Global Energy-Based Devices in 2025: An Annual Review

In 2025, energy-based devices (EBD) remained one of the most foundational — and most genuinely productive — layers of the global non-surgical aesthetics system.

It is not the largest category by size, yet the upstream companies involved account for the bulk of the industry, and they set the boundaries of what a clinic can offer, the ceiling on its efficiency and the shape of its business model.

Which is also why the EBD market behaves differently from injectables: new products rarely arrive as blockbusters. They change the structure of the industry quietly, through regulation, indications, platform iteration and country-by-country rollout.

This piece draws on public regulatory documents, congress information, company results and market data from 2025 to set out what actually changed in the EBD market over the year.

Research houses put different numbers on the global EBD market in 2025:

Grand View Research: 2024 market size USD 7.1 billion, projected to reach USD 15.9 billion by 2030, CAGR 14.2%

GM Insights: 2024 market size USD 5.0 billion, projected to reach USD 24.9 billion by 2034, CAGR 17.9%

Prophecy Market Insights: 2024 market size USD 7.28 billion, projected to reach USD 25.11 billion by 2034, CAGR 14.6%

Nova One Advisor: 2024 market size USD 7.65 billion, projected to reach USD 29.12 billion by 2034, CAGR 14.3%

The divergence reflects differences in scope, market definition and method. The consensus: the EBD market is still growing steadily, but growth no longer depends on placing new systems.

Growth in 2025 came mainly from:

• non-surgical tightening and anti-ageing (face, neck and body)
• light- and energy-based dermatology (pigment, vascular, acne scarring, hair removal)
• body treatments (contouring, tightening, muscle stimulation)

• the pace of system placements is slowing
• platform upgrades, consumables and service revenue account for a growing share
• divergence between categories and between regions is widening

In March 2025 at the IMCAS congress, building on its existing real-time visualisation imaging, Merz Aesthetics systematically strengthened the global communication and clinical-education narrative around its microfocused ultrasound platform Ultherapy PRIME, aimed squarely at a more efficient delivery experience and a more reproducible clinical workflow, and at displacing the way conventional energy mechanisms are promoted.

Ultherapy PRIME received FDA approval for expanded indications: skin laxity of the upper arms (front and back) and the abdomen. This is the first clearance of microfocused ultrasound for body tightening, and marks the shift from a facial lifting tool to a face-and-body tightening platform.

Ultherapy PRIME has been completing registration and launch across a growing number of countries and regions, with the new indications reaching the US first and then other markets. More than 3.5 million treatments have now been performed worldwide, with clinical satisfaction at 95%.

In October 2025 the FDA issued an RF microneedling safety communication, citing multiple reports of serious adverse events: burns, scarring, fat atrophy (particularly in the periorbital and malar regions), nerve injury and disfigurement, with some patients requiring surgical repair.

In the US, RF microneedling devices are Class II medical devices (cleared by the FDA through the 510(k) pathway).

The warning did not change the device classification. It was intended to strengthen enforcement and risk education

The FDA stated clearly that RF microneedling is a medical procedure and should be performed by systematically trained, licensed professionals, and that providers should have proper informed-consent and complication-management processes in place

Between May and June 2025, InMode’s Ignite RF system completed software validation, adding Burst and Scale modes to the Morpheus8 handpiece — a systematic upgrade of an existing platform in delivery mode and energy control.

No disruptive technology appeared in laser and IPL in 2025; the leading companies continued to advance their platforms:

April 2025 | Candela: launched at ASLMS 2025 — Vbeam Pro, for vascular lesions and dermatological treatment

July 2025 | Lumenis: European update to the Stellar M22 platform, strengthening safety across skin types and integration across indications

June 2025 | Alma Lasers: launched in Germany — Soprano Titanium DIOD (TriWave) hair-removal system

November 2025 | Lumenis: launched at ASDS 2025 — Stellar M22 XPL, adding XPL Glide sliding mode and 850+ built-in expert protocols

15 December 2025 | Lumenis Aesthetics ANZ: launched in Australia and New Zealand — Stellar M22 XPL, with clinical data showing 76–100% clearance of vascular and pigmented lesions after a single XPL treatment

The laser category is not chasing extremes of specification; it emphasises safety, efficiency and reproducibility. New placements look more like structural renewal and replacement than large-scale incremental expansion.

2025 | Sofwave: Pure Impact VIP (a standalone EMS system) received FDA clearance for muscle stimulation across multiple body areas

2025 | BTL Aesthetics: continued expansion of EMFACE / EMSCULPT NEO in combined facial and body applications

Body energy devices are moving from an add-on to a treatment line of their own, and beginning to affect a clinic’s overall treatment mix and pricing structure.

• the largest EBD market in the world
• placements slowing; upgrades, service and consumables take a growing share of revenue
• the RF microneedling regulatory event has affected how compliance is expressed in the market
• platform upgrades and standardised delivery have become the core narrative

• a mature market weighted towards compliance, safety across skin types and dermatological indications
• multi-modality platforms reinforce a commercial case built on efficiency and coverage
• platform-type devices account for a rising share

• the fastest-growing region in the world, and the most divergent
• Japan and Korea emphasise skin-quality improvement and experience
• emerging markets (India, Southeast Asia) favour multifunctional devices and value for money

On 30 October 2025, Peninsula Big Ultrasound Cannon (a focused-ultrasound skin treatment device) received NMPA Class III medical-device registration (registration no. 20253092193), indicated for skin laxity of the mid and lower face, submental area and neck.

On 27 October 2025, Peninsula Counterclockwise (a radiofrequency skin treatment device) received NMPA Class III certification (registration no. 20253092104), indicated for atrophic acne scarring of the face, plus FDA 510(k) clearance (Class II device).

These are the most representative compliance events in China’s domestic EBD market in 2025: the first Class III certificate with a compliant indication for a domestic ultrasound device, and dual NMPA and FDA clearance for a domestic radiofrequency device.

On 1 December 2025, Solta Medical acquired Wuhan Shibo Zhenmei Technology outright. Shibo Zhenmei had been Thermage’s partner in China for ten years, originally as first-tier master distributor, selling directly to more than a thousand leading clinics nationwide.

China contributes roughly 33% of Solta’s revenue and is a core pillar market globally.

• international brands are moving from channel dependence to direct brand control in China
• from expanding placements to deep operations and compliance management
• channel consolidation is an inevitable trend in a mature market

• international devices are in an installed-base phase, with the focus on maintenance and channel adjustment
• the number of domestic devices keeps rising, but technical and compliance standards vary widely
• keywords for the market: divergence and selection

The keywords for the EBD market in 2025: structural adjustment, tighter regulation, platform consolidation.

Devices are no longer simply RF, laser or ultrasound. They are becoming multi-energy treatment platforms, raising the clinical coverage and commercial efficiency of a single system.

Protocols, operating procedures and the reproducibility of a team matter more than any single parameter. Representative cases: Lumenis Stellar M22 XPL (850+ protocols) and Ultherapy PRIME (real-time visualisation plus individualised workflow).

Regulators keep raising their requirements for the safety and correct operation of energy devices, putting training systems and risk management at the centre of attention.

What clinics watch: utilisation per system, combined treatment pathways, repeat consumables and the service system.