As the pandemic has canceled events and appearances and delayed filming schedules, some celebrities, including Eva Mendes, have taken advantage of the ample downtime to have work done. Taking to Instagram with a graphic photo of the treatment, the 45-year-old actress shared her experience having a mono thread lift. The post received more than 85,000 likes, but many of her followers were confused by it, unsure of what a thread lift is or why Mendes would get one.
What is a thread lift?
The nonsurgical facial rejuvenation procedure has gained popularity in recent years for its ability to temporarily lift the skin and subcutaneous tissue and boost collagen production and firmness. The process involves passing small, dissolvable threads beneath the skin’s surface; when appropriately positioned, they will offer a more lifted, toned appearance, especially around the jowls and and in the mid- and lower face. “Ideal candidates are patients looking for very minimal change to help lift the skin, but ‘minimal’ is the key word,” explains Dr. Deepak Raj Dugar, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California. “The results are, without a doubt, very temporary and can cause side effects such as thread extrusion, or cosmetic show of the thread, through the skin if injected inappropriately.”
Thread lifts can, technically, be performed anywhere in the face or neck, but the surgeon advises avoiding the under-eye, nose, and temple regions. “These areas have thinner skin, and threads, when done inappropriately, can show significantly through the skin and have adverse cosmetic effects,” Dr. Dugar advises. “We don’t recommend threads often to our patients, but when used carefully by a very skilled practitioner, they can have some benefit, temporarily.”
A mono thread lift, like Mendes had, uses smooth threads rather than those with barbed edges, which tend to pull more. “The concept of mono threads is to give subcutaneous support to the skin, without major pulling effect,” Dr. Dugar says. He gets the impression that in opting for a thread lift, Mendes was looking to keep the skin on her neck from sagging. “I assume the goal was to give some subcutaneous support to her neck—however, I would be cautious to recommend this treatment to patients, ever,” he notes, pointing to laser therapy as a more suitable option. “Threads in the neck are much less studied and don’t have widely confirmed evidence of much effect.”
For those interested in a thread lift, consulting a medical professional is imperative. “I believe doctors, nurses, and nurse practitioners can all be skilled enough to perform this,” Dr. Dugar explains. “But my strongly worded caveat is that I do not think threads are the wave of the future. I think they are simply one of many tools cosmetic practitioners have and would not be my first or second or even third tool in managing anti-aging for my patients.”
