With the “Non-Surgical Facelift” we are being promised a younger, better-looking you with no surgery, no general anaesthetic and no down-time.

 

Although “Facelift” may be a bit of a stretch, these days it’s increasingly possible to take years off your face in a day clinic. Without the expense, pain and temporary disappearance from your life associated with surgery.

Let’s dive into the fountain of (non-surgical) youth to see what’s on offer.

 

 

Injectables

• Dermal fillers,
• Bio – Stimulators
• Anti – Wrinkle: Muscle relaxers

 

Skin treatments

• Dermal rolling and micro needling
• Microdermabrasion
• Laser – the difference between continuous, fractional, ablative, and non-ablative lasers.
• IPL and other heat-based treatments such as Thermage (radio frequency), Ulthera (ultrasound) and Cutera Titan (infrared)
• Personal – masks and handheld LED anti-ageing devices.

 

Of course, the most important aspect of all of this is, “What are the areas you are most concerned about and finding the right cosmetic injector for you.”

 

 

 

Ageing takes its toll in several ways, including expression lines, loss of fat volume, loss of bone structure, gravity, and the big one, sun damage. We know that seventy-five per cent of what you see in the mirror at 50 or 60 is due to sun damage.

There’s no one treatment that deals with all skin issues and works for all people, and a cosmetic injector may suggest you have more than one. For example, anti-wrinkle for forehead lines, dermal fillers for nasolabial folds (running from the corner of the nose to the corner of the mouth) and IPL for fine lines and skin texture.

 

Injectables

 

Dermal fillers

The injection of filler under the skin can fill in deep folds, such as nasolabial folds, create fuller lips and pad out hollow cheeks and eyes. Rather than just smoothing or tightening skin, they can change the facial profile.

Anti-Wrinkle

Anti-Wrinkle temporarily “paralyses” muscles when injected, preventing the skin above from creasing and causing wrinkles. It only works on expression lines, such as frown (vertical) lines and surprise (horizontal) lines on the forehead, smoothing them and preventing them from becoming more pronounced. It won’t do anything for lines caused by skin sagging.

The effects take a few days to kick in, and initially last a few months, longer after continued treatment.

 

Skin treatments

 

 

Dermal Rolling

Collagen induction therapy, popularly known as micro-needling, involves rolling a cylinder covered in tiny needles over your skin. The damage caused by the needles stimulates collagen production, and has been successfully used for treating scars, like acne scarring, fine lines, and wrinkles.

Microdermabrasion

Microdermabrasion can be done at a salon or spa and uses fine crystals to sand the face and remove dead skin cells.

It may help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and improve skin texture, but don’t expect a major anti-ageing effect. There will probably be some redness and swelling for a few hours.

Laser

Many non-surgical skin-tightening procedures work using heat to create controlled injury in the epidermal and dermal layers of the skin. This forces the body to respond by producing more collagen in the treated area.

The increased collagen plumps and thickens the skin, reducing the appearance of fine lines, acne scarring and stretch marks.

Lasers are used for moderate lines and wrinkles, to improve skin tone and texture though, they don’t work on very deep lines, (such as nasolabial folds).

For example IPL uses bursts of intense light energy to heat the epidermis and dermis, stimulating collagen production. It’s best for improving skin tone and texture, as well as discolouration, and may not have much effect on wrinkles.

The different forms of energy used by these devices penetrate below the surface of the skin, inducing heat which causes collagen to contract and new collagen to form. Targeted at people in their 40s and 50s with mild skin looseness and wrinkling. It’s the ideal compromise for taking a few years off your face without the expense and downtime of surgery.

The process is uncomfortable, and you may need topical anaesthetic. There may be some redness afterwards, which can be disguised by make-up. There may be an immediate skin-tightening effect as collagen fibres contract, but the full results take a few months to kick in, showing a gradual improvement as collagen production increases.

 

 

Do your research on cosmetic procedures.

There are plenty of online reviews of these anti-ageing procedures.