Hello, this is Dr. Han Ji-young of ACRO Korean Medicine Clinic.
“I haven’t really gained much weight, but the lower part of my face looks so heavy.”
It’s something I often hear from brides-to-be preparing for their wedding.
Wedding-day photos are mostly taken from the front, so if the lower face looks wide, the whole face can easily look bigger.
Today I’ll walk you through the same-day changes from a treatment in which ONDA energy was concentrated only on the lower face and deep cheek fat, rather than the whole face.
About the Case
The patient, a woman in her early 30s, came in ahead of her wedding. This was her first ONDA treatment.
During consultation, the area that bothered her most was the lower face, running from beside the corners of the mouth down to the jawline.
Viewed from the front, the volume of the deep cheek fat (buccal fat, the fat sitting in the deep layer of the cheek) just outside the corners of the mouth was sagging downward,
which blurred the edge of the jawline and made the lower face look rounded and spread out to the sides.
The midface above the cheekbones, on the other hand, was not much of a concern.
When the concern is limited to the lower face like this, we judged that concentrating energy on the area carrying the heaviness would be more efficient than spreading it evenly over the whole face.
Treatment Plan and Procedure
- Treatment: Session 1 (26/10/29): ONDA (ACRO Wave) / focused on lower face and deep cheek fat / 60,000 J
Progress
[Photo: 26/10/29 before treatment / immediately after, front view comparison]
Before treatment, the deep cheek fat beside the corners of the mouth was sagging downward, making the area below the jawline look round and wide.
The section running from the corners of the mouth to the tip of the chin in particular looked heavy and weighed down.
Comparing the photo taken right after treatment, the volume beside the corners of the mouth looks more refined and the lower face noticeably lighter, while both sides of the jawline look tidied inward, giving the face a slimmer appearance. The edge of the line leading to the chin is also more defined than before treatment.
Even though it was a same-day comparison, the difference was clear enough for her to see right away in the mirror.
That said, the change seen on the day is mainly a tightening effect caused by the immediate contraction of collagen right after treatment.
Fat breakdown and collagen regeneration get properly under way over about 2–3 weeks after treatment, and the contour continues to improve gradually from several weeks up to around 3 months. So we explained to her that “what you see now is not the end — some areas will continue to refine over the coming weeks.”
Doctor’s Comments
First, we concentrated the energy on the area of concern.
If the same amount of energy is spread over the whole face when only the lower face looks heavy, the area that actually needs it may not receive enough stimulation.
In this case, the 60,000 J was allocated mainly to the lower face and deep cheek fat, focusing on the sections carrying the heaviness.
Second, deep cheek fat should be assessed for both “volume” and “sagging.”
Deep cheek fat often looks heavy not just because of the amount of fat, but because the supporting tissue loses elasticity and the fat sags downward.
Microwave treatment can target both fat-layer reduction and collagen remodeling at the same time, which makes it well suited to this type.
Third, we plan backward from the wedding date.
There is a same-day tightening effect, but real contour changes build up over time.
We recommended 1–2 additional sessions at 3–4 week intervals for this patient as well, and if you have a wedding or photo shoot scheduled, we recommend starting at least 1–2 months before that date.
Summary
If your concern is not your weight or overall face size but a lower face that looks heavy, a plan that concentrates energy on the deep cheek fat and lower face — the areas causing it — can be an efficient way to refine the line.
However, please keep in mind that same-day changes differ from the changes that build up afterward, and that responses vary from person to person depending on skin thickness, fat distribution, and elasticity. We will work out a treatment plan suited to your face shape and wedding schedule together during your consultation.
About ACRO Korean Medicine Clinic
📍 Location: 1 min walk from Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 3 (2F Boratial Bldg., 480 Gangnam-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul)
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🌐 Website: https://acrohani.com/en
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Side effects may occur after treatment depending on individual differences, so please be sure to have a thorough consultation with our medical staff.