Alternatives To Face Lifts
If you are over 40, have fine lines, a few wrinkles and some skin discoloration, a full facelift surgery might be overkill. A laser facelift can make fine lines disappear, take away skin discoloration on the skin’s surface and minimize wrinkles.
A laser facelift is actually laser resurfacing. When you have laser resurfacing done, you are having layers of your skin removed with carbon dioxide. This can be done over the entire surface of your face and/or concentrated in the areas that trouble you the most. This is usually around the eyes and mouth. This treatment won’t even take an hour to complete. While it resembles a chemical peel, it does not take as much time in the chair, it can be applied more strongly to specific areas and there aren’t as many risks involved. Your skin will also heal faster with laser resurfacing than it would with a chemical peel.
Even though it is popularly called laser “facelift”, it does not really lift your face. The lift that you get from resurfacing is in the healthy, new skin that is revealed after treatment. Fine lines disappear and wrinkles are much less noticeable.
Keep These Thoughts in Mind:
Laser resurfacing is not for people with dark skin and is not recommended for those with oily or problem skin.
This does not take away wrinkles, lift sagging skin or correct areas of fat deposits under the skin.
Your skin will be tender and you will have some redness for a while.
If done improperly, there can be adverse effects such as permanent skin damage.
There is another kind of laser treatment that does not resurface, but instead tightens the skin by heating up the collagen underneath, making it a “pseudo-facelift”. This type of lift has no recovery time - you can go on with your day after having it done.
Both types of laser facelifts can be used along with a conventional lift - the skin is lifted with surgery, the laser resurfacing minimizes wrinkles, and the skin is tightened by heating collagen.