It was a Gwyneth Paltrow quote in the national press that piqued my interest. She was discussing assorted non-surgical cosmetic procedures she’d tried with varying degrees of success (Botox, apparently, made her look “crazy”) and enthused about a radiofrequency treatment called Thermage that “took five years off” her face yet involved no downtime. What she didn’t say – but is another big selling point to women who, like me, are wary of any procedure that can distort facial features (and, in the wrong hands, Botox and dermal fillers can certainly do that) – is that, because the whole face is treated, facial proportions remain unchanged. So you will still most definitely look like you, only a version that appears less tired, more relaxed and generally fresher-faced – hopefully.

Thermage is not new – How To Spend It featured it 10 years ago when it was launched into the UK from the US. It stimulates the body’s natural renewal process by generating an electric current that heats the deepest layers of the skin, where most collagen resides. As we get older, the collagen fibres that help to support our skin become increasingly fragmented and broken down, while our ability to produce new collagen also slows. The heat in the treatment causes fragmented collagen to reconfigure and tighten; it also causes inflammation that leads to wound healing and new collagen production. Over a period of weeks, the new and improved collagen helps to plump up the skin, which in turn works to reduce wrinkles and sagging flesh, and smooth surface texture.

Early forms of Thermage had a reputation for being painful, with worrying side-effects – such as burns and nerve damage – and inconsistent results. But over the years, practitioners (who are always doctors or nurses, as this is deemed a medical procedure) have become more experienced and the technology itself more refined. The latest machines, for example, incorporate Comfort Pulse Technology, which provides optimal dosage to the skin for maximum effect, while reducing discomfort with a new vibratory hand piece. Serious side-effects are now very rare.

Therapist Dr Tracy Mountford has one of the busiest Thermage clinics in the UK. She is a personal as well as a professional advocate, having had the treatment herself since it arrived in the UK. She explains that most of her clients use Thermage as part of a cocktail of treatments because one type alone can’t address all the signs of facial ageing, namely loss of muscle tone, skin elasticity and supportive fat. So, once someone has reached their mid-forties, it is sometimes combined with Botox and dermal fillers.

As Dr Mountford scrutinises my face, she confirms that a combination of treatments would indeed be her recommendation. But for the purposes of this feature, I am here to dip my face in the water with Thermage alone. While taking pains to manage my expectations, she anticipates that I will see a 3mm-5mm lift to my facial contours. She also recommends I have my eyes treated. Here I can expect a 1mm-2mm lift. For maximum impact, she plans to treat my neck, too.

A grid transfer is applied to my face, though Dr Mountford explains that each procedure is tailor-made to the individual client. She then slowly moves a handheld device with a smooth, flat tip across the area to be treated, stopping every couple of seconds to apply a targeted pulse of radio frequency. Each of these produces a momentary, hot, stinging sensation that Gwyneth Paltrow describes as “quite painful… like someone’s smacking your face with a rubber band that has an electric shock in it”. It’s true. Some pulses are rather unpleasant, and a few make me visibly flinch (the jaw line, in particular, can be sensitive), but thankfully, most are bearable. Throughout the treatment, Dr Mountford adjusts the heat intensity to balance my comfort with the desire for optimum results. I focus on the electronic-music-like tones that are emitted during each pulse and try to zone out.

A smaller device is used for my upper and lower eyelids and, at the end of an hour, I’m done. I have no lingering discomfort, sensitivity, reddening or swelling and am back at my desk, colleagues none the wiser, an hour later (Gwyneth says she went out for dinner right after her Thermage session). Although I am told that some improvements are usually felt or seen immediately, I try not to obsess about my face in the following hours and days as it usually takes 12-16 weeks for the body’s natural collagen-building process to kick in fully and for all the benefits to be visible. Instead, I decide the best, least subjective and most scientific way to assess the results is to compare my before and after photographs taken with the same camera, in natural light at the same time of day.

Four months later, I am sitting in Dr Mountford’s office having my after pictures taken. I am hopeful of a good result, but have an open mind. Any improvements have been so gradual that I have not had a eureka moment in front of the mirror; nor have friends or family commented on any changes in my appearance. The images are immediately loaded onto a computer (with, I can vouch, no time for any digital skulduggery) and we compare today’s photographs with the way I looked pre-treatment.

Now, forgive me for not showing you those pictures in their entirety, but no one – not even my nearest and dearest – gets to see me with my hair scraped back flat against my head, without a scrap of make-up or even a slick of moisturiser to bring my early-morning skin to life. But the before and after close‑ups of sections of my face tell the story well enough.

Frankly, I’m quite shocked at the differences. The multiple lines that were etched across my forehead are now barely noticeable; my eyes are lifted and less hooded; and the bags under them are less pronounced; the line between the corner of my mouth and my nose is less deep; and my jaw line is smoother and tighter with more definition in the angle running between my ear and chin.

The results, says Dr Mountford, are what she would expect from someone who has a healthy lifestyle. Heavy smokers, sun-worshippers and yo-yo dieters are likely to see less improvement, as the tone and elasticity of their skin will be more compromised. Results are also age‑related. The ideal client is in his or her forties or fifties. Older people will benefit too (Dr Mountford’s clinic has regular Thermage clients in their seventies), but they may need to repeat the treatment more frequently. Most of Dr Mountford’s Thermage clients return every 18 months to two years.