Alternatives to Traditional Facelifts

We’re all familiar with the facelift. It’s the quintessential plastic surgery procedure. Traditionally, a face lift involves the incision of the skin, followed by its removal and tightening. The intention is to tighten out wrinkles in the skin and make the patient look younger. It’s a very intensive procedure with a long recovery time, but it has a lot of history and a lot of support. Many turn to it for their first or only plastic surgery procedure.

Fortunately, there’s an alternative that’s much easier on the skin and the wallet. Alternatives to the facelift are often nothing more than cosmetics or moisturizers. Previously, the only definitively-effective alternative was a botox injection. While these also have their place, they don’t provide the same effect as a facelift and aren’t what people are generally angling for when they pursue cosmetic surgery.

 
Entering the market and general practice as a viable new alternative to the traditional facelift is the laser facelift. Expert and practitioner Dr. Ajaka says the laser facelift is an effective alternative to the traditional facelift. Rather than utilizing invasive incisions, the laser facelift uses small incision points behind the ears and under the chin. The scarring is reported to be minimal and temporary, and the locations for it are of course out of sight.

The laser facelift isn’t a surgical procedure in the same way as a traditional facelift. In lieu of deep incisions used to pull the skin tight, the incisions are made to insert a thin fiber under the surface of the skin. This fiber channels a laser where the surgeon places it. The effect of the laser is threefold. First, it warms up and rejuvenates the deeper tissues of the skin. Second, infrared laser breaks excess fat in the face down easily, which does a lot to eliminate wrinkles. Finally, the laser causes the collagen fibers under the skin to tighten. All these elements work together to make the skin look younger and healthier. The ultimate result is somewhat milder than a traditional facelift, but still a marked difference when compared to the gradual or invisible effects of long-term cosmetic treatment.

The ultimate result is a much nicer alternative to the traditional facelift. Because the incisions are only wide enough to a laser fiber, they are much easier to recover from than the incisions used in a traditional facelift. While a traditional facelift requires that the patient be put completely out with general anesthetic, a laser facelift only requires local anesthetics to numb the skin where the procedure is performed. This means that the long recovery time of the facelift is replaced by just a day or two off of work or other strenuous activity, and it also makes it a much safer procedure.

All in all, laser facelifts are the wave of the future. They’re an excellent alternative to the traditional facelift. While traditional facelifts will always have their place in plastic surgery, they do require a certain commitment of downtime and preparation that many are unwilling to commit to. For those looking to take care of jowls, chubby cheeks or other consequences of loose skin, it makes for an excellent middle-road option that will make a marked and immediate difference without requiring them to go all the way under the knife.

*Image courtesy of Common Creative Images