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By Dr. Park Yein, Chief Medical Director, Beauty Z Clinic Myeongdong · October 2026
The short answer. ONDA is a lifting and contouring device from DEKA in Italy that works with microwaves, a technology the maker calls Coolwaves. The waves slip past the surface of the skin and turn into heat in the dermis and the fat just beneath it, so the skin tightens and a soft jawline or lower cheek looks firmer over the following weeks. At our clinic in Myeongdong a 60 kJ face session is ₩390,000 and an 80 kJ session is ₩490,000 on the October 2026 price list, with three-session courses at ₩1,090,000 and ₩1,290,000. The handpiece is cooled while it moves, there is no needle and no numbing cream, and most people walk out with a little warmth or pinkness that fades within a day or two. I usually plan three to five sessions three to four weeks apart, which is why many visitors from abroad start a course in Seoul and finish it on their next trip.
What Coolwaves Do Inside the Skin
Most lifting devices you will have heard of work with ultrasound or radiofrequency. ONDA is different: it sends microwaves at 2.45 GHz into the skin. Microwaves at this frequency are absorbed by water and fat, so very little energy is spent in the thin outer layer, and most of it arrives where I want it, in the dermis and in the subcutaneous fat.
Heat in the dermis makes existing collagen fibers contract and tells fibroblasts, the cells that build collagen, to produce more. Heat in the fat layer puts stress on fat cells. That second effect is what makes ONDA useful for a soft jawline, the area under the chin and the lower cheeks, where sagging and a small fat pad usually sit together.
Two handpieces, two depths
The device comes with a shallow and a deep handpiece. The shallow one works at about 3 mm and is my choice for firming the skin itself and for fine, crepey texture. The deep one reaches about 7 mm, into the fat under the dermis, and is the one I use for a double chin, a heavy jawline or the abdomen. Most face sessions use both: deep passes first where there is fullness, shallow passes afterwards over the whole area for tightening.
Why the handpiece is cold
The tip of each handpiece is cooled the whole time it moves across the skin, and sensors watch the surface temperature. The surface stays comfortable while the layer underneath is warmed, which is the reason ONDA needs no numbing cream and leaves so little visible trace afterwards. The maker describes the system on its ONDA product page.
ONDA Compared with Ultherapy and Thermage
ONDA, Ultherapy Prime and Thermage FLX are all non-surgical lifting treatments, and all three are on our menu. They are not interchangeable. Ultherapy uses focused ultrasound to reach the SMAS, the supporting layer that a surgeon would tighten in a facelift. Thermage uses monopolar radiofrequency to heat the dermis in bulk. ONDA uses microwaves and is the only one of the three that also targets the fat layer.
| ONDA | Ultherapy Prime | Thermage FLX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | Microwaves (Coolwaves) | Micro-focused ultrasound with imaging | Monopolar radiofrequency |
| Main target | Dermis and the fat beneath it | SMAS, the deep supporting layer | Dermis, heated in volume |
| Suits | Jawline, double chin, lower face, body areas | Brow, neck and under the chin | Overall skin laxity and lines |
| Numbing | None needed | Topical anesthetic cream | Usually none |
| Plan | 3 to 5 visits, 3 to 4 weeks between them | One visit, repeat every 6 to 12 months | One visit, repeat every 6 to 12 months |
| From | ₩390,000 (60 kJ) | ₩290,000 (100 shots) | ₩990,000 (300 shots) |
When I recommend ONDA over Ultherapy
If the problem is a blurred jawline with some fullness under the chin, ONDA is my first suggestion, because the deep handpiece works on that fat while the shallow one firms the skin over it. If the skin is thin and the issue is a dropped brow or loose skin on the neck with no fullness at all, Ultherapy Prime reaches deeper and is the better tool. Many of my patients combine the two: Ultherapy once a year for the deep layer, and a course of ONDA for the lower face and contour. You can read the full comparison of the two single-visit devices in our guide to Ultherapy versus Thermage, and see every lifting option with its price on the lifting by device page.
ONDA Lifting Prices in Seoul
All figures are in Korean won, taken from our October 2026 price list. A session is sized in kilojoules, kJ, which is the total energy delivered. 60 kJ covers the lower face for most people; 80 kJ gives more passes for a fuller face or when the neck is included. The doctor decides the size at consultation.
| Area | 1 session | 3 sessions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ONDA Lifting 60 kJ | Face | ₩390,000 | ₩1,090,000 |
| ONDA Lifting 80 kJ | Face and neck | ₩490,000 | ₩1,290,000 |
| Body ONDA Lifting 60 kJ | One body area | ₩590,000 | ₩1,590,000 |
| Body ONDA Lifting 120 kJ | Larger or two areas | ₩990,000 | ₩2,690,000 |
Two add-ons can be attached to a face session:
- ₩99,000 · ONDA 10 kJ add-on, when the doctor wants extra passes on one zone
- ₩59,000 · Full Face V-Fit Injection 18 cc, a fat-dissolving injection placed on the same visit for a double chin or heavy cheeks
Three-session courses are scheduled four weeks apart. Our full price list shows every treatment in won with an approximate dollar figure beside it.
What a Session Feels Like and What Happens After
You lie down, the treatment area is cleansed, and a conductive gel goes on. I move the handpiece over the area in slow passes. What you feel is a deep, spreading warmth under a cold tip, a little like a heated stone on the skin. There is no stinging and no sharp heat, because the surface is kept cool the whole time.
The first few days
The treated area looks pink and feels warm for a few hours. Some people notice mild swelling or a tight feeling the next morning, especially under the chin where the deep handpiece was used; this settles within one to three days. You can wash your face the same evening and wear makeup the next day. If pinkness or swelling is still there after three days, send us a message and we will take a look.
When the result shows
The immediate tightening you see in the mirror comes from collagen contraction and lasts a few days. The result that matters builds slowly, as new collagen forms and the fat layer thins, and it is usually clear four to six weeks after a session. That is why I space sessions three to four weeks apart and ask you to judge the course after the third visit rather than the first. How much the contour changes and how long it holds differ from person to person.
Body ONDA for the Abdomen, Arms and Thighs
The same deep handpiece that works on a double chin works on the body, where the fat layer is thicker and the goal is contour rather than lift. On the body I use ONDA for a lower abdomen that stays soft after exercise, the inner upper arms, the inner thighs and the area above the knees. Body sessions are 60 kJ for one area or 120 kJ for a larger or a second area, and the plan is again three to five visits three to four weeks apart.
Body ONDA is not a weight-loss treatment and it does not replace exercise. It is for the stubborn area that does not change with either. Our body contouring page lists the injections that can be paired with it, and the doctor will tell you honestly whether an area is a good candidate.
Aftercare for Two to Three Days
- Skip saunas, jjimjilbang, hot baths and very hot showers for two to three days, so the warmed tissue is not heated again.
- Leave strenuous exercise and anything that makes you sweat heavily for the same period.
- Do not rub, massage or press the treated area.
- Put scrubs, peels and retinol aside for two to three days, and use sunscreen every time you go outside.
- Drink water. The fat cells that were stressed are cleared through the body's own system, and hydration helps.
Fitting ONDA into a Trip to Seoul
ONDA is one of the easiest lifting treatments to book around travel, because there is no numbing wait, no needle marks and nothing that stops you from going out to dinner the same evening. A few things make the course work when you live abroad:
- Have the first session early in your stay. If you are in Seoul for three weeks or longer, a second session can fit before you fly home.
- Tell us your travel dates at the consultation. I will set the course so that the sessions you cannot do here fall on your next visit, or suggest a one-visit device instead.
- Leave bathhouse plans for the days before treatment, not after.
- If you want a one-visit option only, look at our page on treatments before your flight.
We are on the 16th floor of Semicolon Myeongdong, about 50 m from Euljiro 1(il)-ga Station Exit 6, open seven days a week. See directions or the ONDA Lifting treatment page for the step-by-step visit.
You can book online, or message us on WhatsApp or LINE. Consultations are available in English, Japanese and Chinese.
Results and how long they last vary from person to person. Treatment is decided after a consultation with a doctor.
Consultation and treatment by the medical director
Dr. Park Yein
- Former Chief Medical Director, Vands Clinic Guro
- Former Resident, National Medical Center of Korea
- Former Medical Director, Main Dermatology & Plastic Surgery Clinic
- Member, Korean Society of Filler
- Member, Korean Society of Aesthetic Plastic & Laser Surgery
- Member, Korean Society of Obesity Research Physicians
- Member, Korean Laser Dermatology & Hair Society