A non-surgical facelift is not one procedure. It is a planned combination of lifting, tightening and volume treatments, chosen after assessing one face, and carried out without cutting or removing skin. At Facial Sculpting in South Kensington, London, Dr Nina Bal builds that plan from the treatments below, and the consultation decides which of them earn a place in it.
What follows is what each treatment does, who it suits, what it cannot do and what it costs, so you can see the shape of a plan before you book. Every price here is the clinic's published price and every treatment links to its own page.
How does a non-surgical facelift work?
Facial ageing is rarely one problem. Skin loses collagen and elastin, deep support is lost from the midface and jawline, and muscle pull changes the way the lower face and neck sit. A single treatment answers one of those at a time, which is why a plan built from several usually reads better than any one treatment used alone.
A thorough consultation is essential to assess your facial anatomy, skin quality and aesthetic goals before anything is recommended. If the pattern in front of us is significant sagging rather than mild to moderate laxity, the right answer may be that a non-surgical plan is not the one to choose.
The treatments a non-surgical facelift is built from
Endolift, laser skin tightening (from £3,900)
Endolift uses laser energy delivered under the skin to stimulate collagen production and tighten laxity around the jawline and lower face. It is the most involved of the energy-based options at the clinic and sits at the top of the price list for that reason.
XERF, structural skin tightening (£2,600 a session for the face)
XERF is described by its makers Cynosure Lutronic as Structural Skin Tightening: radiofrequency energy delivered deeper than conventional radiofrequency, reaching the shallow, middle and deep layers of the skin to remodel the structure of tissue through collagen and elastin. It is needle-free with no downtime. The face is £2,600 a session and face and neck together £3,000 a session, and the treatment currently runs a waiting list.
HIFU, ultrasound lifting (from £700)
HIFU, high-intensity focused ultrasound, delivers focused energy to the deeper structural layers of the skin, including the SMAS, to stimulate collagen and gradually lift and tighten. It is best suited to mild to moderate laxity of the brow, lower face, jawline and neck, and it is not a replacement for a surgical facelift.
EMFACE, needle-free lifting and toning (from £700)
EMFACE is needle-free and hands-free, using synchronised radiofrequency and HIFES electromagnetic muscle stimulation to treat the skin and the supporting facial muscle at the same time. It is designed for tone, smoothing and a subtle lift of the forehead, cheeks and jawline. It is not a substitute for a surgical facelift and results vary from person to person.
Radiofrequency microneedling (from £600)
Radiofrequency microneedling combines fine microneedles with controlled radiofrequency energy. The needles create micro-channels while the radiofrequency delivers gentle heat into the deeper layers, together prompting fibroblast cells to produce fresh collagen and elastin. It is the most accessible way into the energy-based group and it improves firmness, texture and clarity as well as softening scarring.
Skin boosters: Profhilo (£640 per area) and polynucleotides (£690 per area)
Profhilo is an injectable skin booster made from stabilised hyaluronic acid without chemical cross-linking agents. Rather than filling lines, it spreads under the skin to hydrate and bio-remodel tissue, stimulating the skin's own collagen and elastin to improve quality, firmness and mild laxity. Polynucleotides are a regenerative skin-booster injectable used to support the skin's own repair and renewal, including the delicate under-eye area, over a short course. Neither adds volume or contours the face.
Muscle balance: anti-wrinkle injections and the Nefertiti Lift (£600)
Botulinum toxin relaxes dynamic facial muscles, smoothing fine lines and subtly lifting the brow. The Nefertiti Lift applies the same principle lower down, placing small doses into the platysma, the broad sheet of muscle in the neck, and along the jaw, so that relaxing its downward pull allows the jawline to sit more crisply. It is designed for subtle jaw and neck definition rather than the change of a surgical neck lift. A consultation is required.
Dermal fillers for structural support
Hyaluronic acid fillers restore support to areas that lose definition over time, such as the cheeks, jawline and under-eye area. Used inside a lifting plan their job is structure rather than volume for its own sake, which is why assessment of the whole face comes first. A consultation is required.
Dr Nina's combination protocols: the W-Lift and the V-Lift
Two of the clinic's signature protocols are combination plans rather than single procedures. The W-Lift assesses the lower face, jawline and skin and may draw on dermal fillers, anti-wrinkle injections and energy-based devices to restore lift, support and definition. The V-Lift works towards a slimmer, more defined V-shaped jawline and chin, and may combine hyaluronic acid fillers, jawline slimming injections and energy-based devices. Both work with your own anatomy, neither is a substitute for a surgical facelift, and both are priced on application after assessment.
How much does a non-surgical facelift cost in London?
There is no single price, because there is no single treatment. The published single-treatment prices at the clinic start at £600 for radiofrequency microneedling and the Nefertiti Lift, £640 per area for Profhilo and £690 per area for polynucleotides, and £700 for HIFU or EMFACE. At the structural end, XERF is £2,600 a session for the face and £3,000 for face and neck, and Endolift starts at £3,900. The combination protocols are quoted after assessment. The full list is on the pricing page, and the figure that matters to you is the one for the plan you are actually offered.
What results can you expect?
Used well, a non-surgical plan can lift and firm mild to moderate laxity, restore support where it has been lost, soften fine lines and improve skin texture, hydration and radiance. The energy-based treatments work by stimulating collagen, so the change builds over weeks and months rather than appearing on the day, and many people see the first improvements within weeks. Results vary from person to person and depend on which treatments are used, your skin and the pattern of ageing being treated. Downtime is usually short, and in the case of XERF and EMFACE the clinic describes the treatments as having none.
Is a non-surgical facelift right for you?
It suits mild to moderate laxity, early loss of definition in the jawline and midface, and skin quality that has started to change. It is a poor fit where laxity is significant, where there is a lot of loose skin to remove, or where the expectation is the result of surgery. None of these treatments removes skin, and the clinic's own treatment pages say so on each one.
If what concerns you is laxity itself rather than a procedure, the page on sagging skin and skin laxity sets out how that concern is assessed, and the advanced laser and radiofrequency group lists the energy-based options in one place.
Your consultation with Dr Nina Bal
Every face is different, so the plan is built rather than chosen from a menu. In consultation at 313 Brompton Road, South Kensington, Dr Nina Bal assesses your skin condition, facial structure and concerns, then recommends the combination that fits, in the order it should be done, with the cost of that plan. Sometimes the recommendation is to do less than you came in for, and sometimes it is that a non-surgical plan is not the right answer at all. You can read about Dr Nina Bal and her approach before you come in.
Non-surgical facelift FAQs
What is a non-surgical facelift?
It is not a single procedure. It is a planned combination of lifting, tightening and volume treatments chosen for one face, usually across energy-based devices such as Endolift, XERF, HIFU, EMFACE or radiofrequency microneedling, injectable skin boosters such as Profhilo and polynucleotides, and dermal filler or botulinum toxin where support or muscle balance is the issue.
How much does a non-surgical facelift cost in London?
It depends on which treatments the plan uses. At Facial Sculpting in South Kensington the published single-treatment prices range from £600 for radiofrequency microneedling and £700 for HIFU or EMFACE to £2,600 a session for XERF on the face and from £3,900 for Endolift. Dr Nina's signature combination protocols, the W-Lift and the V-Lift, are priced on application after assessment.
Is a non-surgical facelift the same as a surgical facelift?
No. None of these treatments removes skin, and the clinic's own treatment pages state plainly that they are not a substitute for surgery. They work on skin quality, collagen, muscle balance and structural support, so they suit mild to moderate laxity rather than significant sagging.
How long do the results last?
It varies by treatment and by person. Energy-based treatments work by stimulating collagen, so the change builds over weeks and months rather than appearing at once, and maintenance is part of the plan. Results vary from person to person, which is why the consultation comes before any recommendation.
Is there any downtime?
It depends on the treatment. EMFACE and XERF are described by the clinic as needle-free with no downtime, while injectable and needling treatments can leave short-lived redness or swelling. Your consultation covers what to expect for the specific plan you are offered.
Who should not have a non-surgical facelift?
Suitability is decided in consultation, and the answer is sometimes no. Significant skin laxity, an expectation of a surgical result, or the wrong treatment for the pattern of ageing in front of us are all reasons Dr Nina will say a treatment is not right for you.
Book a consultation
Want to know which combination would suit your face? Book a consultation at the South Kensington clinic, or see the full treatment pricing first.
