Korean Fat Dissolving Injections Before and After: The Week-by-Week Timeline Photos Don't Show

I'm Dr. Hyunji Kim, director and lead physician at Delphic Clinic in Gangnam, one minute from Sinnonhyeon Station. I trained at Korea University Medical Center and I am a member of the Korean Society for Obesity & Aesthetic Treatment, and contouring the lower face without surgery is a big part of my daily work, often for patients visiting from abroad.

Korean fat dissolving injections before and after photos are what bring most people to my consultation room, and they are also what worries them most three days later. The internet shows the first photo and the last one. Nobody posts the swollen middle. This page walks through that middle, week by week, so you know what normal looks like.

Day 0 to day 3: why your face looks bigger first

The injection works by breaking down fat cells in a small area. The body clears them through an inflammatory response, and inflammation means swelling. For the first two or three days the treated area often feels firm, warm and a little puffier than before. Mild bruising at a needle point is common and fades.

This is the moment people panic and take a photo. Please do not judge anything yet. A before-and-after taken on day two is a before-and-swollen, and it tells you nothing about the result.

Week 1 to week 2: the quiet stretch

Swelling settles through the first week. Most people look like themselves again, and many feel nothing has happened. That is normal. Fat is being cleared gradually, which is why the change arrives slowly.

Week 3 to week 6: when the real after photo is taken

This is when a slimmer jawline or a softer double chin usually becomes visible, especially in side profile. I ask patients to take their after photo in the same light, at the same angle and the same distance as the before photo. Without that, even a real change is hard to see.

How to take a before photo you can actually compare

Most disappointing results I see are really disappointing photos. Use this simple routine before your appointment and again at week four.

• Stand facing a window, not under a ceiling light that casts shadows under the jaw.
• Take three shots: front, left side, right side, with the camera at eye level.
• Keep your chin level. Tilting down by a few degrees creates a double chin on anyone.
• Hair tied back, no heavy contour make-up.

What the injection can't change

Fat dissolving injections reduce small, soft pockets of fat. They do not tighten loose skin, they do not change bone structure, and they do not replace weight loss for larger areas. If your fullness is mostly skin that has dropped, injecting it can make that skin look looser, not better.

If pinching the area gives me skin but not fat, I will not inject it, however good the price looks.— Dr. Hyunji Kim, Delphic Clinic

In that case a lifting device often suits better. For a soft jaw with mild laxity, I sometimes combine a small injection with InMode, which I explain in my first-timer's guide to InMode in Korea.

Prices, and what one session realistically buys

A single 3cc session on the face is inexpensive, which is exactly why I am careful about promising too much from it. For a double chin, the dedicated first-visit injection is the more complete option. Before you decide, read the side effects the reviews understate, so the first week does not surprise you.

Signs that need a check rather than patience

• Swelling that is getting worse after day four instead of better.
• A hard, painful lump that grows or feels hot.
• Skin colour change such as dusky or pale patches over the area.
• Fever or feeling unwell after the treatment.

These are uncommon, but if any of them happen, message the clinic straight away rather than waiting for the next appointment.

If you are weighing a device instead of an injection, here is the real InMode cost in Korea, line by line.

If you have a before photo already, bring it. In a free one-to-one consultation I will pinch, look and tell you whether what you see is fat, skin or both, and whether an injection is the right tool. If it is not, I will say so. English and Chinese interpreters are on site, you pay the same price as a Korean patient, and we are one minute from Exit 3 of Sinnonhyeon Station.