InMode FX and FORMAin Seoul

Two separate changes show up in the lower face with age. Skin loses firmness and starts to drape, and soft fat gathers along the jawline and below the chin. FORMA is built for the first change because it heats the skin itself. FX is built for the second because its pulses are directed into a pinched fold of fatty tissue. Which handpiece you need, or whether you need both, depends on which change is more visible in your own face.

Neither handpiece replaces surgery. Radiofrequency gives gradual, moderate change, and skin that hangs in loose folds is beyond what heat from the surface can draw back. If an item on the second list applies to you, mention it before booking, because some of those conditions rule out radiofrequency on that area altogether.

InMode is the company that makes the platform, and FORMA and FX are two handpieces that attach to it. FORMA uses bipolar radiofrequency (RF): the current runs between two electrodes on the same applicator, so the heat stays in the skin just under the tip. The handpiece is designed to track skin temperature as it glides, keeping the dermis at a warm, steady level for the length of each pass. Heat at that level is meant to contract existing collagen fibers and prompt the skin to lay down new ones over the following weeks.

FX adds a second mechanism. A vacuum draws a fold of tissue into the applicator, and the device then delivers short high-voltage electrical pulses together with RF heat. InMode designs these pulses to act on the fat cells inside that fold, which is why FX is pointed at defined pockets such as a double chin or the soft area beside the jaw. The suction and the pulses also explain why FX can leave bruises that a FORMA pass does not.

On the clinic's price list the two handpieces are sold on their own or as a full-face set. One way to read the menu is FORMA when firmness is the concern, FX when a fat pocket is the concern, and the combined set when both apply to the same face.

Radiofrequency tightening has a research base, though not a strong one. A 2022 systematic review of monopolar and bipolar RF devices found measurable improvement in facial and body laxity, with side effects that were mostly mild and short-lived (Rohrich, 2022). An earlier review rated the overall evidence low, because the studies used widely different settings and few were well controlled (Araújo, 2015). A multicenter study of a different, minimally invasive InMode combination concluded that such treatments can fill the space between surgery and purely external care without taking the place of a facelift (Dayan, 2020). None of these papers tested FORMA or FX as used at this clinic, so they describe the technology in general.

InMode prices at Pixelab Beauty Clinic follow the handpiece and the size of the area. Each handpiece comes in three sizes: one area, the V-line, which counts as three areas, and the full face. FORMA and FX carry the same price at each size, and the full-face set covers both handpieces in a single visit.

The listed amounts exclude VAT. Payment adds 10% VAT, and each price card shows that VAT-inclusive total beside the base figure. A full face with both handpieces, for example, is ₩450,000 + VAT, which comes to less than booking a full face of each one separately. Because the clinic's guide is 3–5 sessions, ask for a quote that multiplies your chosen area by the number of sessions you plan, so the cost of a whole course is clear before you travel.

Both handpieces deliver heat, and FX adds suction and electrical pulses, so the side effects differ between them. Possible effects include:

• Redness and warmth in the treated skin after either handpiece.
• Bruising from FX suction and pulses, which can last 7 days or more.
• Swelling and tenderness lasting several days.
• Burns or blisters if heat builds up in one spot, a known risk with any radiofrequency device.
• Temporary numbness or tingling along the jaw.
• Uneven contour if fat responds differently on the two sides of the face.
• Modest or no visible change in some people, since RF results vary.

In the systematic review cited above, serious complications were more frequent with monopolar devices than with bipolar designs, the type FORMA uses, and most reactions were mild and temporary (Rohrich, 2022). Contact the clinic promptly if a blister forms, pain grows after the first days, or a hard lump or a patch of changed skin color appears.