EMtone in London: what it does for cellulite, what it costs, and what the evidence shows

This guide is written by the team that runs EMtone at our clinic on Devonshire Place and reviewed by our clinician. It gives you what the device does, what the US regulator cleared, where the percentages come from, how we price it, and whether it suits your cellulite, which the clinician confirms at your free consultation.

What EMtone is

EMtone is made by BTL Industries. One handpiece delivers two energies at the same time: monopolar radiofrequency at 447 kHz, which warms the skin and the fat just under it, and targeted pressure energy, a pneumatic tip driven at ten pulses a second that taps the tissue like a rapid deep massage. The clinician moves the handpiece over gel on the area for about 20 minutes per area; in the studies a session ran 10 to 25 minutes.

What each energy is meant to do, in the manufacturer's account: the heat is intended to shrink the fat chambers that push up into the skin, remodel the collagen in the dermis and in the fibrous bands that pull the skin down, and improve skin elasticity; the pressure waves are intended to improve blood flow and the drainage of fluid. The laboratory work behind this design, a 2020 study in five pigs, measured more collagen and elastin and a thicker dermis when the two energies were delivered together than when they were delivered one after the other; the results in patients are set out below.

The "five causes of cellulite" in EMtone literature (enlarged fat chambers, damaged collagen fibres, loss of elasticity, poor blood flow, waste build-up) are the manufacturer's way of explaining what the two energies target: the heat for the first three, the pressure for the last two. Cellulite itself is common in women's skin, driven by the structure of the fat and the connective tissue; doctors grade it on scales that count the dimples and their depth, and that is how the clinician assesses yours at consultation.

What the US regulator cleared

The device was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration in March 2019 through the 510(k) route, as substantially equivalent to an earlier device. The radiofrequency part is cleared to heat tissue "for selected medical conditions such as temporary relief of pain, muscle spasms, and increase in local circulation". The massage part is cleared "to provide a temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite". The clearance followed a test showing the device reaches and holds its treatment temperature; the cellulite results come from the clinical studies below.

So EMtone is FDA-cleared, the correct term rather than "approved", for the temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite. It is cleared for the look of cellulite, not for skin tightening, fat reduction, circumference or collagen, and for fat we offer EMsculpt NEO at the same address. US clearance is separate from UK regulatory status.

Does EMtone work? What the studies show

It improves the appearance of cellulite in most people in the published studies, by a grade or so, measured for up to six months. Where each number comes from:

• The "93%". In a 2018 study of 30 women, four treatments to the buttocks and thighs were assessed three months later. The cellulite grade was lower in 93% of them; the average improvement on the grading scale was about 54%; the clinicians rated the result good, very good or excellent in 73%, and patient satisfaction averaged 4.47 out of 5; hip and thigh circumference fell by about 2 cm; ultrasound showed the dermis about 0.3 mm thicker and the fat layer about 2 mm thinner. It was a single-group study.
• The six-month study. In a 2023 multi-centre study, 28 of 30 patients (two of them men, skin types II to V, body mass index 19.8 to 36.5) had four treatments over two to four weeks and were photographed at one, three and six months. Three blinded assessors scored the cellulite on a validated scale: the average fell from 9.1 to 4.9 at six months, and 90% were judged improved. Circumference fell most at one month and partly rebounded by six. 86% were satisfied and 82% said their skin felt firmer.
• The "59% collagen, 64% elastin" figures come from a 2020 study of five pigs that compared delivering the two energies at once with delivering them one after the other; the same paper reports the dermis about 50% thicker with simultaneous treatment. They are laboratory measurements that explain the design; the patient results are the two studies above.
• Skin laxity after pregnancy. The one randomised study in this family, 46 women with loose abdominal skin after childbirth, found improvement in 86% against an untreated group, using a BTL device called Unison, which appears to use the same technology. It is about laxity, not cellulite.

So what to expect is a visible softening of cellulite in most people after four sessions, on average from moderate to mild in the six-month study, with the strongest effect in moderately severe cellulite in the 30-woman study. It softens cellulite rather than removing it and not everyone responds, which is why the clinician grades your cellulite at your free consultation and tells you what change to expect. The studies followed patients to six months.

What EMtone does well:

• Moderate cellulite on the thighs and buttocks in someone whose weight is stable: the strongest responders in the studies.
• Skin that feels loose or uneven on the thighs, buttocks and abdomen, where the six-month study's patients reported firmer-feeling skin.
• People who want no needles, no anaesthetic and no time off.

What EMtone does not do:

• It does not remove cellulite, and in our experience the deepest, most fixed dimples respond least.
• It is not a fat-reduction or weight-loss treatment: hip and thigh measurements fell by a few centimetres in the studies and partly returned; for fat, ask us about EMsculpt NEO at your consultation.
• It is not a skin-tightening treatment, and it is not a treatment for loose skin after large weight loss.

Who EMtone suits, and who it does not

EMtone suits adults with cellulite graded 2 or 3 on the Nurnberger-Muller scale, the grades the six-month study enrolled, with a stable weight and realistic expectations. The studies enrolled skin types II to V and body mass indices up to 36, and the US label carries no skin type restriction. It also suits people who want to improve skin texture on the arms or abdomen without needles.

The exclusions below come from the manufacturer's own trial, which was stricter than a label would be, and its guidance to clinics, and the clinician goes through each one with you at your consultation:

• Pregnancy, breastfeeding or IVF treatment.
• A pacemaker, a defibrillator or any implanted electronic device; metal implants.
• An active skin infection, eczema or rosacea in the area, or a recent deep peel.
• Varicose veins, a history of thrombosis or other vascular disease; a bleeding disorder.
• Isotretinoin in the last twelve months, poor healing, an impaired immune system, autoimmune disease, or cancer.
• Diabetes, kidney or liver failure, or a loss of sensation in the area.

The manufacturer also tells clinics to monitor patients throughout to avoid burns. EMtone works with your own tissue by heat and pressure. If you want injectable treatments as well, our doctor can provide them, and we time them around your course: we leave at least two weeks after an injectable treatment in the area, and four weeks after dermal filler, before treating it with EMtone.

What a session is like, step by step

1. Consultation. The clinician looks at the area standing and lying, grades the cellulite, asks about your weight, your exercise and your health, and agrees the areas and the number of sessions. You get a plan and a price in writing. Consultations and follow-up reviews are free.
2. Preparation. Nothing to do beforehand. In our practice, come with the area clean and without moisturiser; a return pad is placed on your body for the radiofrequency.
3. The session. Gel on the area, then the handpiece moves over it for about 20 minutes per area, and in our experience longer for both thighs front and back. It feels like a hot-stone massage with a strong, fast vibration; in the six-month study patients rated the discomfort 2.8 out of 10 on average. In our experience the noise is the part most people comment on.
4. After. In our experience the skin is pink and warm for an hour or so. You go back to your day, and in our experience most people go back to the gym the same day.

How many sessions, when you see the result, how long it lasts

Is one session enough? The published results come from a course of four, and that is our protocol.

What EMtone costs in London

EMtone is priced per area and per session, and a course is four sessions. We price EMtone from a starting price per session, per area and per course, confirmed in writing at your free consultation, and we price match any comparable written quote. Consultations and follow-up reviews are free whatever you decide.

Your written plan states the session length, whether both thighs count as one area or two, and the three-month review, which is free; four sessions is the course the studies used.

Results you can check

The photograph at the top of this page is the manufacturer's. At your consultation the clinician shows you photographs of our own patients, with their consent, where we have them for your area, and you compare your own photographs at three months, taken standing in the same light.

Our reviews are collected through review.clinic, and the badge on this page links to them: 4.9 out of 5 from 68 reviews in October 2026, with 100% of reviewers saying the treatment was worth it.

Is EMtone the same as EMsculpt? EMtone compared with the alternatives

No. EMsculpt NEO, made by the same company, contracts muscle with electromagnetic pulses and heats the fat over it; it is for firming a muscle and thinning a fat layer, and it has no cellulite indication. EMtone heats and taps the skin and the fat just under it to improve the look of cellulite. Some patients have both, EMsculpt NEO for the muscle and EMtone for the skin, and we offer both at the same address.

The clearance row is from the US summaries, the evidence row from the published papers, and the downtime row from the studies and our experience. We offer EMtone, EMsculpt NEO and Exion at the same address, and at your free consultation the clinician matches the treatment to your cellulite grade and your aim.

Side effects and risks

Across the published studies of EMtone and of its combinations with EMsculpt-type devices, roughly 180 treated people, no serious adverse event was reported, and patients rated the discomfort as none to mild on average, with some scoring higher. In our experience expect redness and warmth for an hour or so, and sometimes a little tenderness or swelling for a day. The pressure tip can in principle bruise, though no study reports it, and the heat can in principle burn, which is why the manufacturer tells clinics to watch the skin and the temperature throughout and why the clinician asks how it feels.

The risks that matter are on the exclusion list: an implanted electronic device or metal under the handpiece, a clot or varicose veins, pregnancy, and skin that is infected or broken. The studies covered skin types II to V and a body mass index up to 36 with a stable weight, and the clinician checks your suitability at consultation.

How to choose an EMtone clinic in London

• Ask which device. EMtone is one of several radiofrequency cellulite machines; ask the clinic to name its device and show it.
• Ask who holds the handpiece and who supervises. Ours is a doctor-led clinical team, and this guide is reviewed by Dr Marie Duggan, GMC 7488383; the clinic is CQC registered.
• Ask for the plan per area, in sessions and pounds, in writing. Whether both thighs are one area or two changes the price noticeably.
• Ask about the exclusions before you sign. Implants, metal, clots, pregnancy, skin conditions.
• Ask where a figure comes from. Every percentage in this guide names its study.
• Check the reviews, and where they come from. Ours are on review.clinic; the badge links to them.

Aftercare

Nothing you have to do. Drink water as usual, walk or exercise as you like, and in our experience skip very hot baths, saunas and steam rooms for 24 hours if the skin feels sensitive. Moisturise. Keep your weight stable through the three months, because the result is measured against it. Come to the free review at three months, and tell us before then if the skin blisters, bruises heavily or changes colour.

Frequently asked questions