The Liquid Facelift: Boost Your Look Without Surgery

They say with age comes wisdom, but it also brings along some changes in our appearance that aren’t quite as exciting. Many of our clients would love a more youthful look, but don’t like the idea of surgery. With a liquid facelift, we can provide you with a more youthful look and all these procedures are surgery-free and minimally invasive.

What Is A Liquid Facelift?

A liquid facelift is a process by which we use dermal fillers to alter the appearance of your face. These dermal fillers can be used to lessen the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, add volume to the cheeks and lips and even improve the appearance of your nose, chin, and jawline.

What Are Dermal Fillers?

There are several different types of dermal fillers and the type we provide is made using hyaluronic acid. You may have heard about this substance before, as it is commonly used for many facial serums. Hyaluronic acid is a substance found naturally in our bodies, including our skin, but also many other areas of the body, including the eyes and the joints.

Hyaluronic acid acts as a lubricant. It helps keep our eyes moist and provides shock absorption for our joints as well as helping to reduce inflammation in the joints. When it comes to the skin, it is a substance that helps our collagen retain moisture. As we age, there is a reduction in the amount of hyaluronic acid we produce, as well as in collagen production. Hyaluronic acid helps keep collagen moisturized, so when hyaluronic acid production diminishes, that’s when you start to see the formation of those fine lines. You also might notice that your lips and cheeks just aren’t as plump as they used to be or that skin is starting to sag around your chin and neck.

With dermal fillers, we simply inject some hyaluronic acid back into areas where the production has dropped. We can inject the acid into just one specific area, such as the cheeks or in several areas. When we target several areas, this is often called a liquid facelift as opposed to a liquid nose job or liquid chin augmentation, etc.

We have several FDA-approved products that we use from the Juvéderm® brand of dermal fillers. This includes Juvéderm®, Juvéderm Ultra®, Juvéderm Ultra Plus® and Juvéderm Vollure®, which can be used to plump your lips, contour your face or soften the nasolabial folds (the folds running from the sides of the nose to the corners of the mouth).

Juvéderm Voluma® can be used to restore a more youthful, full appearance to your cheeks. Juvéderm Volbella® can be used to reduce the appearance of fine lines, as well as for softening circles under the eyes and for lip augmentation.

How Long Do Treatments Last?

Dermal fillers, including those with hyaluronic acid, are not permanent. Some treatments will last for six months or even a year or more, while others will need to be retreated sooner, such as lip augmentation.

However, compared with other types of treatments, such as surgical treatments, you’ll enjoy a quick procedure with minimal recovery time. You can even start out treating just one area to see if you like the results, and then schedule additional procedures or complete liquid facelift in the future.

Is A Liquid Facelift Safe?

Hyaluronic acid has been used safely for years in products such as face serums and eye drops. Hyaluronic acid injections also are a common treatment for people with knee joint issues. And, again, this is a natural substance produced by our bodies, so we feel confident in stating that dermal fillers are a safe treatment for most patients.

There are, of course, a few common side effects such as swelling, bruising, redness, and perhaps some mild pain at the injection site. Dr. Thaxton was a clinical investigator studying Juvéderm® so you can rest assured that you will be receiving the expert guidance that you need to obtain optimum results. However, it is important that you let us know if you have any allergies, especially to lidocaine, which is used in some of these dermal filler products. We do have lidocaine-free options, so rest assured, we should be able to find a suitable option for you.

When Is Plastic Surgery A Better Option?

For many of our clients, dermal fillers are the ideal choice. There’s virtually no downtime and minimal discomfort, and there’s no need for general anesthesia. However, in some cases, dermal fillers aren’t the best option. Sometimes when the skin and soft tissues of the face loosen and sag, it’s often best to consider a facelift.

Dr. Thaxton is a board-certified plastic surgeon and he will be upfront and honest with you. If dermal fillers aren’t the best option and won’t provide you with the look you want, he will let you know. A surgical procedure is sometimes the way to go, and we are happy to provide this service. Of course, some patients don’t want to undergo surgery, and that’s perfectly fine, but we always want to match patients with the best possible outcome, and sometimes that includes surgical procedures. If you want a smaller result and no surgery-that’s fine, too! It’s your choice. Dr. Thaxton is happy to come up with a plan for you and he makes sure you understand what all of the options are and what the results will typically be.

Preventing Fine Lines & Wrinkles

If you are still enjoying a natural, youthful glow, and want to keep that glow for as long as possible, one of the best things you can do is to stay out of the sun. In fact, one study from 2012 found that exposure to UV rays was responsible for as much as 80% of aging in our facial skin.

To prevent UV damage, we recommend that you use makeup with UV protection or wear sunscreen whenever possible. Avoid going outside during peak sun hours or wear shirts with long sleeves and a hat. Changes due to aging we can’t really fix (yet), and while aging will diminish some of your hyaluronic acid production, most of us can limit our sun exposure or make some changes to better protect the skin. We offer SPF options in our office, and we offer free consultations with our aesthetician for this and or your total skin plan.

If you are interested in learning more about a liquid facelift, give us a call at any time and we can set up a consultation. We also have many other non-surgical and medical spa treatments, as well as surgical procedures, and we can help you find the best possible treatments for your needs.