Two quotes, the same promise — "firming" — and two treatments that don't address the same wrinkle at all. Radiofrequency is sold as a controlled warming of the dermis that gets collagen going again; threads are sold as mechanical support slipped under the skin. Comparing them on price alone is like choosing a car by the colour of its seats.

These treatments aren't five settings on the same machine — they're five answers to five different problems. And the sorting doesn't happen in front of a glossy brochure — it happens in the sentence you say out loud in the consultation.

Start with the problem, not the machine

A fine line at the corner of the eye tells a different story from a jawline that's starting to drop, a cheek that's hollowing, or skin that feels tight and dull. Four stories, one word used for all of them: "wrinkles". Handy, and deeply misleading. Before you talk about a device, name what actually bothers you. Is it skin quality (texture, pores, fine lines), support (a jawline that's shifting), volume (hollows and deeper folds), or surface (pigmentation, dullness)?

A woman examining her jawline in a bathroom mirror in morning light
Before the device, name what actually bothers you

I'm not a doctor and I can't describe these treatments from the inside: what follows sets out how they're presented, not a clinical protocol. One point that isn't a detail, though: several of these are medical procedures. Ask who carries them out, in what setting, and with what follow-up. In the UK, it's worth checking the practitioner's registration — GMC for doctors, NMC for nurses, GDC for dentists.

Radiofrequency and threads: two different jobs

Radiofrequency is the gradual, often comfortable end of the market. It's described as warming the dermis to prompt collagen production: early laxity, slightly tired skin, fine lines. You usually won't see a result the next day, protocols vary, and it usually means several sessions followed by top-ups over time. Easy to live with — but don't ask it for a lift.

Two fine transparent threads held above a small dish in a treatment room
Threads are about support, not texture

Threads play a different tune: resorbable threads placed under the skin to support a jawline that's beginning to drop. It's mechanical, and it isn't designed to address pigmentation, texture or fine lines. Bruising and small temporary dimples are commonly mentioned; this is not a facelift. So the useful question isn't "which one is stronger?" but "which one matches what I see in the mirror?".

Surface and volume: three treatments with different aims

Fractional laser works on the surface: pores, scars, fine lines, dullness. It creates tiny zones for the skin to repair, and often means a few days of downtime, depending on the intensity. A peel exfoliates chemically and is used for pigmentation, dullness and uneven texture. It takes patience and serious sun protection — two things we're all inclined to forget in January.

A peel bottle, a laser handpiece and clear gel on a treatment room shelf
Laser, peel, filler: three distinct approaches

Then there's volume, which neither laser nor radiofrequency addresses: folds that are deepening, hollow temples, a flattened cheekbone. That's filler — a resorbable product injected to restore volume, not to tighten. The effect is usually immediate, the duration varies, and top-ups are often needed. Three treatments, three logics: you're not buying the same thing, even when the quotes look alike.

The question that changes the answer

If you only remember one line, make it this: "What's most lacking in my face — support, volume or skin quality?" The answer doesn't point to a device; it points to a problem. And a problem properly named makes any session sold to you without an examination instantly suspect. That's one question worth more than three brochures.

A hand writing three points in a notebook beside a consultation-room mirror
Three questions to ask before you sign a quote

Next, ask what happens when you stop: how many sessions you'll need before you can judge a result, and what happens if you stop. A technique that needs lifelong maintenance isn't a bad technique — but you're entitled to know that before you sign, not at the same time as the reminder text.

Three questions to ask, in this order, before any session:

  • What exactly are you treating on my face, and why this technique rather than another?
  • How many sessions before I can judge, and what happens if I stop?
  • Who performs the treatment, and what follow-up is included (review, top-up)?

Budget

As a broad guide, UK clinics tend to quote somewhere between £150 and £400 per radiofrequency session, though protocols vary — ask the practitioner how many sessions they're planning and what the quote includes. Threads usually come in around £300 to £900 depending on the area and the number of threads, fractional laser around £300 to £700 a session, a medium-depth peel £80 to £250, and £250 to £500 per area for filler. City, practitioner experience, the area treated and follow-up move the bill far more than the device itself does. Treat these figures as indicative only and check current prices with clinics near you.

Beware the reverse logic — more expensive, therefore more effective. Here, price mostly tells you about the postcode and the length of the consultation. Ask for a written quote and what it covers: consultation, any anaesthetic, top-up, review. Then compare like with like — same indication, never same promise.

The right session isn't the most powerful or the most expensive: it's the one that answers the problem you named. The price, the number of passes, the tenderness the next day — all of that gets weighed up when you're looking at the quote. And if a practitioner promises to sort everything in one go, that's usually a sign they weren't listening to the question.