Thread Lift: Non Invasive Facial Makeover

All kinds of facial skin laxity, till recently, were addressed by facelift surgery. Facelift surgery can handle most of your drooping cheeks and wrinkled foreheads. However, you would be happy to know that a new type of procedure has been developed. Known as the thread lift – it is a procedure between non-invasive facial rejuvenation and facelift surgery.

You need to understand that skin resurfacing treatments and injectable compounds can only help restore some degree of firmness. Your loose skin can only indeed be removed with a scalpel. But many people are not willing or able to have surgery due to many factors. It is when thread lift works for you fulfilling your aesthetic needs.  

Recently thread lift has become a minimally invasive procedure. It is an alternative to the facelift for individuals who are not ready to undergo invasive surgery or aggressive treatment options.

What is A Thread Lift?

A thread lift is primarily a cosmetic procedure called a barbed suture lift. The procedure aims to lift and sculpt the shape of your breast or face. The treatment uses temporary, medical-grade suture material, which your doctor will stitch up your skin so that they become stiff and firm.

Your doctor will use temporary sutures to produce a subtle but visible lift under your skin in this procedure. Instead of surgically removing your loose facial skin, your cosmetic surgeon during the cosmetic surgery will simply suspend it by stitching up portions of the skin. 

Thread lifts have been quite prevalent since the 1990s. But it is only recently that innovations in the material used for thread lifts have increased the popularity of this treatment method.

Note that you are the right candidate for thread lift if you are aged between 30s to 50s. Additionally, you should have overall good health. The treatment is best suited for candidates who have just started to notice the early signs of aging. Such candidates benefit the most from the subtle impact of a thread lift.

However, if you cannot undergo a surgical facelift because of medical conditions, you may consider – thread lift a safer alternative.

The effects from a thread lift surgery will be temporary, meaning only for a few years, and is not as dramatic as with a facelift. But the treatment is prevalent and preferred as it helps improve the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. The results might be seen gradually as the treatment stimulates natural collagen production of your skin.

How Does Thread Lift Rejuvenate Your Skin?

The procedure will have the effect of pulling your skin back slightly. This process results in tightening and lifting your face. In addition, the procedure provokes your body’s healing response, thus causing your body to direct large surges of collagen to the treated zones. As you might be aware, collagen plays a vital role in your aging process.

Do you know that collagen influences the condition of your skin in multiple ways? Moreover, it is used for wound healing. Collagen can also help to keep your skin voluminous, supple, and strong. 

As you grow older, your body gradually produces less and less collagen. As a result, it leads to an 80 percent reduction in skin thickness by the time you are 70 years old. This loss of volume and strength is a significant factor in the development of hanging skin and wrinkles.

As your skin grows weaker, it will no longer be able to support the tissues underneath it adequately. It means gravity will pull your skin down and stretch it. If you infuse the skin of your face with fresh collagen when the signs of skin laxity are still mild, it can have a positive effect.

Meaning it can drastically help reduce the skin’s loosening effect when treated early. The treatment would help thicken and hydrate your skin and prevent it from getting worse by strengthening it. 

Thread Lift Improves Skin Firmness

This treatment provides a progressive rejuvenation for your facial tissues, very similar to eyebrow lift. You will notice a gradual improvement in your skin’s firmness and tone after the treatment. 

After the treatment, your body’s healing response will be constantly activated until the time these threads are present. It is probably because your body will want to heal the sutured areas and expel the sutures. This process happens because your body is biologically programmed to react in such a fashion when it senses any foreign object in the skin dermis. 

How Does a Thread Lift Procedure Work?

There are basically two ways a thread lift procedure works. The first method is fairly straightforward. Your therapist will thread thin, dissolvable sutures underneath your skin. As a result, it will pull your skin tight around your forehead, neck, or torso.

Invisible, painless “barbs” grab onto your skin during the treatment and ensure that the thread grips your underlying tissue and muscles when the thread is pulled tight.

Your body will trigger the healing process as soon as your therapist inserts a barbed thread. At that point, even though you are not injured by the threads placed under your skin, your body will detect a suture material. In response, collagen production is stimulated in the affected area. Collagen will slowly fill gaps in the sagged skin and restore more youthful elasticity to your facial skin.

The most noticeable effect of a thread lift procedure is that your skin will appear tighter and more structured. Interestingly, this effect will decrease after a year as the sutures slowly dissolve away. You need to note that thread lift has a secondary rejuvenation effect that can last for about three years after the procedure.

What are the Advantages of Having a Thread Lift Instead of a Facelift?

For many, the benefit of having a thread lift compared to a facelift is the reduced recovery time associated with the treatment. In case of facelift surgery, you would require around-the-clock assistance to cope with your day-to-day activities. 

Furthermore, if you have kids at home, you may require a childcare supervisor. After your facelift surgery, you might need one to two weeks off from work to heal from the treatment. 

Recovery from a thread lift procedure, on the other hand, is comparatively easy and faster. The procedure is performed under local rather than general anesthesia. Meaning that if you are a thread lift patient, you can drive back home and look after yourself after having the treatment. 

As part of the side effect, most patients only experience slight soreness, redness, and swelling. Moreover, it is easier for you to return to your normal routine as you would seldom require strong pain medication. Hence, this procedure is ideal if you have children at home or have a busy, demanding career.

The thread lift procedure is not typically intensive, but you still have to take a few minor precautions after treatment. You should be extra careful not to rub your face vigorously while applying moisturizer. You should also try to lift your head up slightly so that you do not roll over onto your face while sleeping.

Thread Lift a Low-Risk Procedure 

You can think of thread lifts as a low-risk procedure, as it is non-invasive. There is virtually no risk of severe scarring, bruising, bleeding, or other complications.

Only in rare cases you might experience infection, irritation, or the sutures becoming visible under the skin. If any of these conditions occurs, your doctor will remove the sutures, and your face will return to the prior state.

It is important to note that thread lifts are much easier to perform than facelift surgery, and they are more affordable too. The procedure produces visible changes, and they create a more subtle and natural-looking end result than facelift surgery.

This procedure provides a facelift alternative for aged people who are unable to have surgery for medical reasons. Moreover, if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes, you can safely have this treatment as your doctor will use local anesthesia. In case you have any outstanding health conditions, talk to your doctor about whether or not the treatment is right for you.

It is important to understand that no lifting technique can produce permanent results. It might be true that the facelift surgery will produce long-lasting results than a thread lift, but the risks involved are surely more. The results of facelift surgery could even last for a decade, whereas a thread lift may last for two to three years. 

Finally, the thread lift procedure is low-risk. Moreover, if you like the results of your thread lift, you can opt to have a fresh set of temporary sutures placed under your skin. Once your body absorbs the old sutures, your surgeon will place the new set.

Thread Lift After Treatment Care

You should take good care of your skin to notice the desired results and keep away the risks.

Also, follow the instructions below for faster healing.

• Avoid direct exposure to direct sun. Always apply sunscreen having SPF30+ before stepping out in the sun. This will save your facial skin from inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
• Wash your face gently. Avoid rubbing or exfoliating for one or two weeks.
• Do not open your mouth wide. Try having small bites of food.
• Take medicines as prescribed by your doctor. 
• Do not consume alcohol before or after the procedure.
• Avoid drugs and vitamins that may cause thinning of the blood, like steroids, Vit A, C and E for a few days.
• Stay away from steam baths as they have very high temperatures or go in extremely cold temperatures.
• Do not indulge in vigorous exercises and workout for a week after the surgery.

As thread lift surgery is minimally invasive, it does not include deep-tissue manipulation. Hence, experts consider it as an easy facial rejuvenation option. 

Moreover, the procedure usually stimulates blood flow and leads to collagen deposition resulting in firm, healthy, and uplifted skin. To get a new look and enhance your personality, call your doctor today.