Question
What are the best alternatives to a face lift?
Answers (40)
Sort by: Most recent | Most helpful
1
5 months ago
Improving your smile goes a long way in overall appearance
Answer by Matt Walton, DMD
A recent national survey by the American Dental Association, Crest®, and Oral B® found that the smile is what people find most attractive in others. The smile outranked eyes, hair, and the body as the most attractive physical feature in other people. Both men and women both ranked the smile as the most attractive feature in the opposite sex.
That being said, an improvement in your smile can be achieved, in most cases, at a fraction of the cost of a face lift. Porcelain veneers, for example, are an option that can make your teeth and smile more attractive in a very short amount of time. The disadvantage to veneers is that they have to be replaced after a period of time, therefore increasing the overall lifetime cost. On the other hand, you may want to consider orthodontics. I have a bias for orthodotnics since I am an orthodontist. I see amazing transformations in smiles and overall facial appearance everyday.
As we age, the dental arches (upper and lower teeth) tend to collapse-in towards the tongue causing the the teeth to become crowded. Support of facial tissues in the area around the mouth are therefore adversely affected. This occurs whether you had braces previously or not. Since the teeth are a large contributor to facial support, especially in the area of the upper lip, re-alignment of the teeth and width expansion of smile zone can add rejuventaion and a more youthfull appearance to your smile and face. Everyone has seen what occurs to the face when a denture-wearing individual removes their dentures. The face totally collapses.
Best of all, your smile should last the rest of your lifetime as long as retention recommendations are followed.
2
6 months ago
Facial fillers, Botox and Thermage - Liquid face lift
If one is not ready for a facelift, we still can offer improvement. Liquid facelift is the answer.
Properly performed by an experienced plastic surgeon, a liquid facelift can eliminate or postpone the need for a surgical procedure. It is usually a combination of Botox and facial filler, such as Restylane, Radiesse etc.
Liquid facelift can be combined with a skin tightening procedure - Thermage.
3
6 months ago
The nonsurgical facelift
A facelift is typical a procedure to tighten both the skin and the underlying fatty tissue and muscle of the face and the neck to restore a youthful appearance to the face. One aspect of facial aging is loss of facial fat and this can be restored with the use of Fillers like Juvederm, which is placed in discreet areas to improve certain lines and wrinkles.
A volumizer like Sculptra can also be used perhaps more effectively to restore volume that is lost with aging. It is used over a larger area than the fillers and can in some cases give the appearance of having had a facelift because the skin is filled out rather than pulled tight. It may be more appropriate for those patients whose primary problem is loss of facial fat rather than laxity. Everyone has a combination of problems but sometimes one problem is prevalent to a greater degree.
Some patients are candidates for Thermage which can be used to tighten the skin and which can be used in conjunction with both the fillers and the volumizers. Thermage does rely on the ability of the skin to produce collagen and this creates tightening. You do have to wait about 4 months or so to see the results and the effect will vary from person to person.
In some cases a short scar facelift is ideal because it gives the results of a traditional facelift with a shorted scar and a shorter recovery and it can be performed in some cases under local anesthesia or very light sedation so the recovery time is shorter.
4
6 months ago
A true professional will help you sort through the alternatives
Ultimately we are all desirous of a more youthful look with classic signs of beauty and attractiveness. This is often interpreted as "tighter skin". This may or may not be true. Aging is a complex process of shifing tissues, skin laxity, some loss of tissue volume and a confidence and demeanor that goes beyond physical appearance.
A true professional consultation will sort out these elements and combined with our desires formulate a plan that may have several alternatives. It may involve one of several surgical procedures of the face. It may involve lasers, Botox, fillers such as Juvederm and possibly radiofrequency technology as well. Consult with a physician that can sort through the various possibilities. If the physician has only one, non-surgical alternative then be careful. When your only tool is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.
5
6 months ago
What do you consider a face lift?
A familar situation that recurs in my practice is the confusion over what a facelift actually achieves.
From a plastic surgeon perspective, this usually means operating to achieve improvments in the lower face and jawline regions.
From a patient perspective, they tend to believe it treats all aspects of the head & neck. For example they believe a facelift includes a forehead lift, upper eyelids, lower eyelids, cheeks, areas around the mouth, jawline, chin, and neck. many also believe this should include treating the skin.
Of course, each of these areas can be addressed but it inlvolves MUCH more than just a facelift.
Depending on what you want treated each of these areas can be treated using different techniques which include a variety of non-surgical modalities.
It would be best to specifically identify which areas concern so that those options can be reviewed in greater detail.
Comment on this
181 posts
19 Nov 2007
There are many alternatives to a traditional surgical facelift. Many people do not want to have surgery, general anesthesia, the down time, or a certain "post-facelift" look that sometimes occurs. Usually, the woman or man wants to lift sagging tissues, lessen large folds, lessen wrinkles, get rid of jowls, tighten the chin and neck skin, and open the eyes more. Several procedures offer nice results in these areas, and I have found (as have many doctors) that combination therapy of two or more treatment types works best. One powerful combination therapy to lift sagging skin, restore elasticity, greatly reduce wrinkles and folds is: New Tip Face and Neck Thermage and Rhytec's Face and Neck Portrait Skin Regeneration. The skin shows remarkable tightening, lifting, and smoothing with this combo, better than with either procedure alone. The smoothing of the skin, pore reduction, elimination of "crepe-paper" eyelids and under-eyes, and elimination or reduction of lines around the mouth cannot be achieved with a traditional surgical facelift. Surgical facelifting usually doesn't get rid of the folds called "nasolabial folds," leaving the patient bewildered and angry. Barbed suture lifting can be added to Thermage and Portrait for additional lifting of sagging skin. Suture lifts on their own, as a single treatment do not produce satisfactory results. Filler material is very useful for volume correction and restoration of youthful proportions in the face. As we age, we all lose subcutaneous fat from the face, leaving it more gaunt and in some, more "skeletal" looking. Many fillers can be used to correct this, including Sculptra, Radiesse, Juvederm, and others. This volume correction is wonderful for cheeks, "apples" of cheeks, temples, under the eyes, at the chin, and elsewhere. Filler therapy can be combined with all of the above procedures to result in a natural, restored, more youthful look. In some instances, only surgery wil produce the desired look. An individual may have profound laxity or a deformity that only surgery will correct. Some people want their skin pulled "very tight," and fortunately, only surgery can give you "drum tight" skin. Some people simply prefer surgery, for their own reasons.
154 posts
16 Nov 2008
The panel members have provided quite an extensive review of options and are a wealth of information. Before considering whether or not you are a candidate for a face lift, you may want to consider how newer techniques and concepts with Botox Cosmetic and fillers (ex: Juvederm, Perlane, Restylane) may address your goals. At the very least, using injectables may delay a future face lift. In many situations, the aging face is better addressed by replacing volume and reshaping the face. Merely pulling one's skin tighter without addressing the lack of volume and shape will not achieve the same appealing, natural look.
30 posts
4 Sep 2008
With age your skin starts sagging because of collagen and hyaluronic acid loss. The reason: hornone levels decline. Therefore, to lift your sagging skin you have 4 nonsurgical options: Improve your hormone balance with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Restore lost volume with fillers like Restylane or Juvederm. Improve your skin tone with skin tightening treatments or resurfacing procedures e.g. Thermage, IPL etc. Pull up your skin with Thread lift. The choice depends on the main reason of skin sagging: hormonal loss, volume loss or loose skin. Combination of treatment works very well.
37 posts
31 Jul 2007
To understand how to avoid a face lift, we need to see what causes us to need a face lift. As we age, the Dermis (the deepest layer of skin) produces less and less collagen. That, in turn, causes weaker structural support for the skin as a whole, and thinning and weakening of the Dermis, in particular. Weaker, thinner skin is more prone to damage from gravity, time, and a host of oxidizing agents (Remember porphyrins? Add environmental pollutants and a planet without an ozone layer and you have a recipe for skin disaster!). Result: sagging and wrinkling. Start with a basic, consistent skin care regimen. Exfoliate (professionally, once a month), cleanse and moisturize twice a day, and sunscreen EVERY DAY, rain or shine. Start Botox in your 30s or early 40s, to PREVENT furrows from forming at the Crows Feet, between the eyebrows (Glabella) and on the forehead. Botox weakens the underlying facial muscles so that repetitively scrunching and squinting and frowning hundreds of times a day doesn’t lead to permanent wrinkles. Those wrinkles simply disappeared when we were young, but the thin, brittle Dermis holds wrinkle patterns as we age. Finally, start getting Cutera Titan skin tightening in your late 30s, too. The initial treatment consists of 3 monthly sessions, with 3 passes over each area per session.
17 posts
21 Jun 2008
Obviously patients with severe sagging will be more satisfied with a traditional facelift. Non surgical alternatives to face lift are suitable option for patients with mild to moderate sagging, fine and deep wrinkles and surface skin conditions such as poor texture, brown spots etc. While there are several resurfacing and tightening options availble, I have had tremendous success with Plasma Skin regeneration. I have treated dozens of patients with mild to moderate facial aging (wrinkles, sagging, jowls, saggy eyelids, poor texture, brown spots) There are several advantages of Rghtec Plasma Portrait skin regeneration. It is minimally invasive and non surgical . No general Anesthesia Done in Physician's office under local anesthesia with or without a sedative rapid recovery (8 to 10 days) compared to some traditional ablative lasers (6 to 8 weeks with CO2 laser) Safe and effective for use on non facial areas such as neck, chest, hands. Due to its unique thermal profile, plasma energy produces consistant results in improving skin tone, elasticilty and deep wrinkles along with treating superficail skin lesions such as Actinic keratosis, solar brown spots etc. It is safe and effective on many skin types including darker skin. Can be done in specific areas only (e.g around eyes, or around mouth) in some patients who have good overall facial tone and elasticity. Several treatment protocols are available to treat different types of skin conditions. In my practice, and talking to other physicians around the country with Plasma Portrait experience, patients have a very high degree of satisfaction for eyelid sagging, jowls, deep wrinkles, surface skin conditions with this procedure. In my opinion, this treatment done as a single session for $4000 to $5000 for face and neck is the best option for anyone looking for NON SURGICAL facial tightening, deep wrinkle and surface lesion treatment.
27 posts
31 Jul 2008
Botox/Fillers along with the Total FX laser resurfacing which includes Active / Deep FX fractional. Fractional CO2 seems to offer the option to safely improve texture, tighten skin, and improve dsychromia. In my opinion, this is the best alternative to a face lift however, may complement it. In terms of wavelength CO2 is still the GOLD standard fractional or not.