The Truth About A Liquid Facelift
A liquid facelift is a temporary measure to make small repairs to the canvas. It is misguided to refer to it as a facelift surgery because it will not restore the tone of sagging facial skin.
Online, February 12, 2010 (Newswire.com)
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A "liquid facelift" is a beguiling misnomer meant to deceive people who are reluctant to get surgery. The idea is that with injectible fillers such as Restylane or Captique and with dynamic wrinkle reducers such as Botox, you can achieve the same effects as a facelift. Now, let me present you with an analogy. Let's say that you needed to erect a tent that had a well worn canvas. The tent bows in the middle and sags in on the sides so that it minimizes the space you have to use. How would you fix it? Yes, you can stretch the fabric better and repair any holes but at some point, you have to get a new framework to stretch the tent over, because no matter how many adjustments you make to the canvas, the tent will not be useful unless you update the framework.
A liquid facelift is a temporary measure to make small repairs to the canvas. It is misguided to refer to it as a facelift because it will not restore the tone of sagging facial skin. The only way to do that appropriately is to perform a facelift. This procedure is accomplished by lifting deeper tissue under the skin and removing excess skin to restore the balance of a youthful face. The features one can expect with a facelift includes a well defined jawline and the absence of sagging neck skin. I am a strong believer in injectibles and they can be used to maintain a youthful appearance. I use Botox, Dysport, Juvederm and Radiesse in my practice daily. However, they have been oversold by those who don't perform surgical facelifts- often to keep their clients scared of surgery and insure that patients come back for an endless series of injections.
No matter how expertly you place fillers or Botox, you will not be able to retrieve a sharp jawline or smooth out sagging skin over the jowls or neck. You will need to update the framework. There has been tremendous development in the field of facelifting surgery and when patients do the research, they usually learn that their fears of surgery can be allayed by some of the modifications that have been made in the recent past. First of all, about 90% of my patients have surgery with local anesthesia, and IV sedation. This modification alone drastically reduces the recovery time after surgery. Most of my patients can return to their normal lifestyles within 5 to 7 days. Secondly, the lift is pulled upwards rather than outwards, as was done in the past, so that a result is a natural appearance which takes about ten years off of your face rather than the wind tunnel look that looks like you had a facelift. Lastly, we have learned how to adjust our techniques and depth of facelift surgery to the individual patient in terms of how much they need and what their desired goals may be. This last technique is quite exciting for most of my patients and usually convinces them that facelift surgery is the procedure that they would like to have.
In short, a "liquid facelift" is a cute name for a series of fillers and Botox injected into several strategic areas of the face that can smooth out a few deep furrows but will not truly rejuvenate your face like a facelift will. Injectibles play a major role in helping to preserve your youthful appearance if the underlying framework is intact. However, once you get to the point that you have loose skin over your jawline, bags drooping under your eyes, loose skin on your neck, and deep marionette lines and furrows, a "liquid facelift" is about as useful as using a good moisturizer. You will see some changes in the skin, but no change in the architecture of your face. What good is smoother skin over a misshapen framework?
Now that there have been so many updates to the world of facelift surgery, there is no reason not to do your research, interview a few surgeons and then carefully select the right one for you. You will be thrilled with the results of your youthful appearance and your only regret will be that you waited too long to do it.