As you continue to add more years to your age, your skin goes with it – and it’s just one ugly truth of growing old. Collagen and elastin, or the two components responsible for skin elasticity, deteriorate, causing your skin to get loose and hang down as gravity acts on it.
The good news is there are a lot of ways to lift and rejuvenate aging skin. And the methods have become less frightening.
Gone are the days when invasive surgical facelifts are the only ways to lift those loose skin and bring back the lost youth. Today, you don’t have to succumb settle for bloody methods for there are numerous less invasive, non-surgical anti-aging breakthroughs worth investigating and they promise to take years off your face without having to cut your face open with a sharp knife.
What Can The Doctor Do For You?
- Laser skin tightening
Gone are the days when there’s no other way to take years off your face than bloody surgical methods. Today, we have lasers to do the job in a less painful way.
Laser skin tightening is an increasingly popular non-surgical treatment not just for lifting sagging eyebrows, cheeks, jaw lines, and muscles but also for reducing fine lines and wrinkles. As its name suggests, laser skin tightening uses an infrared light source (laser) to deeply heat the collagen underneath the skin’s surface, causing the loose fibrous bands to contract. The low-intensity light beams help stimulate collagen production to increase moisture, firm and repair skin, and improve its texture.
The less invasive non-surgical method allows you to see impressive results right after the treatment. Laser skin tightening also doesn’t have a downtime. For optimal results, you have to bear two to three treatments every other month.
- Botulinum Toxin (Botox) injection
Botulinum toxin, also known as “botox”, is another non-invasive method you may consider. Small amounts of the toxin are injected into the problem areas to smoothen the face by preventing the muscles from contracting.
The world-renowned non-surgical treatment targets unsightly spots like frown lines, forehead creases, crows feet, sagging jowls, neck bands, and other visible signs of aging. Unlike laser skin tightening, it takes about 3 to 7 days before the drug takes full effect, and the waiting process may include side effects including redness, soreness, and minor swelling, which will disappear after a couple of days
- Thermage
Thermage skin tightening, like the laser method, treats the face’s laxity by renewing the body’s collagen. Thermage addresses problem spots like wrinkles and dropped eyelids, nasolabial folds (laugh lines), jawline, jowls, and chin.
The state-of-the-art method uses monopolar radiofrequency energy to deliver an electrical current that generates heat. In simpler words, Thermage directs the electrical current to the skin, which thean heats and contracts the collagen to tighten the skin. It typically requires one treatment for full effectiveness.
- Microcurrent facelift
Microcurrent facelift is one of the most effective treatments that can take years off your face without going under a knife. If you haven’t heard what microcurrent is, it’s a low, gentle level of electricity that resembles the body’s natural electric currents. In other words, your face is being “electrified” as moderate electrical currents flow through your skin and facial muscles.
Microcurrent aims to stimulate the body’s natural production of elastin and collagen, regenerate tissues and muscles, and even provide circulatory benefits. In effect, it rebuilds thinner parts of the skin, lifts sagging muscles, and fills in wrinkles. The procedure is performed by a professional aesthetician for approximately one hour.
What Can You Do At Home?
- Facelift in a bottle: Active Ingredients
Anti-aging treatments, surgical or non-surgical, are better left to the professionals. However, not all of us have the adequate budget. Or perhaps, some are afraid of hurting themselves with small syringes and tools.
This is where over-the-counter anti-aging treatments come in. Products jam-packed with active ingredients like Retinol (Vitamin A derivative), Vitamin C serum, and Alpha or Beta Hydroxy Acid (AHA or BHA) are recommended by experts to help treat signs of aging. The products are usually applied topically before going to bed to help your skin look firmer and rejuvenate itself overnight.
Do Non-Surgical Facelifts Work?
Yes. And no.
Let’s begin with the downsides. Non-surgical facelifts, as expected, will not give you the full dramatic effects of invasive surgeries. Some patients, like those with extremely loose skin or excessive facial fat, may not be satisfied with the mild results.
Now with the pros. Non-surgical procedures work. They can rejuvenate, lift, and tighten your face without having to experience unbearable pain. If you’re a patient with minimal problem spots and are likely to experience difficulty healing, the non-surgical methods may be recommended for you.
Author Bio:
Carmina Natividad is one of the daytime writers for The Australasian College of Health and Wellness, a government accredited educational institution specializing in the discipline of health science. She spends most of her time writing articles focused on aesthetics and overall health and wellness.