As we grow older, there are many different signs of aging which can impact our appearance and our confidence. One of the most common is loose and sagging skin, which can make you look older than you actually are and highlight fine lines, wrinkles, and folds. While aging is a natural process, you now have an effective option to lift and smooth sagging skin and reclaim your youthful appearance without expensive surgery. At RefineU MedSpa in Oklahoma City, OK, we’re proud to offer the thread face lift, which is designed to restore your skin from the inside-out.
What Is a Thread Face Lift?
A thread face lift is one of the newest non-surgical ways to get tighter skin, smooth away wrinkles, and help manage common signs of aging in one easy step. This minimally invasive technique helps lift and rejuvenate the skin by injecting thin threads into the dermis, which is the second layer of skin. Once injected, the threads help gently pull the skin into a new structure, which in turn improves the overall appearance of your skin by minimizing lines, wrinkles, and areas that have lost their elasticity.
The threads are invisible to the eye once placed in your skin and safely dissolve over time. In addition to a physical lift, the threads help stimulate your body’s collagen production. Collagen, often referred to as the framework of the skin, begins to break down as you grow older and your body’s natural production of this vital protein slows.
This is the leading cause of skin laxity, but once threads are injected, your body responds to the presence of a foreign entity by producing more collagen, which helps enhance your final appearance and extends the average results our patients experience.
What Are the Benefits?
If you’re unsatisfied with the appearance of lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin on your face and jawline but don’t want to pursue surgery, this treatment offers you excellent, long-lasting results with minimal downtime. We have different treatment options to fit your unique needs, and one of our skilled doctors will help you determine which lift will deliver your ideal results. Treatment involves little to no discomfort, and your recovery time is significantly shorter than that of traditional surgery.
The added benefit of collagen production means that your results will last longer than most skin rejuvenation treatments. Most patients see instant, noticeable results and receive a significant boost to their self-esteem from the natural, youthful lift created by this treatment. Finally, once the threads have safely dissolved, you are able to pursue follow-up treatment to maintain your ideal image and build on the success of your first treatment.
How Long Does a Thread Lift Take?
You may be wondering how long a treatment option with such fantastic results can take. The good news is that most of our patients are in our office for less than 1 hour for their thread face lift appointment. The process of injecting the threads into your skin is fairly quick, which allows you to return to your normal routine immediately. This makes thread lift treatment a skin rejuvenation treatment that’s sure to fit into every busy schedule.
How Does a Thread Lift Compare to a Facelift?
In general, a traditional facelift and a thread face lift have the same goals: to restore a younger appearance by lifting the skin, erasing lines and wrinkles, and minimizing loose and sagging skin. The main differences are the risks involved, the recovery time, and the final results associated with each treatment.
While a facelift is the longest-lasting procedure available to address signs of aging, it is not permanent and comes with a variety of risks due to its nature as a major surgery. In addition, it requires several weeks of downtime and can put your life on hold for a significant amount of time.
Thread lifts offer results which last, on average, about 2 years. However, treatment is fast, easy, and far less expensive than a face lift surgery. Most patients report feeling no pain during treatment, and the normal recovery time is much shorter. Results are visible instantly and improve over time, and you’ll be able to return to all of your normal day-to-day activities without skipping a beat.
Which Thread Lift Treatments Are Available?
We offer different treatment options to ensure that our patients have access to the thread lift that is right for them.
NovaThreads PDO Thread Lift
This type of thread lift involves PDO (or polydioxanone) threads, which are in the same category as the threads used in cardiovascular procedures. They are able to effectively contour your skin and are absorbed by the body as time passes, leaving your skin looking refreshed thanks to new collagen production. These threads are typically placed at a sub-dermal level.
MINT (Minimally Invasive Nonsurgical Thread) PDO Thread Lift
These FDA-approved threads are considered stronger than many other options, which makes them perfect for lifting sagging skin on the face and neck as well as on other areas of the body. The threads dissolve over a period of about 6 months. If you have questions about where these threads can be used, one of our doctors can help you determine whether this lift is right for you.
Silhouette InstaLift
This technique uses PLGA (polyglycolide/L-lactide) sutures to create a natural lift in the skin. The threads include tiny cone shapes along their length, which act as an anchor in the skin and help hold the shape of your skin’s new contours. These threads are often used to improve the appearance of the jawline, brow area, neck, and midface.
What Are the Different Types of Thread?
There are three main types of thread used during treatment. Barb threads, which include tiny barbs running up and down the thread, are ideal for anchoring into the skin and creating a solid lift in the face and neck, as well as in other areas of the body. Smooth threads are often injected in a strategic pattern to help encourage collagen production and create a supportive framework to address skin laxity issues in smoother skin around the mouth, in the cheeks, around the eyes, and on the neck.
Finally, twist threads, which are the thickest type of thread, are an excellent choice for areas like the forehead, lips, nasolabial folds (also called smile or laugh lines around the nose and mouth), and the neck. These threads help support areas with thicker skin and deeper folds while stimulating collagen to prolong the lift after the threads have dissolved. During your initial consultation, one of our doctors will help you determine which thread type can best address your unique concerns.
Who Is an Ideal Candidate?
In general, this treatment is safe and effective for almost every patient, skin tone, and skin type. While many patients are over 40 years old, we find that this treatment is ideal for adults of all ages who wish to minimize signs of aging, especially loose skin, through non-surgical methods.
The ideal candidate is generally healthy and has mild to moderate loose or sagging skin in the facial region. This treatment may not be ideal for patients with bleeding disorders or with excess loose skin caused by weight loss. One of our doctors can help you determine your candidacy for treatment during your initial consultation.
Treatment Process
When you choose to pursue a thread lift with our office, our dedicated staff will be there to walk with you every step of the way! Here’s a general idea of what you can expect during the treatment process.
Consultation
We always begin with an initial consultation, which allows one of our doctors to answer any questions you may have as well as examine your skin to determine whether this treatment is right for you. You should be prepared to disclose your medical history and any medications you take regularly.
You may be asked to stop taking certain medications for a brief period of time to minimize your risk for bleeding and bruising during treatment. Once your doctor has approved you for a thread lift, you can begin looking forward to your appointment!
Treatment
We recommend that you avoid wearing makeup on the day of your appointment. Your doctor will cleanse your skin and use a numbing agent to ensure your comfort during injections. They will then use a special needle to inject the threads into the predetermined target area, pull gently on the end of the thread to tighten and lift the surrounding skin, then cut the thread so that it becomes completely invisible under your skin. Depending on the areas treated, this process usually takes up to 1 hour.
Once your doctor is finished, you’ll be able to see the instant results of your treatment. You should notice that your face appears lifted and more youthful. Your skin in the treated areas should be smoother, and lines and wrinkles should be less noticeable. You can return to your normal activities right after treatment.
Results
You may experience some mild tenderness, which is normal, for the first several days after treatment, and you should not touch or rub your face to avoid displacing the threads or irritating the treated areas. For most of our patients, recovery takes less than a week. After this point, they can enjoy their new lift. Thanks to the discreet threads placed under your skin, no one will be able to tell that you had a treatment performed unless you choose to tell them. The threads will continue to support your skin and trigger collagen production for 4-8 months before dissolving completely.
After this point, the collagen in your skin will keep the treated areas looking smoother and tighter than before. As the aging process continues, this collagen will break down and you will begin to notice some signs of aging returning. In general, our patients see excellent results for 1-3 years before this process begins. Most of our patients opt to return to for follow-up injections to maintain their ideal image and keep their skin looking its best.
Contact Us to Learn More!
If you’re ready to say goodbye to loose skin, lines, and wrinkles in one simple, non-surgical step, a thread face lift could be the treatment you’ve been waiting for! To learn more about this option and how it could transform your skin, contact us at RefineU MedSpa in Oklahoma City, OK, to schedule an initial consultation today! We look forward to serving you and helping you reach your cosmetic goals!
