Why we publish no before-and-after photographs
“Why are there no before-and-after photographs here?” We do take them. We do not advertise with them. There are two reasons, one legal and one about the evidence.
The short answer
Miso Clinic does not post before-and-after photographs of Density or any other treatment on its website or blog. There are two reasons. Korean medical advertising law restricts advertising that guarantees a treatment effect, and photographs are easily read as exactly that guarantee. The second is that photographs make poor evidence: at the same time point, on the same faces, physicians rated 92% improved while patients rated 42%. What we do instead is keep photographs under fixed lighting and angle in the medical record and compare a person with themselves. Miso Clinic is at 4F Bombom Building, 125 Dongdeok-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu, in front of Exit 1 of Kyungpook National University Hospital station. Phone 053-428-2700. Weekdays 11:00–19:00, Saturday 10:00–16:00 with no lunch break, closed Sunday and public holidays.
First, the legal position
Korean medical advertising law restricts advertising that guarantees a treatment effect or implies one. A before-and-after pair reads as “this is what you will get”, which is why its use in advertising is limited. Presenting testimonials as evidence of effect is restricted for the same reason.
So to the question of whether a clinic without such photographs lacks the skill to produce them: the photographs are absent not because the material is missing but because we decided not to advertise with it. They are kept in the record.
Why a photograph is weak evidence
Set the law aside and the pictures still cannot tell you much. Three reasons.
- Shooting conditions. The direction and strength of the light, the angle, the expression and the camera distance change how the same face photographs. From above the jawline reads sharp; from below it reads slack.
- Timing. Just after treatment there is tightness and swelling, which settles and is not a result. In radiofrequency, clinically visible change takes about twelve weeks to settle.
- The person. A result on someone else is no guarantee of a result on you. Skin thickness, the cause of the sagging and age all change the outcome.
The same moment, different answers
There is data showing how far improvement rates diverge depending on who is looking at the same face at the same time.
| Source | What was measured | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Review of 16 ultrasound studies · 90 days | Improvement rated by the physician | 92% |
| Same review · 90 days | Improvement rated by the patient | 42% |
| One-year study in 20 people | Improvement rated by blinded observers | 43% |
| Same study | Patient satisfaction | 95-100% |
| Same study | Quantified lift | Peak at 90 days, 22-33% at one year |
The two studies point in opposite directions. At 90 days the physicians were more generous than the patients; at one year the patients were more generous than the observers. Even one person satisfaction and measurement disagree. So whether a photograph looks good depends heavily on who chose it and when it was taken, and what goes online is usually the best of them.
What we look at instead
- Photographs under the same conditions. Lighting and angle are fixed before treatment and repeated afterwards. Photographs taken under different conditions cannot be compared.
- The two to three month point. Before that the change is still developing and we hold off.
- A description of what changed. Jawline, texture or laxity, separately. Better is not enough to plan the next step from.
- How it feels to the person. It can disagree with the measurement, and that disagreement is itself information.
Only the four together show what to do next.
Reading reviews
For the same reason, reviews are weak evidence of effect. There is still something worth taking from them.
- Read the process rather than the outcome. How painful it was, how long recovery took and what was explained in the consultation are useful.
- Check the timing. A review written the same day and one written three months later are different accounts.
- Look for the tip and the count. A number without a tip does not tell you whether it was the same treatment.
Summary: what is established and what is not
Established
- Korean law restricts advertising that guarantees an effect, and testimonial advertising
- At 90 days physicians rated 92% improved and patients 42%
- At one year blinded observers rated 43% while patient satisfaction was 95-100%
Not established
- Any comparison of devices with photographic conditions controlled
- Any settled explanation of why satisfaction and measurement diverge
Before-and-after photographs and reviews: common questions
Why are there no Density before-and-after photographs on the site?
Korean medical advertising law restricts advertising that guarantees a treatment effect, and a photograph depends so heavily on shooting conditions that it makes weak evidence.
Do you not take them at all?
We do. They are kept in the medical record under fixed lighting and angle, repeated under the same conditions, and reviewed with the person. We simply do not advertise with them.
Can the photographs online be trusted?
A small change in lighting, angle, expression or timing makes the same face photograph differently, and what is posted is usually the best of the set.
Then how should I choose a clinic?
Look for a consultation that explains which area, which tip and how the plan is divided, and that states the limits of the evidence alongside the claims.
When will my photographs be taken again?
At two to three months. Before that the change is still developing.
How should I read reviews?
Read the process rather than the outcome. Pain, recovery time and what was explained are useful. Check when it was written and whether the tip and count are stated.
Where can I discuss lifting treatment in Daegu?
Miso Clinic is at 4F Bombom Building, 125 Dongdeok-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu, in front of Exit 1 of Kyungpook National University Hospital station, 053-428-2700. Weekdays 11:00-19:00, Saturday 10:00-16:00, closed Sunday and public holidays.
Read next
Product pages
Product pages: Density · XERF · Oligio Kiss
Who wrote this
Written and reviewed by Lee Chi-Hak, MD, director of Miso Clinic, Daegu. The treatment standards and injection design set out here are the ones we use in practice.
| Medical director | Lee Chi-Hak, MD |
|---|---|
| Address | 4F Bombom Building, 125 Dongdeok-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea · Exit 1, Kyungpook National University Hospital Station |
| Phone | +82-53-428-2700 |
| Hours | Weekdays 11:00–19:00 (lunch 13:00–14:00) / Saturday 10:00–16:00 (no lunch break) / Closed Sundays and public holidays |
| Columns | All clinical columns |
| Reference library | All booster and device references |
References
- Before-and-after photographs and shooting conditions — direction and strength of light, angle, expression and camera distance change how the same face photographs. Miso Clinic keeps pre-treatment photographs in the medical record under fixed lighting and angle and repeats them under the same conditions. We found no study comparing devices with photographic conditions controlled.
- Improvement rates depend on who is looking — review of 16 ultrasound lifting studies (IJERPH 2023;20(2):1522): at 90 days physicians rated 92% improved while patients rated 42%. Werschler 2016 (20 people): at one year blinded raters said 43% while patient satisfaction was 95-100%, and quantified lift peaked at 90 days then fell to 22-33% at one year. Ultrasound data, cited here only for the rater gap.
- Timeline of radiofrequency results — Cosmetics 2024;11(3):71 (20 Korean women · one session · 4, 12 and 24 weeks: device-measured elasticity moved at 4 weeks, clinical scores were not significant at 4 weeks but were at 12 and 24) · Fitzpatrick 2003 and Edwards AF et al., Dermatol Surg 2013;39:104–110 (peak at 4-6 months, slight decline at 7-10). All uncontrolled, and none of them studied Density or XERF.
- Medical advertising law — Medical Service Act of Korea, Article 56(2), which prohibits testimonial advertising, comparison with other clinics, superlative claims and advertising that guarantees or implies a guaranteed treatment effect. That is why this column reports mechanisms and data without ranking devices.
- Fees and patient inducement — Medical Service Act Articles 45 (posting of non-covered fees), 27(3) (prohibition of inducement for profit) and 56(2) (prohibited advertising). That is why no price or discount appears in this column.
- Miso Clinic practice guidance — indication criteria, site-by-site design, and the explanation and consent procedure. This is the source for every sentence marked as clinical judgement.
Everything in this column is general information and does not replace medical diagnosis or treatment. Effects and side effects vary with individual skin condition, age and underlying illness, and the same result is not guaranteed for everyone. Any decision to proceed should be made in an in-person consultation with a physician.
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