If you look at a youthful face, it is roughly shaped like a heart. Full up top and narrow at the bottom - high cheek bones, full temples, minimal jowling. As we age, that heart turns upside down. We tend to see hollowing in the temples (due to atrophy of a muscle called the temporalis muscle), less full cheek bones and jowling as our buccal (cheek) fat pads fall due to the effect of gravity. Accompanied by this are skin changes including wrinkling and others. In patients with some of these changes, dermal fillers are an excellent ‘bridge’, or a way to correct these aging changes without surgery – until which time as patients reach a point where adding volume via dermal fillers will not solve the problem or even make things look worse. In these patients, surgical correction via a facelift (usually combined with a necklift) surgically corrects the structures that caused the vertical descent of the facial tissues in the first place, while at the same time, tightens the skin for a longer lasting (8-10 year) result.
Who is a candidate for a liquid facelift vs. a surgical facelift?
Patients with mild to moderate signs of facial aging may be candidates for a liquid facelift. A surgical face and neck lift are typically reserved for those with more significant signs of facial aging. This can be a subtle distinction that myself or my staff can help with.
How long does a liquid facelift last?
Dermal fillers are stated to last between 8-12 months. The extent varies to some extent, depending on the patient, the type of filler and the area to be injected. Botox and Xeomin last anywhere from 3-6 months.
How can I find out which is right for me?
I can perform a RejuvanalysisTM assessment to help you determine which option would be best for you. During your consultation, I can also discuss other potential adjuvant treatments that will help you to achieve your goals.
What do you mean by “adjunctive procedures”?
Liquid facelift and facelift procedures are designed to address what I like to refer to as ‘structural’ changes of facial aging. While the skin is tightened (with excess removed) in a face/neck lift, the skin is also designed to respond to stress and may stretch out again to some extent, depending on the patient’s skin elasticity and other factors.
The OTHER part of facial aging is the skin. A liquid facelift/facelift may address some wrinkles for example, but, it will not address other skin problems including redness, pigmentation, pores, tone, texture, etc.! Adjunctive procedures however can help with this. Here is the low-down in a nutshell:
Professional Skin Care Products – The regular use of high-quality, medical-grade skin care products is the base-level must do for anyone serious about improving and maintaining beautiful skin. Period. Our skin care consultants can provide a qualitive assessment of your skin using VISIA technology and other tools to provide you with a customized skin care regime with the world’s best skin care products from SkinCeuticals and ZO Skin Health. Medical grade skin care products and ingredients typically precede retail products by 4-5 years!
Laser Resurfacing/Broadband Light (BBL) – Laser resurfacing addresses many of the skin problems listed above – redness, pigmentation, pores, tone, texture, etc.! Ours is not a Mom n’ Pop Shop laser. It is a Sciton Joule, which in my opinion, is the best Erbium:YAG resurfacing laser on the planet. There is downtime for full-face resurfacing (10-14 days), but the results are incredible! For those with more mild signs of facial aging will have the Halo – with only 5-7 days downtime. It’s like a magic eraser. Sometimes, these are combined with a BBL. The Halo is also an excellent way to maintain results obtained by full face resurfacing.
Patients who have a surgical facelift often have more than one adjunctive procedure including laser resurfacing, fillers or fat grafting, Botox or Xeomin or a combination!
