October 09, 2026 | Body Contouring, Non-Surgical Enhancement Treatments, Plastic Surgery News
The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery released its global survey of 2025 procedures at the end of September. Ten non-surgical treatments are tracked. Nine fell. Non-surgical skin tightening rose 23.3 percent in one year, to 1,528,552 procedures, and 52.3 percent since 2021. Fillers fell 25.2 percent. Non-surgical fat reduction fell 42.2 percent.
I was not surprised. The latest and most promising innovation in plastic surgery has been radiofrequency. Before radiofrequency, the only skin tightening we would see was from some fibrosis created after liposuction or VASER treatments, but it wasn’t truly skin tightening. Since I’ve been using radiofrequency treatments, we’ve had better and better results in body contouring. You see, body contouring is not just about removing fat. It is about shaping and tightening the skin for better overall 360-degree contours, and even muscle enhancement.
| Non-surgical treatment, worldwide 2025 | Procedures | Change vs 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Non-surgical skin tightening | 1,528,552 | plus 23.3% |
| Botulinum toxin | 7,333,647 | minus 7.0% |
| Hyaluronic acid fillers | 4,737,957 | minus 25.2% |
| Non-surgical fat reduction | 406,286 | minus 42.2% |
Source: ISAPS International Survey on Aesthetic/Cosmetic Procedures Performed in 2025. The United States did 360,329 skin tightening treatments, the most of any country.
Where the Filler Patients Went
I wrote this when the American filler numbers came out, and the global ones say the same thing: I think the truth is that fillers have decreased considerably compared to other procedures, botulinum toxin still being number one. In my practice, I’ve seen more than a twenty to thirty percent decrease in the use of fillers, and a shift toward biostimulators and donor fat grafts instead.
Really, what I think is that there has been a huge tendency to overfill faces with fillers, and maybe that’s why it’s difficult to count.
Four Devices, Four Layers
So far, I have been very happy with BodyTite and Renuvion J-Plasma. BodyTite treats the external skin and the internal fat as a bipolar radiofrequency device. Renuvion J-Plasma treats the subcutaneous tissue, the tissue below the skin, with radiofrequency and helium plasma. And Morpheus8 is limited to treating the superior layers of the skin, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue. QuantumRF treats the deep subcutaneous tissue and skin, creating contracture using higher delivery powers in a safe fashion. So far, we’ve seen far greater contracture with QuantumRF than with any other device.
If I had to pick just one, I would pick QuantumRF over all the other devices, mainly because it delivers more power, and does so much faster, in a safe and controlled fashion.
After Liposuction
Overall, I always recommend skin tightening after liposuction, because liposuction itself is emptying out the tissue, but leaving the skin envelope looser than before, since the volume is not there to stretch it out. Delivering radiofrequency will create contracture, which will give us smoother results.
As we’re delivering the energy during the surgery, we actually hear the fat and the connective tissue crackle, which translates into contraction we can visualize immediately. About 30% of the contracture is seen right away during the procedure. Another 30% occurs in the first one to two weeks, and the final third occurs toward the two-month mark.
Who It Does Not Help
Massive weight loss patients may not be candidates. If we see a lot of stretch marks on the skin, or large folds with loss of collagen and dermal tears, the likelihood that the skin will contract is lower, and this would require excisional plastic surgery procedures.
The same ISAPS report has lower body lifts up 22.2 percent and arm lifts up 13.2 percent. Those are the patients whose skin is past tightening.
In the Med Spa
Morpheus8 is one of the most popular treatments we perform in our med spa. We also use it in the operating room, since we can treat both face and body, and it creates substantial skin resurfacing and skin contracture. Morpheus8 Cool changes that dramatically. The treatments are the same, the depth of treatment is the same, the power is the same. It just makes the procedure so much more comfortable.
The full med-spa read on the ISAPS numbers, with the device-by-layer table and pricing, is on the Southwest Plastic Surgery site.
Why Choose Dr. Agullo
I am certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery, trained in plastic surgery at the Mayo Clinic, and teach as Clinical Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Castle Connolly has named me a Top Doctor every year from 2014 through 2026. I run four radiofrequency skin tightening devices, and I have had the newest one on my own face.
Ready to Talk?
Call the office at (915) 590-7900, text us at 1-866-814-0038, or book a consultation at agulloplasticsurgery.com/appointments. #StayBeautiful
Find me at @RealDrWorldWide on Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, @Agullo on X, or @AgulloPlasticSurgery on Facebook.
