Gentle firming, zero downtime
Forma is InMode radiofrequency that warms and tightens mildly loose skin, with no needles and no downtime. It’s done as a series and suits skin that has started to soften but doesn’t yet need a stronger treatment like Morpheus8, popular with patients in their late 30s or 40s, and with anyone who has an event in the next few weeks.
$699
per session
At a glance
Forma skin firming- Appointment
- 30 to 45 minutes, no numbing
- Downtime
- None. Pink and warm for a few hours
- First results
- Subtle firming after the first few sessions
- Full results
- About 3 months after the last session
- Sessions
- A series, often 4 to 6, then maintenance
- Cost
- From $699. About $175 per payment across 4
What to expect
What the appointment is like
Plan on about half an hour, with no recovery time afterward. There’s no numbing, because nothing breaks the skin. Patients compare it to a hot-stone massage: deep warmth that builds and holds. If a spot feels hot rather than warm, tell us and we’ll adjust.
Consult
We’ll look at where the skin has loosened, ask about implants, pregnancy, and recent filler, and explain whether Forma is enough or whether Morpheus8 is the better investment.
Gel and settings
We apply a conductive gel. Your provider sets the target temperature for the area and watches the display through the whole session.
Treatment
The handpiece glides in slow circles over one zone at a time until the skin holds its target temperature for several minutes, then moves on. A face takes about 30 minutes.
Before you leave
We wipe off the gel and apply moisturizer and sunscreen. You can apply makeup right away.
Results
A predictable timeline
Forma’s results are subtle. Some people notice a little firmness after the first session or two, from the immediate collagen contraction. The real change builds gradually over the series and settles about three months after the last one. In the under-chin study, improvement held through six months.
Day 0
Pink and warm
Pink and warm, then back to normal by evening. Skin may feel slightly tighter.
Weeks 2 to 6
Sessions continue
Sessions weekly or every other week. Subtle firming often shows up around the third session.
Month 3
Full result
Full result from the series. We’ll take follow-up photos to compare.
Months 6 to 12
Holds, then maintain
Improvement still holding at six months. A good time for maintenance at a year if you’d like to stay where you are.
What it costs
Clear pricing, planned by the visit
Your cost depends on your plan: how many sessions are in the series, face alone versus face plus neck, body areas with Forma Plus, and whether you set up maintenance afterward. We recommend a series because the tightening builds over time, the study protocol was four sessions two weeks apart, and clinics commonly run six weekly sessions.
- How many sessions are in the series
- Face alone versus face plus neck
- Body areas with Forma Plus
- Whether you set up maintenance afterward
InMode Forma
Forma skin firming
$699
per session
- Recommended series
- 4 to 6 sessions
- Maintenance
- Every few months
- Consultation
- $50
- Financing
- Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna
Often paired with a monthly HydraFacial instead of a standalone series. A single session before an event is a reasonable option.
Book your Forma skin firming appointmentSimilar purpose, different options
Forma or something else?
If you’re comparing Forma with other options, it usually comes down to how much change you’d like and how much recovery time you’re comfortable with.
| Forma | Morpheus8 | PDO threads | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Surface radiofrequency, no needles | Needles plus deep radiofrequency | Dissolvable sutures placed under the skin |
| Best for | Mild laxity, maintenance, no-downtime weeks | Jowls, neck, scarring, moderate laxity | Sag that needs repositioning |
| Downtime | None | 2 to 5 days of redness | Sore for a few days, swelling up to a week |
| When you see it | Subtle, builds over months | Builds over about 3 months | Day one, then settles |
| Sessions | A series, often 4 to 6 | 1 to 3 | 1, repeated at about 12 months |
What it is
- Forma
- Surface radiofrequency, no needles
- Morpheus8
- Needles plus deep radiofrequency
- PDO threads
- Dissolvable sutures placed under the skin
Best for
- Forma
- Mild laxity, maintenance, no-downtime weeks
- Morpheus8
- Jowls, neck, scarring, moderate laxity
- PDO threads
- Sag that needs repositioning
Downtime
- Forma
- None
- Morpheus8
- 2 to 5 days of redness
- PDO threads
- Sore for a few days, swelling up to a week
When you see it
- Forma
- Subtle, builds over months
- Morpheus8
- Builds over about 3 months
- PDO threads
- Day one, then settles
Sessions
- Forma
- A series, often 4 to 6
- Morpheus8
- 1 to 3
- PDO threads
- 1, repeated at about 12 months
Morpheus8 delivers radiofrequency through needles, deeper, with a stronger effect and two to five days of redness. If jowls have started to form or your neck has noticeable crepe, it’s the better choice, and Forma can become what you do between series to help hold the result.
PDO threads are for sag rather than crepe. They pull tissue back into position on the day, and the lift fades over 12 to 18 months. Forma, on the other hand, tightens the surface gradually and doesn’t reposition anything.
Microneedling tightens skin only slightly. Needles alone trigger some collagen, but without heat the tightening is minor. Forma does more, and Morpheus8 does more than Forma. You’ll find the full comparison in Morpheus8 vs microneedling.
Is it right for me?
Who it’s for, and who it isn’t
Forma can be a good fit if your laxity is mild, you want no recovery time, or you have darker skin and want tightening that isn’t affected by pigment. It’s also a practical choice before an event, since there’s no visible downtime. If you can pinch a little slack along your jaw, you’re likely a candidate.
A good fit for
- Mild laxity along the jaw, chin, or neck
- Anyone who wants no recovery time
- All skin tones, radiofrequency has no pigment target
- Mild body laxity on arms, abdomen, knees, or thighs (Forma Plus)
Not recommended
- Moderate or heavy laxity, jowls, or a dropped neck (try Morpheus8)
- A fold you can lift rather than slack (surgery may be needed)
- Fat under the chin (that’s Kybella)
- A pacemaker or metal in the area, or during pregnancy
Skin tightening is an off-label use of an FDA-cleared device, backed by one small study without a control group. If strong evidence matters to you, Morpheus8 has more research behind it.
In detail
What it treats
Forma is for skin that has started to loosen but hasn’t dropped. If you can pinch a little slack along your jaw, you’re likely a candidate. If you can lift a fold, the laxity is beyond what Forma can treat, and we’ll recommend a better option.
On the face: a jawline that’s lost its edge, early jowls, slack under the chin, neck crepe, a heavy brow, and fine crepe at the outer eyes.
On the body, with the Forma Plus handpiece: upper arms, the abdomen after pregnancy or weight loss, knees, and inner thighs. Forma is for mild laxity only. If you have a large amount of loose skin after major weight loss, a surgical consultation is the better next step.
What Forma doesn’t treat: fat under the chin (that’s Kybella), heavy jowls, deep folds, or anything a surgeon would call a facelift concern.
How it works
InMode Forma is a bipolar radiofrequency handpiece on the same platform as Morpheus8. Current passes between two electrodes on the head and heats the dermis, the skin’s middle layer, to a set temperature that the device holds for several minutes per area. That heat makes existing collagen contract a little on the day and sets off a slower remodeling response over the following months, per Chawvavanich et al., 2022.
Forma isn’t a laser. A laser is light absorbed by a target color in the skin, which is why lasers care about pigment. Radiofrequency is electrical current with no color target, so Forma works on every skin type.
Forma is FDA-cleared, and the cleared uses are “relief of minor muscle aches and pain, relief of muscle spasm, and temporary improvement of local blood circulation,” per the FDA 510(k) summary K210492. Skin tightening is how the device is used and marketed, and it’s off-label. The evidence for that use is one small study: 22 people with loose skin under the chin had four sessions two weeks apart, their laxity scores improved by the second or third session, nearly everyone was pink for a while, and there were no serious side effects. It had no control group. That study also saw a small fat-volume change on imaging, but we still don’t offer Forma for fat. The results are encouraging but not conclusive.
Afterwards
Downtime and aftercare
There’s no downtime.
You’ll leave flushed and warm, and it fades within 15 minutes to a few hours. Some people notice mild puffiness or tingling that evening, which is normal. You can wear makeup right away.
For the rest of the day, moisturize, wear sunscreen, and skip hot yoga, the sauna, and hard workouts, since added heat is the main thing to avoid. Light activity, such as a walk, is fine.
Beyond daily sunscreen, there are no sun restrictions, so Forma is the one tightening treatment on our menu that works equally well in summer and winter.
Why here
Why Arlington Heights
With no redness or recovery, Forma can be booked the same week as an event. Appointments take about thirty minutes in Suite C, and you can apply makeup before you leave. Parking is free in the lot right outside the building, with no meters and no garage.
Patients from across Arlington Heights and the northwest suburbs often choose Forma when they notice early softening along the jawline but don’t yet need Morpheus8. Forma paired with a monthly HydraFacial is a practical maintenance plan. Our medical esthetician performs it at our Arlington Heights office, on the east side of Arlington Heights Road just south of Dundee.
Questions
Common questions, answered
Forma is radiofrequency skin tightening from InMode. A smooth handpiece heats the middle layer of the skin to a controlled temperature for several minutes per area, which contracts collagen a little now and builds more over the following months. Each visit takes about 30 to 45 minutes, with no numbing and no downtime, and it’s done as a series.
A little, but not much. Microneedling on its own builds some collagen and improves texture, but any tightening is minor. Forma adds heat and tightens more. Morpheus8 adds heat through needles and tightens the most of the three.
Forma is a good match for mild laxity and no downtime, while Morpheus8 is better for jowls, neck crepe, or scarring. Morpheus8 delivers radiofrequency through needles, deeper, with a stronger effect and two to five days of redness. Forma heats from the surface, with no needles and a subtle effect.
Patients on RealSelf report results lasting up to about a year with a maintenance session. The one published study showed improvement still holding at six months, the last point it measured. Skin naturally keeps aging, so many people book maintenance every few months to hold their result.
No. It feels like deep warmth that builds and holds, and most people compare it to a hot-stone massage. There’s no numbing because nothing pierces the skin. If a spot feels hot rather than warm, let us know.
No. Forma is radiofrequency: electrical current passed between two electrodes to heat the skin. A laser is light absorbed by a target color in the skin. With no color target, Forma can be used on every skin type. It doesn’t treat fat either, despite what some older descriptions say.
Usually a series of four to six, one to two weeks apart, then maintenance every few months. The published study used four, two weeks apart, with improvement by the second or third. One session before an event is a reasonable choice, but the effect won’t hold.
Often, yes. HydraFacial clears and hydrates the surface and Forma heats beneath it, so they don’t compete. If your skin is reactive, we’ll space them a week apart.
Tell us about both before treatment. Botox works in the muscle and Forma heats the skin above it, so they act on different layers. Filler is the exception: we don’t run the handpiece over recently placed filler.
Yes, for mild laxity. The Forma Plus body handpiece treats upper arms, abdomen, knees, and thighs. It won’t tighten a lot of loose skin after major weight loss, and it doesn’t remove fat. For skin that has dropped, Morpheus8 Body does more.
There’s nothing to undo. Forma is heat with no injury and no downtime, so the main downside is that a session does less than you hoped, and you can stop at any time.
Keep exploring
Related treatments
Related priorities
Morpheus8
From $799 / sessionRadiofrequency microneedling that firms mild to moderate jawline laxity, crepey neck skin, and acne scars.
Learn more
PDO thread lift
From $1,000 / sessionDissolvable sutures placed under the skin to lift early jowls and a softening jawline, and to build collagen.
Learn more
HydraFacial
From $299 / visitA 30-minute device facial that cleanses, exfoliates, extracts, and hydrates, with no downtime.
Learn more
Start with a consult
Tell us what you’d like to work on. We’ll assess your skin and goals, walk you through your Forma skin firming options, and give you a clear plan and price before anything begins.
Afterpay and Klarna available at checkout for eligible treatments.