We run HIFU and we do not own an Ultherapy machine, so here is the difference without a sales pitch: what imaging buys, and the one number that makes any quote comparable.
A clinic quotes you ₱12,000 for a HIFU lift. Another quotes ₱95,000 for Ultherapy. Both describe the same thing in the same words: focused ultrasound, no surgery, collagen, a lifted jawline in three months. One costs eight times the other.
We run HIFU at ICONIQUE. We do not own an Ultherapy machine, so nothing below is us selling you the expensive one. What follows is the difference as we understand it after running focused ultrasound on Filipino faces across four branches.
Ultherapy is a brand, HIFU is the method
Focused ultrasound is a technique. Sound waves converge at a point below the skin the way a magnifying glass converges light. At that point the tissue reaches around 65 degrees for a fraction of a second, the collagen there contracts, and the body spends the next two to three months building new collagen around the injury it has repaired.
Ultherapy is one machine that does this, made by Merz. It was the first device cleared by the US FDA for lifting the brow, chin and neck, and it is the one most published studies used. Every other focused ultrasound device is what people mean when they say HIFU.
Calling one of them "HIFU" and the other "Ultherapy" is like calling one car a hatchback and the other a Volkswagen.
What the extra money buys: the practitioner can see where the energy goes
This is the difference that matters, and most price comparisons skip it.
Ultherapy carries an ultrasound imaging screen. The practitioner sees your tissue layers while treating: where the SMAS sits, how thick the fat is at that spot, where the bone starts. They place each line of energy on an image rather than on an estimate.
A generic HIFU device fires blind. The practitioner chooses 4.5mm, 3.0mm or 1.5mm from anatomy, training and what your face looks and feels like. On most faces this works, because facial anatomy is consistent enough that a trained therapist lands in the right layer.
It matters more when a face is unusual. A very thin face, a very full one, someone who has lost weight fast, someone with filler in place. Firing 4.5mm into a thin temple is how you get the dent people write about online.
What the extra money does not buy
A different result on an ordinary face. The published evidence on Ultherapy shows a measurable lift on the brow and under the jaw. The published evidence on other focused ultrasound devices shows the same kind of change. Nobody has run the trial that would settle whether one beats the other on an average patient, and clinics on both sides quote studies that were not designed to answer it.
It also does not buy permanence. Both fade. Both hold about a year on most people.
Ultherapy prices in the Philippines
Metro Manila clinics that own an Ultherapy machine quote in the tens of thousands of pesos and can reach six figures for a full face and neck at a high line count. The machine costs several million pesos and the cartridges are consumable and sold by the manufacturer, which is most of the reason for the price rather than a markup on the result.
We cannot quote you an Ultherapy price, because we do not sell it. Any clinic that does should tell you the line count before you pay, for the same reason given below.
The number that decides whether any quote is fair
Lines. Or shots, depending on whose brochure you read. One line is one row of thermal points.
A full face and neck at a serious line count is a different treatment from the same face at a third of that, even on the same machine on the same day. A ₱4,000 promo and a ₱40,000 session can both be described as "HIFU full face" without anyone lying.
Ask two questions before you pay anywhere, including here:
- How many lines, and across which areas?
- Which device, and when was the cartridge last replaced?
A clinic that answers both is quoting you a treatment. A clinic that will not is quoting you a word.
What we run, and what it costs
ICONIQUE runs HIFU, without imaging, at The Peninsula Manila in Makati, at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay, at Greenhills in San Juan and at Ayala Malls The 30th in Pasig. A session runs 45 to 90 minutes depending on the area. The list price is ₱15,000 and promotional rates run for most of the year.
The consultation costs nothing. If your skin is loose enough that ultrasound will disappoint you, the therapist will say so then, before you have paid for anything, and point you at a surgeon instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ultherapy better than HIFU?
On an ordinary face, the published evidence does not show one beating the other. Ultherapy's advantage is that the practitioner sees your tissue layers on a screen while working, which matters most on a thin face, a face that lost weight fast, or one with filler in place. On the average patient the difference is in the safety margin rather than in the lift you see at three months.
How much does Ultherapy cost in the Philippines?
Clinics that own the machine quote in the tens of thousands of pesos, reaching six figures for a full face and neck at a high line count. The cartridges are consumable and sold by the manufacturer, which drives most of that price. We do not sell Ultherapy, so we cannot quote it.
How long does Ultherapy really last?
Six to twelve months on most people, the same range as other focused ultrasound. Your own collagen holds the result, so it fades the way collagen fades: faster if you smoke, skip sunscreen or lose weight quickly.
What is the downside of Ultherapy?
The price, and the same short list of side effects every focused ultrasound carries: redness and swelling for a few days, a numb or tingling patch along the jaw that can last two to four weeks, and rare problems from wrong depth or wrong settings. Imaging lowers the odds of the last one. It does not remove them.
Can I get Ultherapy at ICONIQUE?
No. We run HIFU without imaging. We say so on the price page and at the consultation rather than letting the words blur, because clinics that blur them are the reason people cannot compare quotes.
Which should I book if I am deciding on price alone?
Book the consultation at both and ask each for line count and device. Two quotes with those numbers can be compared. Two quotes without them cannot, whatever the brand on the door.
Sources
- Contini M et al. A Systematic Review of the Efficacy of Microfocused Ultrasound for Facial Skin Tightening. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2023. PubMed 36674277
- Ayatollahi A et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of safety and efficacy of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for face and neck rejuvenation. Lasers Med Sci, 2020. PubMed 32026164
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Written by
Maria Manuela ValenciaSenior Clinical Therapist · Over 10 years in skin and aesthetics
Maria has worked in skin and aesthetics for over ten years, the last two of them at ICONIQUE inside The Peninsula Manila. She runs PicoLaser and HIFU treatments at the Makati branch.
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