Honestly, I Used to Tell Patients with Thin Skin to Avoid Lifting — Here's Why I Changed My Mind

Honestly, I Used to Tell Patients with Thin Skin to Avoid Lifting — Here's Why I Changed My Mind

Last Wednesday, a 53-year-old woman came into my clinic.

She had received a Shurink procedure at another clinic and came back just two months later for a second session.

She told me her skin felt thinner and looked dull and lackluster.

Then she asked me a question I hear all the time:

"I heard you shouldn't get Lifting too often if you have thin skin — is that what happened to me?"

Should People with Thin Skin Really Avoid Lifting Procedures?

Lifting procedures work by delivering ultrasound or Radiofrequency (RF) energy to specific depths within the skin,

stimulating Collagen contraction and promoting natural regeneration.

The common advice — "if you have thin skin, don't get Lifting too often" —

comes from real clinical experience: repeatedly applying strong energy to the epidermis and Dermis in patients with naturally thin skin

can actually result in volume loss and a deflated, dull appearance.

But this doesn't apply equally to every type of Lifting procedure.

Why Does the Same "Thin Skin" React So Differently From Person to Person?

"They told you not to get Lifting often because of thin skin? But the layers being targeted are completely different."

— Dr. Wi Young-jin (Beautystone Clinic, Seoul)

This can be hard to grasp in theory, but it becomes very clear when you look at actual cases.

That 53-year-old patient from last week?

The procedure she received at the other clinic was a full Shurink set — 1.5mm, 3.0mm, and 4.5mm cartridges — done twice, two months apart.

In other words, she had the 4.5mm depth delivered twice within two months on already thin skin.

And that's where the key insight comes in.

Lifting procedures act on entirely different tissue layers depending on the depth setting.

The 1.5mm cartridge targets just below the epidermis, the 3.0mm reaches the deeper Dermis,

and the 4.5mm works at the SMAS Layer — the superficial muscular aponeurotic system.

In thin-skinned patients, the problem typically arises from repeated targeting of the Dermis at 3.0mm or shallower.

The SMAS Layer at 4.5mm, however, shows very little structural difference in thickness between thin-skinned and thick-skinned patients.

So the correct way to frame it isn't "thin skin = no Lifting" —

it's "thin skin = reduce the number of Dermal shots, and focus primarily on the deeper SMAS Layer."

The issue with what happened at the other clinic wasn't Lifting itself —

it was that the full set aggressively targeted the Dermis as well.

This patient returned four weeks later.

We focused exclusively on the SMAS Layer, cut the total shot count to less than half, and skipped the Dermal layer entirely.

Three months later, she came back and said: "This time my skin didn't go dull — my jawline just lifted."

So Which Depth Is Right for You? A Breakdown by Skin Type

So which category do you fall into?

There's one important point I always make sure to mention:

If you have thin skin and also experience hollowing or volume loss in the cheeks, getting Lifting first will make the deflation look even worse.

In these cases, the right approach is to start with a Collagen booster or volumizing procedure first,

and then layer the Lifting on top afterward.

If You've Read This Far, Here's What You're Probably Wondering

Q1. Does that mean Ultherapy is safer than Shurink for thin skin?

A. This one takes a bit more explaining —

it's true that Ultherapy delivers more precise energy to the SMAS Layer at 4.5mm.

But Shurink can also be completely safe for thin skin

if you use only the SMAS Layer cartridges and avoid the shallower depths.

It's less about the machine and more about which cartridges are used and how many shots are delivered.

Having thin skin doesn't automatically mean you need to default to Ultherapy.

And there's almost always a follow-up question to that one:

Q2. How long should people with thin skin wait between Lifting sessions?

A. This is something I explain consistently in every consultation,

so let me be clear: while 6 months is the general guideline,

for patients with thin skin, I recommend waiting 8 to 10 months between sessions.

It simply takes more time for new Collagen to fully regenerate in thinner skin.

The situation that woman experienced — getting retreated just two months later at another clinic —

is actually something I see with three or four patients every single month.

And finally, this is something I always make sure to address before wrapping up:

Q3. Once the skin has gone dull and lost volume, can it actually recover?

A. Again, this is something I explain in every consultation,

and the honest answer is: full recovery takes time.

Typically, I recommend pausing all Lifting procedures for 6 months to a year,

and instead focusing on Collagen boosters — such as Juvelook or Rejuran —

to gradually rebuild volume in the Dermis first.

Once that foundation is restored, layering SMAS Layer Lifting on top

tends to bring most patients back to their original skin tone and texture within six months.

If there's one thing to take away from today — with thin skin and Lifting, what matters isn't how many sessions you've had, but which layer was targeted.


In the next post, I'll walk through the right order of Collagen boosters to do before Lifting when you have thin skin.


I'll show you through real cases how changing the sequence of the same procedures can lead to very different results. This has been Dr. Wi Young-jin.