Most patients find it comfortable. Exilis is monopolar radiofrequency: a handpiece moves over the area and warms the deeper layers while the skin-surface temperature is monitored, and what you feel is warmth that builds, adjusted with you as it goes. In the published studies that asked, comfort scored 4.1 out of 5 in 34 people treated with a combined radiofrequency and ultrasound device, and 94% of 17 women treated with an Exilis applicator reported mild or no discomfort. In our experience it suits someone who prefers a course of comfortable half-hour sessions to a single stronger treatment. Every treatment is given by Dr Marie Duggan, GMC 7488383, at Exilis London, 130 Harley Street, London, W1G 7JU, after a free consultation.
What a session feels like
The handpiece passes over the area for about 30 minutes, and the warmth builds as it goes. The doctor watches the skin temperature throughout and adjusts the level with you. Tell the doctor straight away if an area feels too hot. The maker's own description is that no anaesthetic is needed, so that you can give feedback on the comfort level as you go.
The comfort figures
- 34 people, face, arms, thighs and abdomen, four weekly treatments (2017): comfort and satisfaction both rated 4.1 out of 5, no adverse events. The study names a combined radiofrequency and ultrasound device, not Exilis by name.
- 17 women, four weekly treatments with an Exilis applicator (2016): 94% reported mild to no discomfort, no adverse events. It is the one published comfort figure on an Exilis applicator, from a labial series.
- 64 patients, abdomen, thighs and arms, four weekly sessions with the same kind of combined device (2021): satisfaction 4.48 out of 5 and no adverse events recorded; its abstract gives no comfort score.
None of these three gives a pain score out of 10 in its published summary, so we give no number.
After the session
Pink, warm skin that settles over hours, and tenderness within a day at most; you go back to your day straight away. The US consent form lists redness, numbness, swelling, blistering and, rarely, scarring as possible effects, which is why the skin temperature is watched throughout; call about any blister or a patch that stays tender or hard. In the seven US regulator reports naming Exilis from 2011 to 2021 there is no burn. In our practice: avoid sunburn and fake tan on the area and a heavy meal just before, and tell the doctor about any metal, implant or medicine.
Who should not have it
Anyone with an internal electronic device or metal implants in the area; pregnancy, breastfeeding, and an active skin infection or inflammation are screened at the consultation. Exilis is FDA-cleared in the US; the cleared wording covers wrinkles and the heating of tissue for pain relief, spasm and circulation, and says nothing about skin tightening or fat reduction.
The course and the result
Usually four weekly sessions of about 30 minutes per area, read one to three months after the last; nothing published measures beyond three months. The sessions page sets out the course, the face page the results, and the full guide covers the rest. We set out the price of Exilis in writing at a free consultation, and we price match any comparable written quote; consultations and follow-up reviews are free whatever you decide. Our patients review the clinic on review.clinic, where it scores 4.9 out of 5 from 47 reviews in November 2026.
