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What is the Best Alternative to a Face Lift?

rather than get face lift i would prefer a nonsurgical treatment. what do the doctors say works best for sag in jowls and loose neck skin.

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alternative non surgical

The long journey to beautiful skin

Easy things you can do: 1. Don't smoke. Smokers appear years older than their non-smoking piers. 2. Avoid sun. Sunscreen applied once to twice daily reduces sun exposure, but probably only 80%. Golfers, horse riders, swimmers, tennis players especially beware: cover up as much as possible with hats and long sleeves in addition to using sunscreen. 3. Use a good and regular skin care regimen daily to exfoliate 4. Exfoliate monthly with a facial or microdermabrasion 5. Ask your doctor... more

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Brent Moelleken, MD

Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Alternatives to a Facelift - What can work and When

Surgical or even non-surgical treatment of facial aging changes must be carefully individualized to match each patient's aesthetic needs and desires. In helping a patient to make decisions about plastic surgery for facial rejuvenation, I always examine and assess how each aesthetic area or 'unit' of the face contributes to an individual's overall appearance: the brows and eyelids, the cheeks or 'midface', the lower face and chin, and the neck. An individualized plan... more

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Michael Law, MD

Raleigh-Durham Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Non-surgical facelifts

If you have any sag or lax skin in your jawline or neck, a facelift is the only good option. Non-invasive, topical, or minimally invasive procedures such as Thermage, or fractional laser just do not have the degree of effect that most patients need or desire. These minimally invasive procedures have the best effect on patients that don't really need much of anything done. Once the skin, muscle and fat in the face is sagging, surgery is really the only effective option. more

Patti A. Flint, MD

Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Non-surgical facelift alternatives

Many physician offices and medical spas will promise you that they can improve the jowls and neck line with different treatments including fillers, lasers, ultrasonic devices and radiofrequency treatment. Many of these approaches require multiple visits and give very modest results. My advice is if you are looking to avoid surgery, explore why that is and see if you can address your specific concerns. Realistically, anything short of a true facelift will leave you... more

Paul K. Holden, MD

Phoenix Facial Plastic Surgeon

Alternative Facelift

Today there's many things available to stave off surgery for facial rejuvenation. Nothing can be as long lasting nor as effective as a Facelift if you have significant jowling and your aging is very noticeable but there are some great alternatives that you may find relative improvements in. A great example is Botox, it can be used to raise the corner of your eyebrows, it can be combined with fillers to make wrinkles soften and it can be used in combination with fillers for what some market... more

Ricardo A. Meade, MD

Dallas Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Don't waste money on facelift alternatives if sagging is significant

If you have significant jowling or neck sagging DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY on non- surgical procedures. You can have a minilift procedure under local anesthesia with long lasting results. To my knowledge there are no good alternatives to a mini or facelift. Best, Dr. S.

Doctor's Website

Oleh Slupchynskyj, MD

New York Facial Plastic Surgeon

Alternatives to a face lift

A facelift, like any decision to have surgery, is a big decision. But it can be very beneficial a procedure to restore the appearance of youth to your face, and tighten skin and underlying fatty tissue and muscles beneath the neck and face. Typically, a face lift is a good option when you have sagging or excess skin along the jaw line and lower face. A facelift can help to rejuvenate these areas and turn back the clock. But if you don't wish to have surgery, there are at least some... more

Scott W. Mosser, MD

San Francisco Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Botox, Fillers, IPL, Fraxel and relgiously adhering to a skin care protocol

One of our most common questions is: "What can I do if I am not ready for a facelift?" There are many wonderful alternatives, each of which addresses a specific concern. When combined, some of these minimally invasive techniques such as Botox, fillers, IPL, Fraxel and Smartlipo of the neck can actually rejuvenate the face significantly. However, none of them can give the result of an actual facelift. Without exception, these non-invasive techniques require periodic re-treatments.... more

Francisco Canales, MD

Santa Rosa Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

The best alternatives are combinations of non-surgical treatments-botox, fillers, Titan, resurfacing

In my practice, I call this "the holding pattern," where all efforts are made to keep the skin up and tight against the bony contours of the face and neck, using non-surgical technologies to encourage the skin to stay in a position in which the face, jawline and neck contours are "held" up and preserved. This can be done by stimulating collagen or filling in areas of volume loss of the face, as well as polishing the surface of the skin to make it look reflective and... more

Christine A. Petti, MD

Torrance Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

The best alternative to a face lift depends on the patient.

For some patients there is no best alternative. To get what they want they need a face lift. For others there are a range of non surgical treatments that can rejuvenate the face very effectively and very safely. Often the face lift is combined with these non surgical treatments. As we age we accumulate a set of visual clues to how old we are. These clues have multiple causes and have a very gradual onset. Some of these visual clues are the result of environmental injury to the skin. This is... more

Robert Swanson, MD

Bay Area General Surgeon

A deep plane face lift, skillfully performed, along with...

A deep plane face lift, skillfully performed, along with platysmaplasty, smooths sagging platysmal bands (the 'turkey gobble'), removes excess skin while tightening the deeper tissues of the neck and jowls, and lifts the malar fat pad. While there is no substitute to a face lift, in terms of the degree and duration of correction, minimally invasive techniques are available to effectively 'renew' the face. Injectables such as Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesse, and... more

John M. Roesler, MD

Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

Laxity or sagging of the skin caused by aging or weight...

Laxity or sagging of the skin caused by aging or weight loss is best corrected with a standard facelift procedure that involves redraping and tightening of the facial tissues and excision of redundant, or extra, skin. Lesser invasive procedures like threadlifts, radiofrequency tightening, or procedures to lift the face touted as “no downtime” or “lunchtime facelifts” generally do not produce as long-lasting or satisfying results as the traditional facelift. Neck... more

Jennifer Walden, MD

Austin Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Fillers are best option to surgical facelift.

All cosmetic physicians are looking for that non-surgical option to achieve the same results as a facelift. A variety of options exists out there including Titan, Thermage and now Ulthera. Unfortunately, none of them have shown consistently good results. Most are subtle and often patients will see no improvement whatsoever. Nevertheless, of these Thermage probably has often the most consistent result over time. Ulthera, unfortunately, has not borne up to its initial good results and has been... more

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Mark Hamilton, MD

Indianapolis Facial Plastic Surgeon

Non-surgical options

In general, aging is caused by a combination of gravity pulling normal structures down, and fat loss in the face. Plastic surgery procedures seek to correct these changes. A facelift will structures back up to their more youthful position. Fat grafting which is often done in conjunction with facelift, helps fill areas of hollowing. In general, there is no good minimally invasive quick fix for jowels and loose skin which usually require a facelift and necklift. The best... more

Catherine Huang-Begovic, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Options to a Facelift

Unfortunately, sagging of the jowls and loose skin are typically best addressed by some form of a facelift. Liposuction of the neck can be a great option for a double chin. While liposuction often results in some skin tightening, it is not the best technique for loose skin. Fillers such Restylane, Juvederm, and Radiesse may be helpful, but they have their limits for loose jowls and skin. Be cautious about the nonsurgical facelift options that may be out there,... more

Michael Vincent, MD

Rockville Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

You're Barking up the Wrong Tree

If you have significant sagging of the jawline or neck, you will probably be disappointed with anything less than a surgical procedure. Non-surgical options are simply not strong enough to deliver correction of significant sagging.

George Sanders, MD

Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Face Lift without surgery or downtime

Although fillers may be able to somewhat camouflage the appearance of (early) jowling, they really are not the answer to what is essentially a "gravity"-related problem. The real fix for lax skin and muscle is to tighten these layers and remove any excess skin. Non-surgical treatments cannot remove excess skin and they have had a mixed record with the tightening effect they provide. However, a new device called Ultherapy has recently come on the market as a non-surgical device... more

Haresh Yalamanchili, MD

Houston Facial Plastic Surgeon

Choose the suitable treatment

Your particular concerns are exactly what a facelift would help to address. While laser or chemical skin resurfacing can help superficially tighten and smoothen the skin, it won't help to relieve jowls or improve your lower face and neck. Fillers are not the answer here either. Submental liposuction and a neck lift might help to better enhance your jawline, but it is difficult for me to say without having seen pictures or examined you.

Corey S. Maas, MD

San Francisco Facial Plastic Surgeon

Thermage and liposuction for very early signs of aging

For early changes in the jawline and neck, Thermage and Liposuction are available. However, dependig on your age and the degree of loose skin, taking shortcuts offer limited results.

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Peter Schmid, DO

Longmont Facial Plastic Surgeon

Alternatives to Facelift

There are several options one can consider for nonsurgical facelift alternatives. Fillers- be prepared if one has deep jowls and hollowness of the cheeks, 6-8 cc's of filler may be necessary to achieve your goal. of course you do not have to do them all at once, unless you desire. Carbon dioxide laser has been often referred to as non surgical- I put it in between. the procedure is a great tool for smoothing and tightening fair skin people with lots of sun damage. I... more

Brian Maloney, MD

Atlanta Facial Plastic Surgeon

Alternative to facelifts

If your facial skin is sagging due to age, genetics and possibly a harsh environment......your only option is some degree of facelifting......anything else will be stop-gap in nature and dissappointing.....and inevitably a waste of money. Whenever someone recommends something as better than or preferrable to a facelift......make sure that they also do excellent face lifts and have the ability to do everything, and are just making a suggestion that is truly in your best interest... more

Richard Galitz, MD

Miami Facial Plastic Surgeon

Non-Surgical Options to Facelift

The answer depends on the following; your desires and expectations, underlying bony anatomy the tissue features, skin quality and firmness and the amount of time you can be away from work And these are the possible non-surgical options; Good Skin care regimen Botox and fillers Laser treatment combination of all above Lastly, If a face lift is needed, usually that is the best option if it is done by an excellent surgeon... more

Ali Sajjadian, MD

Orange County Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Best Facelift Alternative

Facelifts effectively treat sagging jawlines and necklines. There are really no nonsurgical procedures that can create similar results. I would consider why you are seeking a facelift alternative- is it due to incisions? There are quite effective ways to perform face and neck lift with well-hidden incisions, and sometimes none at all in front of the ears! Is it due to recovery time? Many nonsurgical treatments, such as aggressive injectable fillers or lasers, have a recovery time up to a... more

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Laxmeesh Mike Nayak, MD

Saint Louis Facial Plastic Surgeon

Alternative treatment to a face lift

Face lift surgery involves several hours of surgery and approximately 1 to 2 week recovery time. While the results are worth it, many patients don't need one or just plane don't want to undergo the procedure. Alternatives to face lifting include Thermage, liquid face lifts with multiple fillers and Botox and Dysport. None of these products give you a face lift , but they do provide a nice alternative . Fillers include Restylane,Perlane, Radiesse, Juvederm and Sculptra. Your physician is... more

Carlos Wolf, MD

Miami Facial Plastic Surgeon

Non surgical facelift alternatives

Non-surgical alternatives to facelifts are numerous and evolving. As we age, we do lose volume in the face, and so fat grafting or fillers can work nicely to improve facial contour non-surgically. In some cases, judicious use of botulinum toxin (type A) can help reduce wrinkles in some areas. Rejuvenation of the skin with a fractionated laser peel and/or IPL can improve fine lines and color abnormalities. However, none of these will reduce excess skin, as you describe. A personal... more