Before booking, many clients ask Kieu the same question on WhatsApp: “How long will it take, and what actually happens during the session?” It is a good question. A HIFU session is not only the minutes when the handpiece moves over your skin. There is cleansing, a second skin check, mapping the areas and aftercare advice — the parts few people describe, but the parts that make a session careful or rushed.
This article follows one appointment in the order it happens at our studio at 38/14A Nguyen Van Troi, Cau Kieu Ward (former Phu Nhuan), Ho Chi Minh City, from the moment you sit down to the moment you walk out. At the end there is a list of what one session includes, so you can compare when you ask anywhere else.
Including consultation and preparation, please allow about 1–1.5 hours for the visit. The HIFU 10D MPT part itself usually takes about 30–60 minutes, depending on the areas. Hugo Beauty is run by Kieu alone, so the person who checks your skin, holds the handpiece and gives you aftercare advice is the same person.
Before the session: what is already settled
Most clients have already sent photos on WhatsApp and had the 15-minute skin check, so the areas, the shot count for each area and the cost are clear before any cartridge touches the skin. What happens in that visit has its own article: what happens at a HIFU consultation. What to stop and what to bring in the week before is in our guide on how to prepare for HIFU, so it is not repeated here.
If you have the session on the same day as the consultation, the two parts simply join together: skin check, plan agreed, and only then the steps below. Nobody discusses which areas to add while you are already lying down with cream on your face.
Cleansing and a second look at your skin
The session starts with cleansing. Makeup, sunscreen and oil are removed carefully, because the gel and the handpiece need even contact with the skin. Coming with bare skin makes this faster. Coming with makeup is fine too; it only adds a few minutes.
Then Kieu looks at your skin again in natural light, even if you had the consultation a day earlier. Skin can change in a few days: some sun, some irritation, or another service on the face. If anything means the session should wait, this is the moment to say it, before anything is put on your skin.
Your “before” photos are taken here, from the same angles and in the same light, so the comparison a few months later is fair. Without these photos, memory of your own face is easy to trust and easy to get wrong.
Numbing cream, gel and mapping the areas
Numbing cream is optional. If you would like it, say so when you book; it is applied about 30–40 minutes before the session so it has time to work. It softens the shallow passes well but does not reach the deepest layer, so many clients skip it and are still comfortable. Either way, Kieu explains how each area usually feels before she starts.
Once the skin is clean (and numb, if you chose cream), Kieu maps your face into the areas in the agreed plan: cheeks, jawline, under the chin, neck, forehead or around the eyes. Only the areas you agreed to. Nothing extra is added on the bed.
Each area has its own cartridge depth. Where tissue is thicker, like the cheeks and jawline, a deeper cartridge reaches the supporting layer. Where tissue is thin and close to the bone, like the forehead and around the eyes, only shallow cartridges are used. A thin layer of gel goes on each area so the ultrasound passes evenly.
The HIFU itself: about 30–60 minutes, one area at a time
The HIFU part usually takes about 30–60 minutes, depending on how many areas you have. You lie on your back with your eyes closed. The handpiece rests flat on the skin and moves line by line across each mapped area. Each pulse feels like a short warm, prickling point, stronger where the bone is close, such as the jawline.
Kieu finishes one area before moving to the next, and changes the cartridge when she moves to a shallower layer. You can ask for a short pause between areas. The agreed shot count is not cut to save time; if the schedule that day is tight, Kieu will suggest moving part of the plan to another visit instead of rushing.
The energy setting for each area is recorded. A first session usually runs at moderate energy, and the record helps the next session adjust in the right place instead of guessing.
After the session: cleaning, aftercare and follow-up
When the session ends, the gel is wiped off, a thin recovery cream is applied at the studio, and sunscreen too if you are going straight into the sun. The skin is often slightly pink for 1–2 hours, and the jawline can feel a little tender when pressed. You can go back to work or carry on with your day straight away, and light makeup is fine from the next morning.
Before you leave, Kieu explains what to avoid in the first 72 hours — heat, strong actives, rubbing — and answers any questions you still have. Right after the session and for the first 1–2 weeks, the skin feels slightly tighter as old collagen contracts; the real result builds gradually over the following 8–12 weeks as new collagen forms. So if the mirror shows little change that evening, that is normal.
The most useful thing you can take home is five lines: the date; which areas were covered, in order; how many shots went into each area; which cartridge depths were used, in millimetres; and the name of the system used on you — HIFU 10D MPT. Ask Kieu to write them on paper or send them on WhatsApp. A year from now, those five lines are the basis for deciding your next session.
Please do not check the mirror every night looking for change. The result is clearest at month 2–3, once the new collagen has formed. Take photos from the same angles, in the same light, in the first week and again at that point. If something worries you in between — an area still tender, a red patch — send a photo on WhatsApp and Kieu will take a look.
And for the next visit: HIFU is usually one session, maintained every 12–18 months.
What one HIFU session includes
When you compare HIFU between studios, do not only compare the number at the bottom. Ask what is inside the session. At Hugo Beauty, one session includes:
A second skin check before you start, with the areas, shots per area and cost confirmed in advance — not at payment time.
Makeup removal and cleansing.
“Before” photos from the same angles, in the same light.
Numbing cream if you want it (say so when you book).
Area mapping to the agreed plan, a cartridge depth chosen for each area, and contact gel.
The HIFU 10D MPT session performed by Kieu herself, with pauses between areas if you need them.
A record of the energy setting for each area, for the next session.
Gel removal, a thin recovery cream and sunscreen.
Aftercare advice for the first 72 hours, and answers to your questions before you leave.
The cost of each area and the multi-area options are listed on our page of HIFU prices in Ho Chi Minh City. When you are ready to pick a time, the HIFU booking page has a message template you can copy.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a HIFU session at Hugo Beauty take?
Including consultation and preparation, please allow about 1–1.5 hours. The HIFU 10D MPT part itself usually takes about 30–60 minutes, depending on the areas.
Do I have to use numbing cream?
No. Numbing cream is optional. If you want it, say so when you book; it is applied about 30–40 minutes before the session. Many clients skip it and are still comfortable.
Can I go back to work or wear makeup right after?
You can go back to work straight away. The skin is often slightly pink for 1–2 hours; light makeup is fine from the next morning, and for the first 72 hours avoid heat and strong actives.
When will I see the result of the session?
Right after the session and for the first 1–2 weeks, the skin feels slightly tighter as old collagen contracts; the real result builds gradually over the following 8–12 weeks as new collagen forms. The result is clearest at month 2–3, once the new collagen has formed.
How often do I need HIFU again?
HIFU is usually one session, maintained every 12–18 months. Whether you are ready for the next one is decided after Kieu checks your skin, using your photos and the five lines recorded from the last session.
Related reading
- Does HIFU hurt? What each area really feels like
- Can I wash my face after HIFU? The first 72 hours
- HIFU results timeline: when you see changes
Want to know which areas your session would cover and how long it would take? Send a front photo and two side profiles on WhatsApp, and Kieu replies before you book.
Ask on WhatsApp