TempSure Firm is a non-invasive body treatment that combines radiofrequency heating with a massage head to work on skin firmness and the appearance of dimpling. Coastal Dermatology + Aesthetics uses it at its San Luis Obispo office on the thighs, buttocks, stomach, flanks and upper arms over a course of sessions.
Smoother skin, and the easiest appointment we offer
This works on the surface story of a body: firmer skin on the backs of the arms and the stomach, smoother texture and softer-looking dimpling across the thighs and buttocks, and the crepey quality that shows up on skin that used to be smooth. A massage head glides across the area delivering steady radiofrequency warmth, the tissue underneath firms up, and the surface is worked at the same time.
It is also the most comfortable thing we do to a body. Almost everybody describes it the same way, as a hot stone massage that happens to be doing something useful. Five minutes an area, nothing to recover from, and you leave exactly as you arrived except warmer. That matters more than it sounds: skin that has lost its firmness responds to steady, repeated treatment, and this is comfortable enough that people actually finish the course.
It is built as a course of five to eight sessions, and people who like it keep coming back for the occasional top-up. That is the pattern with this one, and it is an easy one to live with: a twenty minute appointment a few times a year, no recovery to plan around, and skin that keeps looking the way you want it to.
What TempSure Firm is good at
- Softening the look of dimpling across the thighs and buttocks
- Firming the backs of the upper arms, which almost nothing else comfortably reaches
- Improving skin quality on a stomach after weight change
- Smoothing crepey texture around the waist and flanks
- Being pleasant enough that people finish the course instead of abandoning it
- Working across skin tones and in any season, because heat does not care what color your skin is
Per area, which is why a full appointment covers several and why this is the easiest treatment on this site to fit into a real week.
How treatment works
Warmth and a massage head together
A handpiece with a massage head is worked across the area, delivering radiofrequency warmth into the tissue while the head works the surface. The two together are the point. Neither one on its own is what this treatment is.
The tissue firms up
Warmed tissue responds by firming and remodeling, the same process behind every heat-based treatment on this site. On the body it shows up as skin that feels tighter and looks smoother rather than as a change in size.
It builds across the course
One session feels lovely and does very little. The change is built out of repetition, which is why it is planned as five to eight sessions rather than one, and why finishing the course matters more here than almost anywhere else.
Treatments in a full course. This is a treatment built out of repetition rather than intensity, which is the trade that buys you the comfort and the zero downtime.
Cellulite is not fat. That is why fat treatments do not touch it.
This is the single most misunderstood thing in aesthetics, and getting it right the first time is what saves people from paying for two courses.
Cellulite is fat that causes the skin to dimple, and it differs from fat in a way that matters enormously: treatment that effectively removes fat often has no effect on cellulite. [1] Dimpling is not caused by having too much fat sitting there. It is caused by how the fat is tethered underneath, which is why thin people have it, why losing weight does not reliably clear it, and why a treatment that reduces a fat pocket can leave the dimpling exactly where it was.
| What is bothering you | What it actually is | What we would point you at |
|---|---|---|
| A defined bulge you can hold, on a flat area | A defined pocket of fat | The laser that reduces a fat pocket, which is aimed at volume rather than dimpling. |
| Dimpling and texture across the thighs or buttocks | Cellulite | This. Comfortable, temporary, built as a course. |
| Skin that has gone soft and crepey on a curved area | Skin quality and laxity | This, or the wrap that curves around an arm for hands-free sessions across a whole area. |
| Skin that stays folded after you pinch it | Real laxity | A surgeon. We will say so. |
Being straight about this is the whole reason the section exists. Nobody in this market will tell you that the treatment they are selling for your fat will do nothing for your dimpling, and plenty of people find that out afterward.
Areas we treat
Thighs
Texture and the look of dimpling, front and back, which is the most requested area.
Buttocks
Dimpling and firmness, treated as a whole area rather than spot by spot.
Abdomen
Skin quality and mild looseness after weight change or pregnancy.
Upper arms
The backs of the arms, comfortably, which is not true of much else.
Flanks
Crepey skin quality around the waist.
Real results
Before & after
These are our own patients, photographed at our San Luis Obispo office and published with their consent. Individual results vary. There are more in the practice’s private gallery, and we are happy to show you cases similar to yours at your consultation.
Individual results vary. Photos shown are unretouched patients of Coastal Dermatology + Aesthetics, published with consent.
Cellulite is fat that causes the skin to dimple, and it differs from fat enough that fat treatments often do nothing for it. [1] This one is aimed at the dimpling itself. The section above on why cellulite is not fat explains why that matters. [1]
Crissa is a wonderful addition to the practice, can’t wait to return.
The Coastal difference
We tell you what to expect, and then it happens
Cellulite is the most oversold category in aesthetics, and that is exactly why we are specific about it. You will be told what this treatment does, how many sessions it takes, and what keeping it up looks like, before you book rather than after.
What it gives you is smoother-looking skin across a whole area, treated comfortably, with nothing to recover from and a top-up now and then to hold it. For most people that trade is the right one, because a pleasant appointment they will actually keep beats a procedure they will never book. And if what is bothering you would be better served by something else, you will hear that at the consultation from people who can tell the difference.
Is it right for you?
TempSure Firm is probably a good fit if:
- Texture, dimpling or softness bothers you more than size does
- You want something comfortable you can keep up rather than a one-time procedure
- You are near a stable weight and looking to refine
- You can commit to a course of five to eight rather than judging it after one
- You like the idea of an easy appointment you come back to now and then
We will steer you somewhere else if:
- What you have is a defined pocket of fat, where a different treatment does more
- You have real laxity, the kind that stays folded when you let go of a pinch
- You are set on a one-time permanent fix for dimpling, which no treatment anywhere reliably delivers
- You have a pacemaker, defibrillator or other implanted electronic device
- You have metal implants or permanent filler in the area to be treated
- The area is infected, inflamed or has a recent surgery site
- You are pregnant
Not sure which of these you are? That is what the consultation is for, and the section above is most of that conversation already.
What to expect afterward
Almost nothing. The area is warm and slightly pink for a little while and then it is not. No compression, no restrictions, no recovery, and nothing anyone else will notice. People book it on a lunch break and go back to work.
Afterward, do
- Carry on with your day exactly as planned
- Drink water and keep moving
- Wear broad-spectrum sunscreen, SPF 30 or higher, on treated areas, which the practice recommends and which matters most on legs and arms that see sun [3]
- Finish the course, because this one is built out of repetition
Afterward, don’t
- Expect a visible change after one session
- Stretch the course out so far that it stops being a course
- Assume a hotter session would replace two normal ones
- Judge dimpling by a photograph taken in different light from the first one
Call us about anything severe, worsening or surprising: a burn, blistering, real pain, or any reaction that does not match what we described. We would far rather hear from you early.
Concerns treated
Skin quality and texture on the body, treated gently and repeatedly. Pick a concern to see how we approach it.
What treatment costs
TempSure Firm is priced by the area and by the number of sessions, and because a course runs to five to eight, the number that matters is the course rather than the visit. Paired areas, like both thighs or both arms, are quoted as a pair. You get the whole figure at your consultation.
You will also know what keeping it up looks like before you start rather than after, so there are no surprises in the second year. If a different treatment gets you closer to what you actually want, that is the one you will be offered.
Treatment time
About 5 minutes per area. A typical appointment covers several
Downtime
None. It feels like a warm massage and you leave as you arrived
Results appear
Gradually, across the course rather than after one visit
Results last
Kept up with occasional maintenance sessions
TempSure Firm frequently asked questions
A typical appointment covering several areas, with no recovery attached to it. That is what makes this one realistic to keep up, and keeping it up is what holds the result. [4]
Offered at
Ready to start? Request your consultation
Fill out the form below, book online in Santa Maria (opens online scheduler), or give us a call. Cosmetic and aesthetic appointments need no referral. For medical dermatology, we are accepting new patients by referral from your primary care physician; send the referral across and then use the same form.
Cosmetic consultations are $125, paid at booking and credited toward the cost of treatment.
Sources and medical review
1. American Academy of Dermatology Association. “Cellulite treatments: What really works?” States that cellulite “is fat that causes the skin to dimple,” that it “differs from fat” in that “treatment that can effectively remove fat often has no effect on cellulite,” and that for radiofrequency “recent studies suggest some patients see a little less cellulite. This result, however, is short lived and several treatments are needed.” Also notes that losing weight and building muscle can reduce how visible it is. https://www.aad.org/public/cosmetic/fat-removal/cellulite-treatments-what-really-works · Medical Organization
2. American Academy of Dermatology Association. “Many ways to firm sagging skin.” States that non-surgical firming gives “modest lifting and tightening” and “still cannot give you the results of a surgical procedure like a facelift, eyelid surgery, or neck lift.” https://www.aad.org/public/cosmetic/younger-looking/firm-sagging-skin · Medical Organization
3. American Academy of Dermatology Association. “How to select a sunscreen.” Broad spectrum, SPF 30 or higher, water resistant. https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/sun-protection/shade-clothing-sunscreen/how-to-select-sunscreen · Medical Organization
4. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 510(k) Premarket Notification K212891, TempSure System, Cynosure, LLC, cleared 18 March 2022. “The massage device is intended to provide a temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite.” https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_docs/pdf21/K212891.pdf · Regulatory
Content on this page is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. TempSure® is a registered trademark of Cynosure Lutronic, Inc. Improvement in the appearance of cellulite is temporary and maintenance treatments are expected. Warmth and mild pinkness in the treated area are common and settle quickly. Burns and blistering are uncommon but possible. This treatment is not suitable during pregnancy, or for people with a pacemaker, defibrillator or other implanted electronic device, or with metal implants or permanent filler in the area to be treated, or where the area is infected, inflamed or has a recent surgery site. Individual results may vary. Cosmetic consultations are $125, paid at booking and credited toward the cost of treatment.