Dr. Young Jun Kim is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Seoul and Medical Director of Violacell Plastic Surgery. The face ages in five layers: skin, the fat beneath it, muscle, deeper fat and bone. He looks at every layer first, finds which one has actually changed, and treats it without surgery where that is realistic: Ulthera designed from the ultrasound image and the feel of the tissue, Sculptra, and Thermage with Re2O. Trained in facial surgery, he also tells patients plainly when a facelift, forehead lift or eyelid surgery would be the better answer.
"Lifting should start by looking at every layer to find the cause, and then responding to that cause." Dr. Kim wrote this about the five layers of the face, and it is the principle behind every plan on this website. Skin quality, lost volume, loosened deeper tissue and excess skin look alike in the mirror, but each calls for a different tool.
Fine lines, dullness and loss of elasticity mostly involve the skin itself. Thermage and a skin booster such as Re2O work at this level. They do not move tissue that has already descended.
Hollow temples and flattened cheeks often reflect thinning fat and supporting tissue. Sculptra stimulates the body's own collagen gradually, over a series of sessions, rather than filling the space at once.
Early laxity of the deeper tissue may respond to Ulthera. When the jawline, cheeks or brows have clearly descended, or excess skin has formed, a mini facelift, facelift, forehead lift or eyelid surgery moves the tissue directly.
Trained in plastic surgery at Chonnam National University and a former clinical professor there; invited to the Ultherapy PRIME Asia launch (2025); one of Galderma Korea's 30 Sculptra key doctor masters (2026) and at clinician symposia on injection and combination treatment. Why Dr. Kim
The consultation begins by deciding which layer has changed, not which product to use. The answer is sometimes a device, sometimes surgery, and sometimes waiting. His approach
For Ulthera, the plan comes from the ultrasound image and from palpation: tissue thickness, fat, bone contours and areas to avoid. During treatment he shows patients the same screen and explains why an area bulges. Ulthera in his words
"Few doctors who perform aesthetic treatments look at both the inside and the outside of the tissue," he said when the clinic opened. Trained in facial surgery, he can tell when a device will help and when repeated sessions are unlikely to replace a lift, and he says so even though he does not perform the operation himself. Mini or full facelift?
His first-author study found that Koreans rate a normal facial appearance as important as communication, breathing, speech and vision. The aim is a face that looks natural and works well in daily life, with every change weighed against its risks. The study
Each of these is a medical procedure performed with a device or injectable that is widely available. What differs between clinics is how it is planned: where the energy or product goes, at what depth, and how much in each area.
A poly-L-lactic acid injectable that prompts the body to build its own collagen over several months. It is used for gradual restoration of volume and support in areas such as the temples and cheeks, typically over a series of sessions. Even placement and depth matter because uneven product can form small lumps.
Microfocused ultrasound that heats small points at set depths beneath the skin, with an on-screen ultrasound image of the tissue. Dr. Kim plans how the shots are distributed by area and depth, combining what the ultrasound image shows with what he feels by hand: tissue thickness, fat, bone contours and areas to avoid.
Thermage uses radiofrequency to heat the skin and the fibrous tissue beneath it over a broad area, aiming for tightening and better texture. Re2O is a Korean skin booster based on extracellular matrix. Combining them addresses skin firmness and skin quality together.
Non-surgical treatment cannot remove excess skin or move tissue that has clearly descended. These guides explain, from a plastic surgeon's point of view, what each operation does, who it suits and what it risks, so you can judge whether your concern needs surgery. Dr. Kim does not perform these operations at Violacell Plastic Surgery.
A shorter-incision lift for early to moderate sagging along the jawline and lower cheeks. The deeper supporting layer (SMAS) is tightened through a shorter incision around the ear than a full facelift, with a shorter recovery. It suits people whose neck is still relatively firm.
For more advanced sagging of the cheeks, jawline and neck, the deeper tissue is released from the structures that hold it down and repositioned together with the skin, rather than pulling the skin alone. Excess skin is trimmed last so that tension does not sit on the scar.
When low or drooping brows push the upper eyelid skin down, removing eyelid skin alone can bring the brows even lower. A forehead lift raises the brow position and softens forehead lines, and is often the first thing to assess in heavy upper eyelids.
Excess upper eyelid skin, a fading crease, protruding fat and a weak eye-opening muscle look similar but need different operations. Dr. Kim first distinguishes which of these is present, then plans upper blepharoplasty, crease surgery, eye-opening correction or lower eyelid surgery accordingly.
Liposuction removes fat; it does not tighten loose skin. On the face and neck it can define the jawline and chin when the problem is fat, while a lift is needed when the problem is laxity. On the body it is planned around how much skin can contract afterwards.
Board-certified plastic surgeon (Korea), graduate of Chonnam National University Medical School, Master of Science in Medicine, Medical Director of Violacell Plastic Surgery.
Answers to the questions patients most often bring to a consultation.