Understanding “doses” of energy-based treatments
When it comes to energy-based treatments, pricing can be confusing, especially when you’re trying to compare treatments across different clinics or devices.
Some treatments are priced in shots, others in kilojoules (kJ), and still others by treatment area or number of sessions. Each pricing method reflects a different type of technology and how energy is delivered into your skin.
This makes it difficult to know what you’re actually paying for.
So what are shots?
In energy-based lifting devices, “shots” refers to individual pulses of energy delivered into the skin.
Each shot is one discrete emission from the device at a specific depth, with a set amount of energy, delivered to a very small, controlled point in the tissue.
Simply: one button press → one pulse → one zap to the skin.
Hundreds of these shots are placed in a mapped pattern to create a grid of controlled thermal injury that triggers collagen remodeling and tissue contraction.
This is why clinics price ultrasound and some radio-frequency treatments in shots. The devices will actually count how many individual pulses are delivered. More shots mean more coverage and usually more total energy delivered to the tissue. But more shots doesn’t equate to a better treatment.
You should always discuss appropriate shots needed with your doctor based on your skin goals. Generally you will see pricing based on 100 shot increments with 100, 300, 600, 900 being the standard offerings. 600 considered “full face” and 900 shots including the neck area.
kJ (Kilojoules) represent the total energy delivered
When a treatment is priced in kJ, you are paying for the total accumulated energy delivered into your skin during the session. This is seen in some monopolar RF and common with microwave energy devices. Devices that deliver energy while the hand-piece moves across the skin rather than being placed in on spot for a shot.
Typical pricing for a face treatment is minimum of 80kj, and body areas start at 100-200kj.
By Time or per Session
To throw another wrench into things, a lot of picosecond and toning lasers and light-based treatments are priced per session or sometimes area.
Treatments that are measured in mJ (millijoules) or Hz (repetition rate) are not priced in the same way KJs are. They are priced per session or by area. Why? Because what matters is the density of coverage rather than energy accumulation.
That’s why Pico pricing varies greatly between clinics using the same device.
Quick Comparison
Pricing logic for what you are actually paying for:
Shots / Pulses
The amount of precise pulses of energy delivery into the skin
kJ / total energy
How much total energy entered the tissue over the session
Time / session length
How long the operator applies the energy across an area of skin
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