Mid-Face Lifting & Nasolabial Fold Improvement — Does It Actually Work?
I have a naturally long mid-face and a slightly elongated lower face, so overall I have what you'd call a "long face shape." And to make things worse, my nasolabial folds have been giving me a prematurely aged look… it's a lot. 😔
A long face has never really been on-trend, but these days the beauty standard is especially skewed toward shorter, more three-dimensional face shapes, right?
Surgery felt way too intimidating for me though — and honestly, even if I were willing to go under the knife, there aren't many procedures that structurally shorten the mid-face (short of touching the nose?). So I'd basically just accepted my face as-is.
Until one day at a dermatology clinic, I spotted a line that spoke directly to my soul:
Emface: Effective mid-face lifting for improved nasolabial folds.
The two things I'd been self-conscious about my entire life, potentially fixable?! I booked a consultation on the spot. The treatment itself only takes about 20 minutes and is entirely non-invasive — but at over 1,000,000 KRW per session, I genuinely agonized over it.
In the end I figured — nothing to lose, might as well try. I decided I'd do one session first, and if I saw any results, I'd go ahead with two more.
The clinic recommended 3 sessions spaced a month apart for people in their 20s–30s, and 5–6 sessions for older patients. Five or six sessions felt financially out of reach for me, so I committed to three.
After Session 1
There was no dramatic transformation — and honestly, you shouldn't go in expecting Emface alone to visibly shrink your mid-face or erase your nasolabial folds. That said, the doctor looked at my before-and-after photos and pointed out that my cheeks had lifted slightly, making the mid-face appear shorter — and when I looked at the photos myself, I could kind of see it too. Some friends also commented that my skin looked more radiant after the treatment, which made me think, okay, there's something to this — so I went ahead and booked the remaining two sessions.
(Side note: I was doing Sofwave at the same time, so I can't say with certainty which results came from which treatment!)
I completed all three sessions across January, February, and March 2025, roughly one session per month.
Final Verdict After 3 Sessions
Nobody told me my face looked shorter — but I wasn't expecting miracles. What did happen is that people started asking, "Did you do something to your skin?" which I'll take as a win. It might just be a feeling, but my face looks a little more lifted, slightly less elongated, and my nasolabial folds seem a touch less deep — not gone, but softer. Overall, I can't say it was a total waste of money.
If I had unlimited funds, I'd honestly go up to 10 sessions just to see — but realistically, three is where I'm stopping. From here on out, I'm choosing to believe it worked. As the saying goes — life is about managing your mood. 😄
Treatment Process & Clinic Review
I had all three sessions done at Retoo Clinic in Cheongdam (they recently relocated). The lead doctor is skilled and attentive — before each session he'd assess my face and adjust the intensity by side. For example, he set the left side to 100% and the right to 96%. That level of customization felt reassuring.
That said, here's where things got a little frustrating:
From the second session onward, I was told I'd be alternating between the lead doctor and another doctor at the clinic. I wanted to stay with the same doctor throughout — so finding out mid-treatment that it would be rotated was a bit jarring.
What made it worse: I was then told that requesting a specific doctor would require a 10% surcharge. I went ahead with the second session under the other doctor, but the way he handled the device felt noticeably different and made me uncomfortable — so I asked to cancel my third session and get a partial refund. Their response? Suddenly, "Oh, we can have your original doctor do it after all." That flip felt a little off to me.
To be clear — I'm not saying the other doctor was bad at her job. It was more of a personal comfort thing. But the way the situation was handled left a sour taste.
One More Thing Worth Knowing
Emface itself doesn't have known side effects, but if the pads detach from your face while the machine is running, it can cause a burn. Make sure the pads are secured properly before starting, and ask the doctor to show you the emergency stop button beforehand — just in case. Better safe than sorry!