Exion in London: what it does, what it costs, and what the evidence shows

This guide is written by the team that runs Exion at our clinic on Devonshire Place and reviewed by our clinician. It explains what each handpiece does, what the US regulator cleared, the studies behind each figure, how we price it, and which treatment we recommend for jowls.

What Exion is

Exion is the trade name BTL Industries gives to its BTL-785 platform, a console with several handpieces. Three are sold under the Exion name in the UK:

• Exion Face. A handheld applicator that delivers monopolar radiofrequency at 3.2 MHz together with targeted ultrasound to small areas: around the eyes, the forehead, the cheeks, the jawline, the neck and the chest. No needles. The skin is heated to between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius on the label, monitored by a thermometer in the handpiece and by what you tell the clinician.
• Exion Body. The same combination with active cooling of the skin surface and more power, for the abdomen, the arms, the thighs, the buttocks, the knees and the back. A massage attachment for the Body handpiece is the only part of the system with a cellulite wording on its US label.
• Exion Fractional RF. Radiofrequency at 1 MHz delivered through a single-use tip carrying a six-by-six grid of fine needles, set to a depth of 0.5 to 4 mm on the US summary, or through a tip of 32 or 64 surface pins. This is a microneedling treatment, in the same class as Morpheus8, and it is the one that wounds the skin on purpose to trigger its healing response.

The manufacturer describes the energy as "AI-controlled". In practice, as a dermatologist describes it, the fractional handpiece monitors tissue resistance and temperature in real time and can be used in a single pass.

The Exion studies measured the skin's hyaluronic acid, and the results are set out below.

What the US regulator cleared

The US clearances sit under the BTL-785 model names rather than the Exion name; the ones we hold in full are dated up to March 2024:

• Face and Body are cleared to provide heating "for the purpose of elevating tissue temperature for selected medical conditions such as temporary relief of pain, muscle spasms, and increase in local circulation". The cellulite wording covers the Body massage attachment only. Wrinkles, laxity, tightening, lifting, fat and hyaluronic acid are not on the US label, which covers heating; the skin-quality and fat results come from the studies below. For wrinkles, the applicator in this family with a US wrinkle indication is EMface, which we also offer at the same address.
• Fractional RF is cleared for "electrocoagulation and hemostasis" and for "dermatological procedures requiring fractional treatment of the skin". Above 62 millijoules per pin its use is limited to skin types I to IV, the same limit the regulator placed on Morpheus8. Acne scars, stretch marks and wrinkles are not on the label; its use for them rests on the radiofrequency microneedling literature below.

These are 510(k) clearances, a finding that the device is substantially equivalent to earlier ones, based for Face and Body on bench tests that the handpiece reaches and holds its temperature. The correct term is FDA-cleared, and US clearance is separate from UK regulatory status.

Does Exion work? What the studies show

The published studies show a measurable rise in the skin's hyaluronic acid with Exion Face and a thinner fat layer with a matching body handpiece. Here is where each figure comes from; the 2024 pig study and the human study were funded by BTL, the manufacturer.

• The "224%". In a study published in 2024, twelve pigs, six per group, had four 20-minute treatments two to three days apart on a patch of abdomen. Hyaluronic acid in the skin rose 79% at one month and 224% at two months in the animals treated with radiofrequency plus targeted ultrasound; the older Exilis handpiece produced no significant change. A second pig study in 2025, using a different assay, found about a doubling.
• The human study. In a study published in 2025, seven adults aged 51 to 64 were split three ways: three had Exion Face, three had radiofrequency alone, one was untreated. After four full-face sessions a week or two apart, the area of skin staining for hyaluronic acid rose 49% at one month and 68% at three months in the Exion group, against about 7% to 10% with radiofrequency alone. The three Exion patients' global aesthetic improvement scores rose to 1.88 by three months. Pain was rated 2.3 out of 10 with Exion against 5.3 with radiofrequency alone. Collagen and elastin were not measured in this study, which ran to three months.
• The fat study. In a single-arm study of 23 people published in 2026, four treatments with a handpiece matching Exion Body (radiofrequency, targeted ultrasound and surface cooling) thinned the fat layer by 16% at one month and 22.5% at three and six months on ultrasound; 71% of the patients reported an improvement. It was a single-group study, and fat reduction is a study result rather than a US-cleared use.
• Fractional RF. The evidence for this handpiece is the wider literature on radiofrequency microneedling as a technique, which supports improvement in acne scars and skin texture over three sessions or so; a 2026 meta-analysis found radiofrequency microneedling carries less pigmentation change than fractional CO2 laser, which scored better on acne scars. A BTL trial of a related fractional applicator in 31 people, three visits two to five weeks apart, finished in 2021 and its results are not yet published.

So the picture is this. Face and Body are comfortable heat treatments that, on the human data, increased the skin's hyaluronic acid content, still present at the last measurement at three months, and, in one single-arm study of a matching handpiece, thinned a fat layer, still present at six. In our experience patients see a smoother, plumper, more even skin over a course, with the change building to about three months after the last session. Fractional RF is a resurfacing treatment backed by the evidence for radiofrequency microneedling as a technique. The studies followed patients for up to six months, and we review you at three months to plan any maintenance.

Can radiofrequency help with jowls?

Some patients tell us a mildly slack jawline looks a little firmer after a course of Exion Face, an observation from our practice rather than a study result; Exion is a heating treatment, not a lift. For established jowls we offer the lifting treatments at the same address: Ultherapy, cleared in the US to lift the brow, under the chin and the neck, and Sofwave, which carries lifting clearances of its own. Our doctor also performs PDO thread lifts, at our Chelsea clinic. At your free consultation the clinician tells you which fits your jawline.

Who Exion suits, and who it does not

Face and Body suit adults who want to improve skin quality; in our experience patients come for dullness, texture and a soft layer over the abdomen or arms, and see a smoother, more even skin over a course. Fractional RF suits acne scarring, deeper texture change and skin that needs resurfacing rather than warming, in skin types I to IV at the energies that do the most.

The exclusions below are the ones used in common practice and in the radiofrequency literature, and the clinician checks them against the manufacturer's guidance with you at your consultation:

• Pregnancy and breastfeeding.
• A pacemaker, a defibrillator or any implanted electronic device; metal implants in or near the treated area.
• An active skin infection, an open wound or active acne in the area.
• Recent isotretinoin (Roaccutane), a history of keloid scarring, or a bleeding disorder or blood thinners, for the needle handpiece, as for any microneedling.
• Skin types V and VI for Fractional RF at higher energies, where the US label stops and where post-inflammatory pigmentation is the main risk.
• Autoimmune skin disease.

Exion works with your own tissue, by heat or by controlled injury. If you want injectable treatments as well, our doctor can provide them, and we time them around your course: we wait two weeks after an injectable treatment in the area and four weeks after dermal filler before treating it.

What a session is like, step by step

1. Consultation. The clinician looks at your skin, agrees which handpiece and which areas, and explains what result to expect. You get a plan and a price in writing. Consultations and follow-up reviews are free.
2. Face or Body. A return pad is placed on your body, gel on the area, and the handpiece is moved over the skin until it reaches the target temperature, then held there. It feels like a deep hot-stone massage; the human study rated it 2.3 out of 10. In our experience a face takes up to an hour, a smaller area 20 to 30 minutes. You leave pink and warm and go about your day.
3. Fractional RF. Numbing cream for about 30 minutes, then the tip is stamped across the area, each stamp delivering the needles and the current. You feel pressure, heat and a prickling. The skin is red and tight afterwards, like sunburn, with pinpoint marks that may crust; clinics describe one to three days of redness and make-up after one to three days, and it can take longer.
4. After. Face and Body: nothing to do. Fractional RF: your clinician gives written aftercare, which in outline is a gentle cleanser, no active ingredients until the skin has settled, sun protection, and no make-up for the first day.

How many sessions, when you see the result, how long it lasts

How long does Exion Face last? The human study of Exion Face measured the result at three months, and the fat study of a matching body handpiece at six. Our experience is that the skin quality holds for several months and fades gradually, which is why we review you at three months and talk about maintenance then.

What Exion costs in London

Exion is priced per handpiece, per area and per session. We price Exion from a starting price per session, per area and per course, confirmed in writing at your free consultation, and we price match any comparable written quote. Consultations and follow-up reviews are free whatever you decide.

Your written plan names who treats you, which handpiece, the number of sessions and the aftercare. Book the free consultation to get yours.

Results you can check

At your consultation the clinician shows you our own patients' photographs where we have them, with their consent, matched to your handpiece and area, and you can compare them with your own photographs at three months.

Our reviews are collected through review.clinic, and the badge on this page links to them: 4.9 out of 5 from 84 reviews in October 2026, with 100% of reviewers saying the treatment was worth it.

Exion compared with the alternatives

The sessions and downtime rows reflect published protocols and our clinical experience; the clearance and evidence rows are from the US summaries and the papers named above.

Exion Face vs EMface. They sit on the same BTL console and are often confused. EMface uses hands-free pads that heat the skin and contract the facial muscles at the same time, and it is the applicator in this family with a wrinkle indication and a 42-person study behind it. Exion Face is handheld, adds targeted ultrasound, has no muscle component and a heating indication only. We offer both at the same address; EMface for lines and tone, Exion Face for skin quality and hydration, and some patients have both.

Exion Fractional RF vs Morpheus8. Both are radiofrequency microneedling with the same US skin type limit. Morpheus8 has far more published data and a longer track record; Exion's maker designed it for a single pass and less pain; the two have not been compared head to head. We offer both at the same address and choose by your skin, your scars and your tolerance for downtime.

Exion vs Ultherapy and Sofwave. Different jobs. The ultrasound lifting devices are cleared to lift; Exion is cleared to heat. For a slack neck or jowls, start with the lifting conversation; for skin quality and hydration, Exion Face. We offer all three at the same address.

Side effects and risks

Face and Body: the human study reported no adverse events and no downtime in its three treated patients, and the handpiece carries a thermometer. Expect some redness and warmth afterwards. Too much heat in one place could blister, which is why the clinician keeps the handpiece moving and asks how it feels.

Fractional RF: redness, swelling, tenderness, pinpoint bleeding and crusting for one to three days are expected; some clinics quote up to five. Less common are post-inflammatory darkening of the skin, especially in darker skin types and the reason for the label limit, grid marks that fade over weeks, cold sore reactivation, infection, and acne flares. Reported across the radiofrequency microneedling class, in the US regulator's October 2025 communication and in published analyses of its adverse event reports: burns, scarring, disfigurement, loss of fat under the skin, and nerve damage. They are reported without a rate; the clinician's training, conservative settings and careful patient selection are what reduce them.

At your consultation the clinician tells you which skin types each handpiece suits, how much downtime to plan for, and which study each figure comes from.

How to choose an Exion clinic in London

• Ask which handpiece and why. Face, Body and Fractional RF are three different treatments. A clinic that sells "Exion" without saying which has not examined you.
• Ask who holds the handpiece and who supervises. Ours is a doctor-led team, and this guide is reviewed by Dr Marie Duggan, GMC 7488383; the clinic is CQC registered.
• Ask whether the tip is single-use. The Fractional RF needle tips are, by label.
• Ask for the plan in sessions, areas and pounds, in writing.
• Ask for the exclusions before you sign, and if you have darker skin and want the needle handpiece, ask what energy they use and what the label says.
• Ask to see the clinic's own patients' photographs.
• Ask where each figure comes from. Every percentage in this guide names its study.

Aftercare

Face and Body: nothing. Moisturise, use sunscreen as you would anyway, and come to the free review at three months. Fractional RF: follow the written sheet your clinician gives you; in outline, cleanse gently, no retinoids, acids or exfoliants until the redness has gone, sun protection every day, no make-up on the first day, in our experience no swimming, saunas or heavy exercise for a couple of days, and tell us about any blistering, spreading redness, a cold sore or a patch of skin that darkens rather than fades.

Frequently asked questions