Vivace Ultra - The Newest Less Painful Alternative to the Morpheus
WHAT IS VIVACE ULTRA, AND HOW ARE YOU USING IT IN PRACTICE?
Marie Hayag, MD: Vivace is a minimally invasive skin rejuvenation treatment that uses a combination of microneedling and radiofrequency energy to stimulate collagen and elastin not only in the superficial layers of the skin but also deeper in the dermal layers, alleviating facial wrinkles and fine lines, minimizing pore size, and tightening and toning the face and neck. It also improves uneven skin tone and texture while making your skin firmer, tighter, and smoother. Results are seen immediately and improve over time. Microneedling (collagen induction therapy) is the process of creating hundreds of micro-punctures in the skin tissues causing a cascade of events signaling your body to respond to the injury by producing collagen. Radiofrequency energy is used to heat the tissue and further stimulate collagen production in the deep layers of the skin. I equate microneedling to working out in the gym on your own. Adding radiofrequency (using a trainer to push you further) gets the results that you want faster.
WHO MAKES A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR VIVACE ULTRA?
Dr. Hayag: Vivace is appropriate for almost everyone! This includes people with fine lines and wrinkle; large pore; acne scarring; uneven skin texture; dull skin; stretch marks; and crepey skin. It’s for anyone who wants to maintain their skin with collagen stimulation since we start losing collagen in our mid-20s and after 30 we lose about 1% a year. This accelerates with menopause.
It is safe for all skin types; however, it is not recommended to anyone with an active infection such as a cold sore, pregnancy, or currently on isotretinoin.
WHAT SETS VIVACE ULTRA APART FROM OTHER RF MICRONEEDLING DEVICES?
Dr. Hayag: I’ve tried all the microneedling RF lasers and the Vivace is the most painless! This is because Vivace uses a robotic micromotor to gently push the needles into the skin. The most needle-phobic person can do the Vivace. Vivace Ultra was the first program that recognized the importance of total patient satisfaction. With Vivace, it is all about the treatment approach that combines microneedling and radiofrequency energy with a specialized treatment serum and cooling peptide mask to reduce discomfort and redness to promote faster healing than traditional microneedling.
PLEASE SHARE YOUR TREATMENT PROTOCOL/S AND ANY PEARLS.
Dr. Hayag: I have patients come in early to numb for about 30 minutes. Treatment protocols used to depend on the skin type and skin condition I am treating. Someone with acne scars or deep wrinkles will be treated more aggressively than someone coming in for just overall rejuvenation. I do not treat patients with an active infection on their face such as a cold sore; I do not treat patients who are pregnant as well. I love to do combination treatments and often I apply PRP or exosomes after Vivace. I recommend not applying anything on the face for 6 hours after the procedure except the post-treatment serum.
Of course, proper sun protection is recommended.
I recommend 3-4 monthly treatments and then maintenance perhaps every 6 months. I tell my patients that their skin is going to look amazing and there is minimal downtime. So, there is no excuse!
IS THERE A LEARNING CURVE FOR PROVIDERS?
Dr. Hayag: After appropriate training, the Vivace treatment protocol is fairly straightforward to learn and execute as long as the provider follows recommended settings for specific skin types and skin conditions. With more experience, providers are more easily able to gauge patients’ skin needs and treat them accordingly. As with most procedures ease of use comes with experience but as far as devices go the Vivace is easy to learn.
HOW HAS THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI) BEEN WITH VIVACE ULTRA?
Dr. Hayag: Before ROI considerations, my practice first evaluates any cosmetic medical device’s safety and efficacy regarding the patient. Is the device safe? Will it deliver superior patient outcomes? Regarding Vivace RF Microneedling, the answer is yes to both considerations.
Onto ROI analysis, we recouped the entire cost of the device in well under three months and due to the recurring nature of the Vivace treatments, it continues to add consistent profits. My preferred rate of return gauge is to measure the net hourly profit specific to the device or procedure in question. Among our many devices, Vivace stands out as one of the Fifth Avenue Aesthetics’ top hourly “earners” due to the relatively low consumable and the length of the treatment.