When it comes to dramatically tightening the skin on your face, perhaps no procedure is more effective than face-lift surgery. But since it’s surgical, there are both risks and recovery time to consider. Until recently, there haven’t been many alternatives for those who don’t need the drama of cosmetic surgery.
Now, though, there is a range of gentle and less invasive procedures that produce remarkable results with less downtime and minimal risks.
One of these procedures has been around for years, but recent developments in its technology make it a more viable option than ever. Chances are good you’ve heard about the non-surgical thread lift procedure, and it’s nearly certain you’ll be hearing more about it in days to come.
As your skin ages, it loses both elasticity and tissue volume. It doesn’t spring back as it did when you were younger. This loose skin creates wrinkles and folds that reveal more about your age than you wish. Face-lift surgery cuts away this excess skin to pull the rest of your skin tighter, so the loosening skin process is interrupted and visible lines reduce, giving you a younger and fresher look.
This laxity is also partially due to loss of skin volume, provided by tissue such as collagen and elastin in the middle layers. Yet, while these tissues diminish with age, your body retains the ability to regenerate them when an injury occurs. New tissue replaces damaged tissue, moisture, and volume return to the site of the injury, and your skin actually renews.
Most non-surgical skin treatments — from dermabrasion to laser facials — seek to stimulate this collagen healing response.
The thread lift procedure draws from both types of treatment, a technique that both tightens loose skin while stimulating the development of new collagen; it’s the best of both worlds.
When you add to this the fact that you can return to regular activities a day or two after a thread lift, versus one to three weeks of recovery from face-lift surgery, the advantages of the thread lift start to shine.
Thread lifts use dissolving suture material upon which tiny cones are fixed. Under a local anesthetic, long needles guide the thread lift suture just below the surface of your skin, through the dermis layer where collagen resides, along with target lines across your face.
The act of running the needle and suture through the dermis starts the collagen induction process since your body perceives this as an injury to your skin. The presence of the suture under the skin continues this, and over a few weeks, new tissue forms, bringing moisture, volume, and elasticity back to the treatment areas.
The cones, though, provide the lift features of the procedure. The cone shape permits easy insertion but inhibits backward movement. It’s a one-way operation. So depending on your needs, your Concord MedSpa specialist pulls back on the trailing end of the suture, and the cones tug tissue back, re-suspending your skin and taking up some of the laxity that’s developed on your face.
Thread lifts are ideal for your face, neck, and jowls, and well-defined procedures are in place for each of these targets.
While face-lift surgery still produces the most intense changes, a thread lift offers an affordable alternative that you can consider years before surgery becomes viable. Contact Concord MedSpa by phone or online to schedule a consultation to learn more about how a thread lift can spruce up your appearance with little recovery downtime.
