographs in 15 people, not a measurement of lifting.
• Lower face and neck, 24 women (2022). Wrinkles improved by about 30% and the neck outline by about 20%; satisfaction averaged 8.3 out of 10; skin samples showed fat cells under the chin breaking down.
• Cellulite, 50 women, 100 thighs (the trial behind the 2016 clearance). Three months after one treatment with the SubQ cartridge, 79 of the 84 thighs that could be assessed had improved by at least one grade on the cellulite scale, which is 94%, and 93% held that at six months. Pain during treatment averaged 3.7 out of 10 with local anaesthetic and cold air. Three adverse events were recorded in three women, none serious. The figure is often written as "94% improvement in cellulite"; the accurate reading is that 94% of thighs improved by one grade or more.
• Arms, knees and bra line, 31 women, 62 areas (2021). One treatment of the upper arms, the skin above the knee or the bra line. The treating investigators rated improvement in every arm and bra-line area and in 65 to 92% of the above-knee areas. Redness lasted about two days in 69%, swelling occurred in 46% and bruising in 32% for about a day. The authors sit on Candela's advisory board, which we note because it is relevant.

Taken together: one session of Profound gives a measurable, moderate improvement in wrinkles and laxity on the face and neck in nearly everyone treated, with high satisfaction, and a one-grade or better improvement in cellulite in most thighs treated. The face trials found the result still improving at six months, the last point measured. In our experience the change is natural: your own skin, firmer, rather than a different face.

Which areas Profound treats

Our rule is simple: every area the device is used on, we treat. The level of evidence differs by area and we tell you which is which.

• Face and neck, with published trials: the face and neck, the lower face and jawline, and the skin under the chin. Smaller series with a temperature-controlled device of this type, the brand not named in their summaries, cover the cheeks and midface, the lines around the mouth and the brow.
• Body, with published series: cellulite on the thighs, the upper arms, the skin above the knee and the bra line.
• Other areas: the forehead, crow's feet, frown and laugh lines, the upper eyelids and under the eyes, jowls, the chest, the abdomen, the legs and larger body areas are areas patients ask about. No published series gives a figure for them, so Dr Marie Duggan, GMC 7488383, tells you at the free consultation whether Profound can be done on your area and what to expect.

Who Profound suits, and who it does not

In our practice, Profound suits an adult with mild to moderate loose skin or wrinkles who wants one treatment rather than a course and a natural improvement in their own skin over months, not a surgical lift. For cellulite it suits dimpling on the thighs in skin types I to III, which is what the US clearance covers. It also suits someone who has had Morpheus8 or another radiofrequency microneedling course and now wants a single treatment rather than another course.

It does not replace a facelift in someone with heavy jowls or a loose neck; the figure above, a third of the laxity gain of surgery in a small photographic study, is the right scale to hold in mind. The doctor reviews your history at the consultation. In our practice that means caution or a no in pregnancy and breastfeeding, with an active skin infection or cold sore in the area, or with a pacemaker or other electrical implant. The same applies to a history of keloid scarring, or a condition or medicine that affects healing or bleeding. Darker skin types need a discussion about the cellulite cartridge: the trial enrolled all skin types, but the US clearance for cellulite covers types I to III only.

A session, step by step

1. Free consultation. Dr Marie Duggan examines your skin, agrees the areas, explains the depth and temperature she will use and what the trials say for your area, and sets out the price in writing. In our practice, photographs are taken.
2. Numbing. Profound is routinely given under local anaesthetic. The documented method in the trials is a dilute lidocaine solution infiltrated into the area, with a numbing cream or inhaled gas added in some protocols. The doctor plans comfort with you; in the cellulite trial, pain averaged 3.7 out of 10.
3. Treatment. The handpiece places the needle pairs through the skin and heats each point for a timed pulse. The face and neck take about an hour in all; the trial average was 32 minutes of treatment time. Body areas are planned by size.
4. Straight after. In our experience the skin is red and swollen, and feels tight and sore, like sunburn with a bruise. You go home the same day.
5. The first week. Redness settles over hours to a day or two, and swelling and bruising usually settle within five to ten days. Most people are back to normal activities within 24 hours, though one of our own patients records ten days of swelling.
6. Results. The skin firms gradually as the swelling clears and the new collagen forms, and in the face trials the result was still improving at six months, the last point measured.

How many sessions

One. Every published Profound trial is a single-session study, and the manufacturer describes one treatment. In our practice, some people choose a second session on the same area after the six-month review if they want more change, and the doctor says plainly whether that is worthwhile for you. A course of three or four is not how Profound is planned, and that is one of the practical differences from Morpheus8 and the other radiofrequency microneedling systems.

What Profound costs

We set out the price of Profound RF in writing at a free consultation, and we price match any comparable written quote. Consultations and follow-up reviews are free whatever you decide. The price depends on the area or areas treated; because Profound is one session, the written price is the whole price for that area. Finance is available through Humm, with terms that depend on the amount, subject to status.

Results you can check

In our practice, before-and-after photographs are taken at the consultation and at the six-month review, and we show you your own. Our patients review the clinic on review.clinic, where it scores 4.9 out of 5 from 46 reviews in November 2026. The trial figures in this guide come from the published papers named by year and size, and can be checked on PubMed and in the FDA record (K161043).

Profound compared with the alternatives

• Morpheus8 and other radiofrequency microneedling. The same principle, needles delivering radiofrequency heat into the deeper skin. The difference is in how it is planned: Profound holds a measured temperature in the tissue for a timed pulse and is planned as one treatment, while Morpheus8 is usually given as a course of three. Morpheus8 is provided by our sister clinic at the same address, and the doctor chooses for the result you want rather than by the name. Someone who has had Morpheus8 can have Profound afterwards; the doctor sets the gap.
• Ultherapy. Focused ultrasound rather than needles, heating the deeper tissue from the surface with no entry points. Ultherapy is cleared in the US to lift the brow, the skin under the chin and the neck, for lines on the décolleté, and for loose skin on the abdomen, arms and knees. Profound's US clearance is for facial wrinkles and cellulite. The two are often compared and sometimes combined.
• Surgery. A facelift repositions and removes tissue and does what no energy device does. In the one comparison published, Profound's predecessor gave about a third of the laxity gain of a facelift in photographs. For a modest change without an operation, Profound is the right scale; for heavy jowls and a loose neck, the doctor will tell you if surgery is the better route.
• Injectables. Fillers add volume and wrinkle-relaxing injections stop movement; neither firms the skin. Profound works on the skin itself, and the doctor plans the right treatment, or the right combination, for the face in front of her.

Side effects and safety

The expected effects are redness for hours to a day or two, swelling for up to five to ten days, bruising, tenderness and tightness, and small marks at the needle entry points that fade. In the 100-person trial there were two incidents of temporary pinpoint depressions. Reports to the US regulator for Profound and its earlier versions between May 2015 and May 2020 numbered 25, some of them duplicates, and included swelling, darkening of the skin, nodules, infection, pitting and bruising.

In October 2025 the FDA issued a communication on radiofrequency microneedling devices in general, naming no brand, after reports of burns, scarring, fat loss, disfigurement and nerve damage, and advised patients to choose an experienced, licensed provider. That advice is right, and it is the reason the temperature setting, the depth and the person holding the handpiece matter more than the brand. At our clinic the treatment is given by a doctor, Dr Marie Duggan, GMC 7488383, in a CQC registered clinic, and the settings are chosen for your skin.

How to choose a clinic

Ask which device the clinic treats with, and have it named: Profound, Matrix or another system. Ask who holds the handpiece and for their registration number; this guide is reviewed by Dr Marie Duggan, GMC 7488383, who treats every Profound patient here. Ask what temperature and depth are planned for your area and why. Ask for the price in writing before you book, and for the clinic's own before-and-after photographs rather than the manufacturer's. Ask what happens at the review if the result is less than you hoped.

Aftercare

In our practice: keep the skin clean and cool for the first day, and a cold pack through a cloth eases the swelling. No make-up on the treated skin for 24 hours. No sauna, steam, hot baths or hard exercise for the first few days while the swelling settles. Sleep with your head raised for the first nights if the face or neck was treated. Sunscreen every day for the first weeks, because the healing skin marks easily. Gentle cleansers only, and no exfoliating acids or retinoids for a week. Call us about any blister, increasing pain or sign of infection; the doctor sees you straight away.

Frequently asked questions