I Tried Kim Kardashian’s Favorite Laser Skin-Tightening Treatment

It wasn't without some real consideration, though. You see, plastic surgeons' offices scare me. Will they tell me I should really think about using fillers? Or that Botox would help? While I'm sure I could look a bit more smooth and firm with the help of whatever's on the market, I don't want a professional to make me doubt myself. I've always relied on skin care, clean eating, and exercise to help keep my skin healthy, and so far it's worked. However, as I approach four decades on this earth, I'd like to see at least a sign of a more defined cheekbone. Or two.

Thankfully, my fears were quickly put to rest. When I walk into Dugar's office, the staff couldn't be more to down-to-earth (a selling point when you're in Beverly Hills). If anything, I'm impressed that the doctor's mantra isn't "anti-aging" anything. Instead he prefers the term antigravity. "You’re never going to be 20 again. You’re never going to look 30 again. It’s not the goal to reverse yourself," he tells me. "The goal is just to maintain yourself and fight the thing that’s causing most of our damage, which is gravity."

At this point I'd hang upside down for 10 minutes if he told me to. I'm on board and ready to start this thing.

Dugar explains that the Exilis Ultra 360 uses penetrative technology to reach deep into the layers of your skin to tighten it with heating and cooling energy. The radio frequency then stimulates the collagen in your skin to retighten areas that have lost their elasticity. Best of all, he says, the entire treatment is noninvasive, safe, and effective with little pain and very minimal downtime, if at all.

When I settle into the "operating room" (what else do you call a sterile, all-white room at a plastic surgeon's office?), the nurse applies alcohol to clean my skin before securing a grounding pad to my back. Then Dugar applies ultrasound gel to my face before slowly moving the laser over my cheeks and jawline. He says it will feel like a hot stone massage. I've never had one before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But my best description now is somewhat like static electricity. "There are moments when you really feel the heat, but just for a second," Dr. Dugar says. "Otherwise, 90 percent of it is painless, 8 percent is a little intense, and 2 percent is a sharp twinge here and there when the heat kind of gets you."