Have you’ve seen them - the commercials for non-surgical �facelift� treatments that promise to take years off your face quickly, more safely, and less invasively than surgical procedures? Or have you heard from well-meaning friends and family that there are �alternatives,� as if they are just as effective, or simply worth equal consideration?
We all know aging is a fact of life, but where we each differ is in how our skin - our body’s largest organ - responds to the aging process, and the things we do that either damage or safeguard it along the way.
If you are considering a facelift procedure, and comparing it to so-called �alternatives to facelift surgery,� there are some facts you need to know.
First, as with all cosmetic surgery, it’s important to determine why you are considering treatment at all. Only then can you evaluate whether a given treatment will be effective for you personally.
Why are you considering a facelift?
1.Your outside doesn’t match your inside - Deep lines and wrinkles in your forehead, around your eyes, or mouth are making you look older than you feel, and folds of skin above and below your eyes are making you look more tired, angry, or sad than you actually are.
2.You don’t like the way your face is aging - A sagging, drooping chin, jowls, or excess skin around the neck or eyes are making you wish you could return your face to the way it looked before gravity, smoking, weight gain and loss, the sun and other factors took hold.
If you’re primarily concerned with wrinkles, then laser skin tightening, Botox, collagen fillers, derma rollers, and of course, creams, are available. Those are temporary solutions and won’t work at all if your creasing and lines are deep. In some cases - as with creams - the only thing that has proven �effective� at all is Retin-A, and even it works better as a preventative than as a treatment.
If your main reason for considering facelift is that you see excess skin in your chin, jowls, or around your eyes, there is simply no effective alternative to surgery. No matter what procedures might be available to tone or tighten the skin (or even temporarily �lift� it into a higher position) the same factors that caused it in the first place will cause sagging again.
If cost is a concern, you may tend to favor temporary alternatives. They are less expensive up front, but what about after repeated treatment over time?
Facelift is one procedure that can address multiple problems at the same time and in a way that lasts for years, not weeks or months.
The simple fact is there is no substitute for facelift surgery when it comes to getting the most comprehensive, lasting solution to the most common effects of aging on the skin of your face and neck.
As always, however, your ultimate satisfaction will depend on your expectations. So if you’ve carefully weighed your reasons for considering a facelift, and understand the pros and cons of the different alternatives from the start, you stand a better chance of being happy with your results, no matter what you choice you make.
