Today it is possible to restore freshness and smoothness to the skin, and smooth lines to the facial contour without expensive operations.There are many modern lifting procedures that do not require major surgery.How to choose the ideal lifting and how do the procedures differ from each other?
Every woman sooner or later faces such problems: facial skin loses its elasticity, becomes dull, and wrinkles appear on it.Modern cosmetology knows many ways to get rid of these unpleasant processes, and surgical intervention is not at all necessary.
Stages of age-related skin changes
Biologists have not yet come to a consensus on what is considered aging and what its causes are.However, we can say that aging is the result of the accumulation of defects in cells and intercellular structures, which gradually disable the vital systems of the body.
Childhood
Perhaps the only time when the skin requires virtually no care is the period of life from about six months of age until the onset of puberty.Children's skin is elastic, smooth, vibrant and fresh, and it is a pleasure to look at it.
Adolescence
Alas, all good things come to an end sooner or later and, starting from the age of 12–14, the appearance of the skin begins to deteriorate.First of all, it becomes more oily, and some people produce so much fat that it literally runs down the skin.Then the structure of the skin changes, it becomes rougher and more porous.
In people with dry and thin skin, these changes are less noticeable than in those with oily skin.However, in any case, the skin does not remain the same as it was in childhood.
And, of course, the most distressing skin change that poisons the lives of a significant part of teenagers is acne, which comes during puberty and occupies the skin for many years (sometimes for decades), despite all attempts to get rid of it.For many teenagers, fighting acne becomes the main goal of cosmetic procedures, and sometimes the meaning of life.Unfortunately, in the process of this struggle, many people cause severe damage to their skin, which can be very difficult to compensate for in the future.
A very small percentage of teenagers understand the need to protect their skin.Most, as a rule, at this time, mercilessly irradiate the skin with sunlight (and sometimes with artificially generated ultraviolet radiation in solariums), cover it with layers of cosmetics (which are often left overnight), tattoos, exhaust them with night vigils and all kinds of toxic substances.Despite all this, the skin remains fresh and elastic for some time.
Youth
By the age of 20, many people's skin condition improves - it becomes less oily, less prone to acne, more even and attractive.
The time from 20 to 30 years is a period of stability for the skin, when most people can not think about the intricacies of cosmetic care, choosing cosmetics based on packaging, scent or company name, and, despite this, have good skin.
But all this is true only if the skin is healthy.Unfortunately, teenage stress, attempts to self-medicate acne by randomly smearing anything labeled “for acne” on the skin, overuse of antibiotics or retinoids, and sometimes unthinkable diets can provoke the occurrence of various skin problems, ranging from advanced forms of acne to allergic dermatitis, etc.In these cases, the skin requires carefully thought out care, which is best left to a competent specialist.
The beginning of skin aging
Already from the age of 25, the skin gradually loses the fresh charm of youth.The renewal of cells in the stratum corneum slows down, and the skin becomes duller.The rate of collagen and elastin formation decreases, and the skin no longer looks as elastic.Fine wrinkles appear under the eyes, skin defects accumulate, such as age spots, stretch marks, scars from past acne, etc.
The closer the 30-year mark, the more often women begin to think about skin care, trying to slow down its aging or disguise its signs.And although doctors never cease to repeat that it is necessary to protect and care for the skin from early youth, in reality, only after 30 years can the skin expect that its needs will finally be paid attention to.
Middle age
Between the ages of 35 and 50, skin aging becomes increasingly noticeable.At this time, its ability to retain moisture decreases, cell renewal slows down, defective collagen and elastin accumulate, the amount of hyaluronic acid decreases, the fat layer on the face becomes thinner and fat is redistributed (there is less and less fat on the cheekbones, and fat pads often form under the chin and in the lower part of the cheeks), age spots appear,dilated blood vessels and, of course, wrinkles.
It must be said that the wrinkles that upset women so much not only look different, but have different causes.They are often divided into static and dynamic wrinkles.
Static wrinkles occur due to changes occurring in the skin itself (damage to skin fibers by various harmful factors, age-related wear and tear and destruction of skin structures, etc.).
Dynamic wrinkles form in places of constant muscle activity due to the fact that when contracting, the muscle shortens and wrinkles the skin, and when relaxing, it returns to its original position and “pulls” it back with itself.
In young women, the skin is elastic, it quickly responds to such muscle movements and returns to its original state.With age, such exercises become more difficult for her, and around the eyes, on the bridge of the nose, on the forehead and around the mouth - where the facial muscles work most actively.
Age-related skin changes after 50 years
After 50 years, the skin is affected by the onset of menopause, when the amount of female sex hormones estrogen in the body decreases.At this time, more wrinkles appear, the thickness of the dermis and epidermis rapidly decreases, and the skin noticeably fades.The process of rapid aging continues until approximately 60 years of age, after which the skin enters a period of relative stability.At this stage, little depends on cosmetics, and any changes are possible only with the help of plastic surgery.Those who have spent a lifetime protecting their skin from damaging influences (especially the sun) will have less wrinkles, fewer blemishes, and will look fresher and younger.
If the skin has been exposed to intense sun exposure (this is more important in hot countries), then it will most likely show rough, deep wrinkles and be covered with age spots.
In old age (70 and older), the skin is characterized by a thickened (parchment) stratum corneum, a thin dermis (through which the subcutaneous fatty tissue is visible, giving the skin a yellowish color), low elasticity, and numerous deep wrinkles and folds.
The path that we have now outlined is followed by the skin of every person, and there are no products in cosmetology that would prevent skin changes that occur at each stage.
The skin of a teenager will never return to the fresh smoothness of a child's skin, and the skin of a lady of Balzac's age will never look like the skin of a 20-year-old girl.
Senile changes in the skin occur due to the fact that this is the program embedded in the cells, due to the fact that the skin, like the entire body, accumulates damage and disease throughout life, in other words, it wears out.It is practically impossible to influence genetically determined aging, but you can slow down the rate of skin wear and prevent premature aging.To do this, you need to know which skin changes are inevitable, and which are caused by our careless attitude or arise due to harmful environmental factors.
What happens to the skin as it ages?
As we see, almost all structures of the skin (and the body as a whole) deteriorate over the years and cease to perform their biological functions.For convenience, we can identify certain targets of aging, which are also the main targets for anti-aging procedures.
Professional cosmetics, aesthetic and medical cosmetology procedures - we found out what procedures for facial skin rejuvenation are offered by salons in our city.
Facial massage + botulinum toxin injections
Facial massage ─ manual or hardware ─ is one of those procedures that is appropriate to use to prevent age-related changes even at a fairly young age.It also gives a good effect when correcting already emerging age-related changes (pronounced nasolabial folds, “proud wrinkles” and longitudinal wrinkles in the forehead, “crow’s feet” in the eye area, loss of facial contours, double chin).Massage allows you to work and tone relaxed muscles or, conversely, relax tense ones.Due to this, we get the effect of reducing the severity of wrinkles and improving the oval of the face.The massage is done in a course (on average 10 procedures, two per week), after which you can correct facial wrinkles using botulinum toxin injections.In this case, it will be possible to get by with a smaller amount of the drug and get a more pronounced result.
Facial skin lifting + filler or autofat injections
With the help of plastic surgery, you can achieve a lifting effect, but, alas, it cannot completely get rid of wrinkles.After plastic surgery, for example, wrinkles around the mouth remain, as well as “puppet lines” (the so-called “sorrow lines”).In order to make them less noticeable, filler injections are used in the area of the nasolabial folds, lips, and cheekbones.An alternative to filler injections is the lipofilling procedure, when your own fat cells are used to fill the volume.They are taken with a syringe from certain areas of the body (abdomen, inner thighs, knees) and injected in small quantities into the desired area.This must be done very carefully, because the main task is to ensure that the fat cells adapt to the right place and take root.The advantage of lipofilling over filler injections is obvious: fillers need to be renewed every year, while fat cells remain in the injected area for years.Also, in the case of lipofilling, a possible allergic reaction that may occur to the injected fillers is excluded.
Blepharoplasty + laser procedures
To a greater extent, this combination will be appropriate for lower eyelid plastic surgery, where the muscles are “soldered” to the skin and it is impossible to remove all its excess.That is why laser treatment of this area is indicated three weeks after surgery.The laser has a stimulating effect on the skin, thereby reducing it and activating the synthesis of new collagen and elastin - after which the skin thickens and becomes more elastic.One session may be enough for a pronounced effect.
Often this technique is used in cases where it is necessary to get rid of hernial sacs (this problem, by the way, can also bother quite young people).The operation to remove such hernias is performed transconjunctivally (through a small incision on the side of the lower eyelid mucosa), and after removing the fat bags, excess skin remains that needs to be tightened - for these purposes a laser is needed.
What is lifting and which procedure is better to choose?
Perhaps almost every woman sooner or later begins to think about lifting.Over time, the skin loses its former elasticity and the first wrinkles appear.This is an inevitable process - after 30 years, the amount of collagen and elastin begins to gradually decrease, and without this framework, the skin becomes flaccid and inelastic.
All procedures are divided into surgical and non-surgical.Operating rooms require the intervention of a surgeon.Non-surgical methods include various types of hardware lifting, as well as injections of cosmetic preparations that improve skin tone and saturate it with moisture.
Circular lift
A circumferential facelift typically refers to an operation that corrects the front and sides of the neck, midface and frontotemporal areas, outer eyebrows, cheeks, and areas around the corners of the mouth.The operation is performed under general anesthesia and can last several hours.After the operation, you will have to spend several days in the hospital, after a week the stitches are removed, and the swelling completely disappears in about 2 months.You can speed up rehabilitation with the help of massage and physiotherapy.You can fully evaluate the result after a facelift after 6–8 months.A circular lift is the most serious and traumatic lifting operation.However, the effect is very long-lasting—surgeons recommend resorting to such operations no more often than once every 7–10 years.A circumferential lift should not be performed before the age of 40–50.Based on the depth of impact, there are two types of circular lifting: SMAS lifting, which affects not only the skin, but fat and muscle tissue, and a more superficial subcutaneous lifting.The first can cope with even the most significant age-related changes, while the second is suitable for less noticeable problems.
This is important
The procedure has a number of contraindications, which include blood diseases, oncology, serious disorders of internal organs, heart disease, hypertension, diseases of the nervous system, epilepsy, pregnancy, lactation and a number of others.Therefore, it is very important to consult a doctor before surgery.
Endoscopic lifting
This procedure is sometimes also called a sutureless lift.All manipulations are carried out through small incisions, after which there are practically no scars left.Endoscopic lifting is indicated for minor age-related changes - the appearance of facial wrinkles on the forehead and in the area of nasolabial folds, and drooping eyebrows.But if there is significant deterioration of the skin, it is better to choose a traditional circular lift.In terms of effectiveness and recovery time, endoscopic lifting is very similar to a conventional circular lift.Contraindications are similar: heart and vascular diseases, oncology, diabetes, hypertension, blood clotting disorders, diseases of internal organs, thyroid gland, wounds and burns on the surface of the face, pregnancy, lactation, etc. In addition, after the operation, pulling sensations in the suture area are possible.
By the way
Facelift surgery reduces the blood supply to the skin, which affects its elasticity.Therefore, after surgery, additional procedures are always required for quick rehabilitation.
Thread lifting
This is a relatively simple, minimally invasive and very effective procedure.That is why she gained such popularity.The essence of the method is to implant thin threads under the skin that reinforce the skin.These threads are made of gold, caprolactone, polypropylene, polylactic acid, they are biologically compatible with the human body and do not cause allergies or other undesirable effects.The thread is inserted using an elastic needle.Over time, connective tissue forms around the thread, which supports the skin and prevents it from sagging.
Today, both non-absorbable and absorbable sutures are used.The latter disintegrate after 8–9 months and are eliminated from the body naturally.Threads are used not only for face lifting, but also for body contouring.
The operation is performed under local anesthesia and lasts about an hour.After 2–4 days, the swelling goes away, and after 2 weeks you can return to your normal lifestyle.
This type of lifting has significantly fewer contraindications than the previous two types.These include pregnancy and lactation, acute infections, skin diseases, allergies, oncology and autoimmune diseases.
Hardware lifting
Hardware tightening is performed using equipment that uses various types of energy (laser, radio wave, ultrasound) to influence the skin.Hardware lifting is available not only in plastic surgery clinics, but also in medical cosmetology clinics.Such methods do not require general anesthesia or a long rehabilitation period, and they are incomparably cheaper than surgical methods to restore youth.However, one should not forget about contraindications, which include epilepsy, oncology, heart disease, pregnancy and a number of other serious diseases.
Laser lifting
When the laser is applied to the skin, thermal energy is generated, which promotes the natural rejuvenation process.After laser lifting, the skin becomes denser and more elastic, the production of collagen and other elements that contribute to the process of natural rejuvenation increases.Wrinkles are smoothed out, blood circulation is accelerated, and the face acquires not only smoothness, but also a healthy color.
Laser lifting is performed quickly and without anesthesia, although very sensitive people may experience minor discomfort during the procedure.Significant and long rehabilitation is not required - slight redness goes away very quickly on its own, and the effect of laser lifting is visible immediately.
Ultrasonic lifting
Ultrasonic lifting is the only hardware technology that allows you to act on the deep levels of the skin.This type of lifting is often called non-surgical SMAS lifting.The procedure is moderately painful and lasts 30–60 minutes.After the procedure, slight redness or swelling may persist for another 2–3 hours.
When carrying out this type of lifting, an ultrasonic wave acts specifically on the deep layers of the skin and the muscular aponeurotic layer, activating the process of formation of new elastin and collagen fibers.The synthesis of new collagen fibers continues for 3-4 months, so the skin will become fresher and younger every day.The effect can last up to 3 years.
The safety of the procedure is ensured by ultrasound visualization of the skin and muscles; in real time, the doctor sees the tissue changes produced by the ultrasound wave.
Radio wave lifting (RF lifting)
RF lifting affects the surface layers of the skin and subcutaneous fat using high-frequency electric current.Some devices combine RF with exposure to a magnetic field.The pulses warm up the skin cells, activating them and stimulating collagenogenesis.As in the case of ultrasonic lifting, RF lifting has a prolonged effect, which increases over several months and lasts up to 1.5–2 years.The session only lasts about 20-30 minutes and does not require pain relief.The procedure is carried out without age restrictions.
The method is contraindicated for people with a cardiac sensor and metal structures in the body (pins, plates, etc.).
Photolifting
The procedure promotes skin rejuvenation through the use of light-thermal pulses affecting its deep layers.It is performed using IPL therapy devices.Light energy is absorbed by various skin chromophores (hemoglobin, melanin pigment), converted into heat, due to which the renewal process of skin cells is stimulated, pigment spots lighten and the vascular network disappears.This type of lifting is often used not only to smooth out wrinkles, but also to eliminate spider veins and even out complexion.The duration of one session is about 30 minutes.The course consists of 1 to 3 procedures.
Plasmolifting
Our blood contains platelets - cells that are responsible for its clotting.But in addition to this, platelets secrete special substances that accelerate cell division.The introduction of platelet-rich plasma stimulates the synthesis of new cells and starts regeneration processes.For this procedure, blood is drawn from patients in a volume of 8 to 40 ml.Using a special centrifugation mode, platelet-rich plasma is isolated from the blood.The concentration of platelets in plasma for cosmetic injections is 4–5 times higher than in human blood.Thanks to such a high content, a noticeable and very fast effect is achieved.The course consists of 3-5 weekly procedures.The first results can be seen already on the day of the procedure.
Like other types of lifting, plasmolifting has a number of contraindications: pregnancy and lactation, skin diseases, tumors, infectious and autoimmune diseases, etc.
Lifting using hyaluronic acid injections (fillers)
Contour plastic surgery can also achieve a significant lifting effect.For example, with volumetric correction, by creating volume, for example, in the cheekbones, a general lifting of the lower half of the face occurs.Bioreinforcement of the cheek areas and neck, when the filler is injected intradermally and subcutaneously in the form of a mesh, the skin becomes more elastic and toned.Vector lifting - filler is injected subcutaneously in the direction of sagging skin, thereby strengthening and tightening it.
Contraindications to the procedure are blood diseases, infectious diseases, pregnancy and lactation, damage or inflammation in the treatment area, drug intolerance.