Have you ever heard of a nonsurgical facelift? We have discussed in our earlier post titled Types Of Facelift Surgeries how facelift surgery can help you rejuvenate the face and make you look more youthful by lifting the muscles and tightening saggy, drooping skin. But what if you are averse to the very idea of going under the knife? Don’t sweat.
If you want to avoid an invasive surgery to get that youthful look, there are several non surgical facelift techniques that you can choose from to achieve the same objectives. These treatment options are also cheaper options than a regular facelift surgery.
The type of non surgical facelift procedure depends on the goal you want to achieve: to lift, tone or just tighten your skin. Lots of times, doctors recommend a combination of a few treatments to rejuvenate the skin instead of opting for one. Let’s read about some of the popular non-surgical facelift techniques you might want to consider:
1. Facelift with Botox
Botox which is also known as Dysport, is the most common type of non surgical facelift treatment and is very popular worldwide. Botox helps in temporarily relaxing the muscles to avoid muscle contraction which helps to stop wrinkles formation. Botox treatment is effective mainly for the fine horizontal lines on the forehead, between the eyebrows and crow’s feet around the eyes. In the procedure, a series of muscle relaxing injections are given in the affected area.
The result can be seen within 7 days. Results out of the Botox treatment will last maximum 4 months and thus to maintain the position of avoiding wrinkles to not reappear, the doctors normally recommend the treatment again after 4 months. This type of treatment has very few side effects except for minor swelling and bruising. Repeated treatments produce longer and lasting effects.
2. Facelift with Dermal Fillers
Botox helps to relax the muscle under wrinkles, however the injectable wrinkle fillers fill the line or the crease with varied kinds of substances. These are used commonly in the lower part of the face, in the nasolabial folds, in the marionette lines, increases the volume on the cheeks and define the jawline.
Like the Botox injections, these could also cause swelling and redness in the affected area. The results can be seen immediately. One should be aware that this is a temporary treatment and the result might not be that effective in comparison to the effect brought by a facelift surgery. The popular types of fillers are as follows:
- Hyaluronic Acid Based Fillers – These are the most common type of fillers. This stimulates the body’s natural production of collagen.
- Collagen Based Fillers – These are made of purified form of collagen. The result of this type lasts for a maximum 1 month period. They are prone to allergies.
- These fillers when injected on a regular basis can reduce the rate of aging in the long run.
3. Facelift with Fat Transfer
Instead of injecting dermal fillers, lots of doctors recommend fat transfer. In this procedure the doctor grafts fat from other parts of the patient’s body and injects into the affected area to bring back the volume. These are effective to address laugh lines, smile lines, crow’s feet, sunken areas on the face, etc. The result of fat transfer lasts for a longer period and also gives a more natural look. It helps in avoiding any causes of infection which the dermal fillers or Botox can cause to some people, as the fat has been transferred from the patient’s own body.
The flipside of this type of non surgical facelift is the unavailability of body fat. If in any previous procedures the fat has been used, then harvesting more fat will become difficult.
4. Facelift with Laser Skin Resurfacing
This procedure helps in bringing back the younger looking skin by removing the outer, damaged skin layer by layer. By removing the outer skin with precision, the underlying skin which is smoother and softer can be revealed. This is done by advanced laser technology. This is effective for lines, wrinkles, acne, scars or skin damaged due to exposure to sun rays. The procedure takes up to 2 hours. It takes around 7 days, for the outer skin to peel and another 7 days for the final result to come. Certain risk factors in this procedure are the possibility of skin pigmentation, burn or scarring.
5. Facelift with Kybella
Kybella is a synthetic form of fat dissolver deoxycholic acid which is naturally present in our body. Kybella helps in breaking down the fat cells and flushing it out of the body through circulatory system. This also helps in tightening the skin. The procedure will take around 2-3 treatments over 4 months’ period. This procedure might be uncomfortable and the patient can continue having the stinging feeling, redness and swelling for 2-3 weeks.
6. Facelift with Platelet Rich Plasma Facial Rejuvenation
This is also known as Vampire Facelift or PRP. In this non surgical procedure, doctor uses the patient’s body’s platelet rich plasma to rejuvenate the skin by thickening the skin and stimulating the collagen and elastin production. This also increase the blood flow which helps in making the skin firmer. This is done when the doctor draws a small amount of patient’s blood, separates the platelets from the blood and then injects back the platelet rich plasma into the affected areas in the patient’s face. The result is plumper and youthful skin. You can read more about PRP in our post “How PRP Can Make You Look 5 Years Younger Through a 30-Minute Painless Procedure”.
7. Facelift with Thermage
This is a popular procedure which uses radio waves. Radio waves are used through a machine which heats the upper layer of the skin. This procedure contracts the skin’s collagen and tightens the surface of the skin. It is similar to a laser treatment however in this case radio waves are used which tightens the skin from within. Radio waves improves the skin by tightening the existing collagen and encourage the stimulation of the new collagen fibroblast production which makes the skin look younger. This is used in treating the fine lines and wrinkles. It also helps in lifting the brows, cheeks and jawline. This procedure repairs the cell faster and leads to firmer skin.
8. Facelift with Ultratherapy
This is a relatively new procedure which uses ultrasound waves to deliver targeted heat energy to the subcutaneous layer of the skin in order to stimulate collagen production. It is similar to Thermage but is considered to be more effective because of the unique properties of ultrasound waves which allow them to pass through the upper layers of skin without delivering too much heat to them. Also, ultrasound waves have been used on the human body for nearly 50 years and found to not produce any side effects on the body. This makes Ultratherapy a non surgical treatment of choice. You can read more about Ultratherapy in our blog post “Why Ultratherapy Is A Safe And Effective Technique For Anti-Aging”.