Dr. Young Jun KimMedical Director, Violacell Plastic Surgery

Why Dr. Kim for Ulthera, Sculptra and Thermage

Ulthera, Sculptra and Thermage are available at many clinics. The device or the product is the same; what differs is who reads the face, decides where the energy or product goes, and knows when to stop. This page sets out, with sources, why Dr. Young Jun Kim's background suits these three treatments.

Dr. Young Jun Kim, Medical Director, Violacell Plastic Surgery · Board-certified plastic surgeon (Korea)

Training
Plastic surgery residency and clinical professorship, Chonnam National University
Ulthera
Plans from the ultrasound image and palpation; invited to the Ultherapy PRIME Asia launch (2025)
Sculptra
One of Galderma Korea's 30 Sculptra key doctor masters; panelist at THE ORIGINAL SCULPTRA Master Summit (2026)
Teaching
Lectures to clinicians on injection strategy and combination treatment (2026)
Research
First-author, PubMed-indexed study on facial appearance (2013)

What Runs Through All Three

Each of these treatments works on a particular layer of the face. Choosing the right one, and placing it well, depends on knowing those layers. That is the common thread in Dr. Kim's background.

1. He learned the face's layers in surgery

Dr. Kim completed his plastic surgery residency at Chonnam National University and served there as a clinical professor of plastic surgery. Facial surgery means seeing the supporting layer (SMAS), the retaining ligaments, the fat compartments and the nerves directly. He has written, for example, that when the forehead is opened the skin is only loosely attached to the muscle and is firmly anchored only along the deep lines. That kind of first-hand anatomy is what non-surgical treatment has to work around without seeing it.

2. He starts from the layer, not the product

"Lifting should start by looking at every layer to find the cause," he writes. Thinning skin, lost volume, loosened deeper tissue and excess skin call for different tools. Thermage and Re2O act mainly on the skin, Sculptra on volume and support, Ulthera on the deeper supporting layer and fat. Choosing among them, or combining them, follows from which layer has changed.

3. He weighs surgery honestly

At the clinic's opening he said that few doctors performing aesthetic treatments look at both the inside and the outside of the tissue, and that procedures and surgery should be weighed together for the patient. Because he trained in facial surgery, he can tell when another device session is unlikely to help and say so, even though he does not perform surgery at Violacell.

4. He teaches other doctors

In 2026 he lectured at the HILO WAVE launch symposium in Busan on an injection strategy that plans the lift first while keeping natural volume, built around each person's facial skeleton and tissue layers, and gave a theory lecture on stepwise combination treatment at the DEEP Symposium in Seoul, attended by about 100 clinicians.

Ulthera: Seen, Felt, Then Treated

Ulthera is the one lifting device that shows the tissue on screen as it treats. Dr. Kim's approach is built around using that image, together with his hands, to decide where each line of energy goes.

  • Ultrasound image plus palpation. He designs the treatment from what the image shows and what he feels by hand: tissue thickness, the amount and position of fat, bone contours, and areas where energy should be reduced or avoided.
  • Distribution, not just a total. Two people who both want a slimmer jawline may need different things: one needs the SMAS lifted, another needs the fat layer reduced, and the salivary glands and chewing muscle change the plan again. Shots are distributed by area and depth to match.
  • Depths combined for each face. Rather than defaulting to the deepest 4.5 mm depth when there is more fat, he combines the 4.5, 3.0 and 1.5 mm depths by skin thickness and structure, citing proportions such as 6:3:1 in many women and 5:3:2 in many men as illustrations.
  • Shot numbers that follow the diagnosis. Around 100 shots can treat a small area; around 300 is a common recommendation when the jaw and cheeks carry more fat. The number is set only after assessing the face.
  • Invited to the Ultherapy PRIME Asia launch. He was invited to the Asia launch of Ultherapy PRIME at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in 2025, where, he writes, invitations for doctors in Korea were limited to 50. Violacell offers both Ulthera and Ultherapy PRIME.
  • Patients see what he sees. During treatment he shows patients the same screen and explains why an area bulges, so each step has a visible reason.

Ulthera with Dr. Kim · Ulthera in his own words

Sculptra: Rebuilding Structure, Placed by Layer

Sculptra does not fill a space; it prompts the body to rebuild collagen over months. Where it is placed, how it is diluted and which areas are avoided decide whether the result is smooth and natural.

  • One of Galderma Korea's 30 Sculptra key doctor masters. Galderma Korea's THE ORIGINAL SCULPTRA Master Summit at the Conrad Seoul in January 2026 brought together 30 "key doctor masters", selected according to coverage on their Sculptra treatment history and number of treatments. Dr. Kim was among them and spoke on the summit panel, where he explained that skin aging is driven mainly by the loss of structural components such as collagen and fat cells, that Sculptra works by regenerating that structure and promoting elasticity, and that because the effect takes time to appear, patients feel the volume return gradually and find it natural.
  • Injection planned around skeleton and layers. His 2026 lecture to clinicians on collagen booster injection set out a strategy built around each person's facial skeleton and tissue layers, planning the lift first and keeping volume natural.
  • Choosing the right collagen stimulator. He has written about how collagen stimulators differ in particle shape and in how they trigger new collagen, about dilution chosen by goal (more concentrated for volume, more diluted and spread wider for skin quality), and about matching fine-line products and deep-volume products to the problem.
  • Safety first. He writes that collagen-stimulating injections, Sculptra included, carry a rare risk of serious vascular complications reported in the literature, and that dynamic areas such as the lips and the area around the eyes should be avoided and the correct layer used.
  • Combined with Ulthera when both layers need it. Sculptra restores support; Ulthera tightens the deeper layer. When a face needs both, they are planned together.

Sculptra with Dr. Kim

Thermage and Re2O: The Skin Layer, Treated Twice Over

When the main change is in the skin itself, thinning, fine lines, loss of firmness, the treatment has to reach the dermis. Dr. Kim pairs a device that heats it with a booster that rebuilds its structure.

  • The right energy for the layer. In his answers to patients he explains that for fine wrinkles and skin elasticity, radiofrequency devices such as Thermage are better suited than focused ultrasound, which works deeper. Ulthera and Thermage are often combined so each treats the layer it suits.
  • Re2O, explained in his own column. He has written about Elravie Re2O as a skin booster made from human acellular dermal matrix, the same structural material as the skin's own support, and about combining it with Ulthera or radiofrequency so that lifting and dermal repair happen together, typically over about three sessions three to four weeks apart.
  • Combination treatment is what he teaches. His 2026 DEEP Symposium lecture to clinicians covered stepwise combination treatment for skin quality.
  • Honest timelines. He describes the effect of Thermage as typically lasting around ten months to a year, and sets expectations accordingly.

Thermage and Re2O with Dr. Kim · Re2O in his own words

Sources

Statements from Korean sources are translated. Individual results vary, and every treatment carries risks, which are set out on each treatment page.

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