VF Lift – Vertical Facelift
Monopolar radiofrequency delivered along vertical vectors — lifting, reducing and restoring within one non-surgical framework.
LiftReduceRestore
Reviewed: Pico laser.PDRN.Niacinamide.Retinoids.Azelaic acid.Facial cupping.Topical tranexamic acid.Glutathione whitening pills. Protocols, vetted.
Aesthetics International is a curator of aesthetic treatments. The ones people are searching for and sharing — 153 so far — each given a plain verdict on what works, what doesn't and for whom, from the published studies rather than the marketing. The protocols that pass the standard are published alongside. Edited in Singapore, read internationally.
153treatments reviewed
13protocols vetted
6countries of faculty work
The reviews
Devices, injectables, skincare, surgery and viral routines, each held to the same six questions, with PubMed-linked studies and a summary of what people are saying online. Verdicts are editorial, unpaid, and revised as the evidence moves. The 24 most-searched are below.
- VettedPico laserThe most-searched laser treatment in Singapore, driven by pigmentation, acne marks and 'glass skin' content.
- EstablishedPDRN and polynucleotides'Salmon sperm facial' went viral on TikTok and Instagram; Rejuran is the second most-searched aesthetic term in Singapore.
- EstablishedNiacinamideNiacinamide is the second most-viewed cosmeceutical on TikTok after retinol, and a 2025 analysis found its social attention far outstrips its Google search interest.
- EstablishedRetinoids: retinol, retinal and prescription retinoidsRetinol is the most-viewed cosmeceutical ingredient on TikTok, and the 'retinol uglies' and 'Sephora kids' conversations have pushed it into mainstream news and a 2025 paper in Pediatrics.
- EstablishedAzelaic acidAzelaic acid has become a favourite of skincare Reddit and dermatologists on TikTok because it is one of the few actives considered usable in pregnancy and on rosacea-prone skin.
- TrendFacial cupping and lymphatic drainageFacial cupping resurged on social media after a five-year lull, bundled with 'lymphatic drainage' and 'face sculpting' videos that promise a slimmer jawline from a few minutes of suction or stroking.
- PromisingTopical tranexamic acidTranexamic acid moved from an operating-theatre drug to a serum shelf staple; beauty editors call it a 'holy grail' brightener and melasma forums discuss it as the hydroquinone alternative.
- CautionGlutathione 'whitening' pillsOral glutathione is heavily marketed across South-East Asia as a 'whitening' supplement, often in gummies and effervescent drinks sold on Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop, with repeated regulatory advisories in the Philippines about unregistered products.
- TrendCastor oil for skin, lashes and hairCastor oil went viral on TikTok in 2024 for everything from belly-button 'detox' to lash growth and under-eye lines, a revival of a grandmother's remedy driven by wellness creators rather than any new data.
- VettedHIFUUltherapy Prime's launch and Korean 'MPT' marketing keep HIFU among the most-searched lifting treatments.
- TrendBiotin and hair gummiesBiotin gummies are among the most-marketed supplements on social media, sold on influencer 'hair journey' videos for thicker hair and stronger nails.
- PromisingJuvelook and PDLLA hybridsKorean 'collagen boosters' that combine a biostimulator with HA have become the most-searched injectable after Rejuran in Singapore.
- EstablishedUltherapy and Ultherapy PrimeMerz relaunched the platform as Ultherapy Prime in late 2024 and signed Salma Hayek Pinault as its first global ambassador in 2025, which put the twenty-year-old treatment back in celebrity and 'non-surgical facelift' content.
- Promising'Oral sunscreen': Polypodium and astaxanthinSun-protection supplements are marketed as 'sunscreen in a pill' on TikTok and in pharmacies, a framing the US FDA warned four companies about in 2018 and dermatologists still push back on.
- TrendRed light and LED masksLED masks are the top-selling beauty device of 2025–26; 'red light therapy' is searched more than most clinic lasers.
- CautionMewing and 'looksmaxxing''Looksmaxxing' spread from incel forums to TikTok and YouTube, where it is aimed at teenage boys and young men; a 2026 social-listening study measured tens of millions of reach for 'bonesmashing' alone and a 5,000 per cent rise in Google searches for it in a year.
- TrendGua sha and face toolsFace-sculpting videos drive hundreds of millions of views; gua sha remains one of the most-searched beauty terms in Singapore.
- EstablishedProfhiloThe original 'injectable moisturiser' remains a top-searched skin treatment in Singapore and the UK.
- VettedRF microneedlingMorpheus8 is a celebrity staple internationally; Sylfirm X and Potenza dominate searches in Singapore and Korea.
- CautionIV drips and NAD+Drip lounges and NAD+ 'longevity' infusions are a wellness-industry boom; glutathione drips are heavily marketed in Asia for skin brightening.
- VettedMonopolar radiofrequencyThermage's long reputation and the Korean platforms Oligio and Volnewmer keep radiofrequency tightening among the most-searched lifting treatments.
- EstablishedHair transplant: FUE and DHIPackage hair-transplant tourism to Istanbul, documented in airport photos of bandaged heads and 'what really happens' articles, has made FUE the most visible cosmetic surgery for men under forty.
- EstablishedVitamin C serumsVitamin C remains in the top tier of TikTok skincare ingredients, and the 'my serum turned orange' videos keep the oxidation question in constant circulation.
- CautionCollagen stimulatorsSculptra is the fastest-growing injectable category worldwide as patients move away from 'filler face'.
Vetted4Used within an Aesthetics International protocol; mechanism, evidence and limits reviewed.Established70Long clinical track record. Results depend on selection and technique more than on the device.Promising28Plausible mechanism and early evidence. Reasonable to try with realistic expectations.Trend27Popular for reasons that are mostly social. Harmless at best; manage expectations.Caution24Evidence, regulation or risk profile does not yet support routine use.
By concern
Acne scarsPigmentation and melasmaEye bags and dark circlesSagging skin and skin tighteningHair loss and thinningCellulite and body contouringDouble chin and jowlsWrinkles and fine linesPores, texture and dullnessNeck lines and 'tech neck'AcneMoles, warts and skin tagsRedness and rosacea
Head to head
Thermage vs Ultherapy vs HIFURejuran vs Profhilo vs skin boostersPico laser vs CO₂ laser
MechanismIs there a plausible route from what the device or product does to the change claimed?
EvidenceIndependent, published studies — not only the manufacturer's — and how large the effect really is.
RegulationRegistered with HSA for the use described, and performed by the right person in Singapore.
SelectionWho it suits, who it does not, and whether the marketing admits the difference.
ReversibilityWhat happens when it goes wrong, and whether it can be undone.
Limits statedWhether the people offering it will say what it cannot do.
Faculty departures
Where Dr Sin Yong has been invited to share his clinical expertise with other physicians since 2024 — manufacturer academies, congresses and partner meetings, latest first.
| Date | City | Engagement |
|---|---|---|
| SEP 2026 | SÃO PAULO | CLASSYS Academy São Paulo |
| JUL 2026 | SINGAPORE | SAM Conference 2026 — Society of Aesthetic Medicine (Singapore) |
| JUL 2026 | SINGAPORE | DEKA clinical exchange and Centre of Excellence certification |
| JUN 2026 | BANGKOK | 7th CLASSYS APAC Symposium |
| MAY 2026 | TAIPEI | AMWC Asia – TDAC 2026 |
| MAR 2026 | SEOUL | HIRONIC VVIP Partners Meeting — 20th anniversary |
| OCT 2025 | SINGAPORE | HIRONIC Doublo 2.0 physician programme |
| OCT 2025 | SINGAPORE | DEKA Tetra Pro S3 Resurfacing training |
| MAR 2025 | SEOUL | CLASSYS Global Customer Summit |
| JUN 2024 | DUBAI | ilooda International KOL programme |
| MAR 2024 | SEOUL | ilooda Meet the Expert Academy |
“The room already knows the machine. What they want is the judgement around it — where the energy should go, on which face, in which order, and when to stop.”
Vetted protocols
Thirteen protocols pass the standard. Each is a way of using a platform — a plane, a sequence and a set of endpoints — not a device, developed and refined over fifteen years of practice and faculty work, and performed by the physician who developed them.
4K Body Lift
High-definition body contouring: insulated RF microneedling placed point by point into mapped zones of resistant fat, then a shallower pass so the skin follows.
DefineSculptTighten
Time Freeze Laser LCLR®
Laser Collagen Lipo Remodelling on a long-pulsed 755 / 1064 nm platform — collagen contraction in the session, neo-collagenesis over the weeks after.
Laxity correctionCollagen remodellingLipo-remodelling
S3 Resurfacing Lift
Stack, Scan, Sculpt: multi-depth fractional CO₂ resurfacing on the DEKA SmartXide Tetra Pro, with settings adapted for darker skin types.
StackScanSculpt
FSX Laser
Flawless Smooth Skin: a four-pass thulium and erbium-glass protocol for texture, pores, redness and superficial scars — calibrated in real time.
SurfacePore and textureDermal remodelling
RVR ProLift
Refinement With Vertical Restoration — a biodegradable lifting protocol placed along vertical vectors to reposition descended tissue.
RepositionRefineResorb
4D Scar Reconstruction
Tethering, depth, texture and volume addressed within one coordinated protocol: subcision, collagen stimulation, point-shot ablation and fractional laser.
ReleaseRebuildResurface
3D Facial Reconstruction
Definitive Dynamic Depth: deep structural lifting, mid-layer volumetric remodelling and surface integrity, mapped to one face's pattern of ageing.
Depth 1Depth 2Depth 3
Luminescence Laser Lift
Non-ablative resurfacing and lifting through precision stimulus rather than controlled injury — including a first-line laser approach to hair regrowth.
StimulusRemodelLift
R2 Glow Laser
A slow protocol rather than a dramatic one: calming the inflammatory drivers of dull, uneven tone so brightness follows as a consequence.
CalmCalibrateProgress
T2 Frax Radiance
A pico protocol on the DEKA TORO: picosecond 785 nm for tone and pigmentation, a longer thermal pulse for tightening — two modes, two targets.
PicoThermalDepth
Svelte Touch
Radiofrequency and ultrasound delivered together on one platform — for jowls, folds, submental fullness and skin firming, on the face and the body.
StructureDermisBody
G Lift
An energy-based feminine wellness protocol on fractional CO₂ — tissue quality addressed in a clinical setting, without anaesthesia.
AssessStimulateReview
The physician
Dr Sin Yong is an aesthetic and laser physician in Singapore. He trained in plastics, ENT and anaesthesia at the National University of Singapore, holds the MRCS of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and completed two master's degrees — in Aesthetic Medicine at the University of London and in Practical Dermatology at Cardiff University.
Over more than fifteen years in practice he has developed ten proprietary treatment protocols for non-surgical facial lifting, body contouring, resurfacing and scar reconstruction. Among them is the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift, which he presented at the CLASSYS APAC Symposium in 2026 and was invited to share with CLASSYS Academy's own team in São Paulo.
He is Medical Director of IN Eternity Clinic on Orchard Road, which DEKA and NeoAsia certified a DEKA Centre of Excellence in July 2026, and he holds key opinion leader appointments with CLASSYS, DEKA, Fotona, HIRONIC and ilooda. Since 2024 he has been invited to share his clinical expertise with physicians in Seoul, Dubai, Taipei, Bangkok, São Paulo and Singapore.
- MBBSNational University of Singapore, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
- MRCSRoyal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
- MSc Aesthetic MedicineUniversity of London
- MSc Practical DermatologyCardiff University
- Graduate Diploma in Sports MedicineSingapore
SingaporeSeoulDubaiTaipeiBangkokSão Paulo
Reviewed in Singapore, tested in six countries
The vetted protocols have been shared with physicians at manufacturer academies, congresses and partner meetings across six countries since 2024 — and come back with the cases other physicians have that we had never seen.
- Singapore4 engagements
- Seoul3 engagements
- Dubai1 engagement
- Taipei1 engagement
- Bangkok1 engagement
- São Paulo1 engagement
In print
Aesthetics International began as a printed series — seven volumes so far, from fillers and lasers to the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift — written for patients and physicians and published in English and Chinese. In Singapore, outcomes are discussed as cases; the medical advertising guidelines rule out testimonials and before-and-after photographs online, and this site follows them in full.
Vol 1Create the best version of yourself
Vol 2Fillers and contouring
Vol 3Facial contouring
Vol 4Lasers and lifts
Vol 5Secrets of keeping youthful
Vol 6Flawless smooth skin
Vol 7VF Lift – Vertical Facelift
Press
- NüYouBeauty review — HIFU treatment with Dr Sin YongSeptember 2026
- Sassy Mama SingaporeMedical aesthetic clinics in Singapore — IN Eternity ClinicAugust 2026
- PRIME JournalInternational journal of aesthetic and anti-ageing medicine, Nov/Dec 2023, p.462023
- MUSE SingaporeEdition 051 — The Beauty Report Card
Recognition
- 2026CLASSYS International Key Opinion Leader Award, 7th CLASSYS APAC Symposium, Bangkok
- 2026Recognised as a HIRONIC Global KOL, HIRONIC VVIP Partners Meeting, Seoul
- 2026IN Eternity Clinic certified a DEKA Centre of Excellence by DEKA and NeoAsia
- 2025CLASSYS International Key Opinion Leader Award, CLASSYS Global Customer Summit, Seoul
- 2025Singapore SME 100 Award 2025/2026, presented to Dr Sin Yong
Have a question about a treatment?
Ask us — or ask to be matched with a practitioner who follows evidence-based treatment. We will point you to the review, and to a clinic in Singapore where the assessment comes before the plan.
WhatsApp +65 8023 7170Faculty, media and review suggestions
Invitations to share clinical experience at academies, congresses and partner meetings, requests for comment, and treatments you would like reviewed are handled by email.
[email protected]