One of the most common reasons someone books a consultation in our office is to discuss the possibility of a threadlift. They have often seen before and after pictures on social media of the wonderful non-surgical option of lifting the face and defining the jawline. In many cases I am not recommending threadlifts when someone comes in for a consultation. It may sound odd because you will see I do perform them and even train on them so let me explain when I feel it is a good option and also when it is better to save your money.
Often the person on my schedule for a threadlift consultation is completely knew to aesthetics. They have never had any procedures performed and want to stay natural. They are often worried about looking unnatural but also have some volume loss. They may be in their 40s or 50s and have seen some signs of aging such as sagging or jowling. In this case, a threadlift is not my first choice for them. They first need to volumize before lifting. If there is an area of deficiency such as a weak chin or volume loss in the cheek, a threadlift can actually make the volume loss more noticeable. So we must first start with a product to volumize such as dermal fillers commonly known as Restylane, Radiesse, Versa or Juvederm. Another option would be Sculptra, which is not a filler but a biostimulator. Sculptra stimulates your own collagen and within a few months no active product is in the body, just your body’s own collagen. This is a great, more natural option and the most popular treatment in our med spa in Scottsdale.
Another type of client that may come in to our office has too much heaviness in the face and will not get a good lift. Sometimes they are in their 30s and could benefit from buccal fat pad removal but are looking for non-surgical options. Sometimes it is best to dissolve the fat first with Agnes Precision RF and then lift. Dissolving fat will give them better, longer lasting results but also Agnes RF provides lifting and tightening and they may decide that a threadlift is not even necessary. Agnes Precision RF can take multiple sessions but is longer lasting than a threadlift.
Another type of client that I’ve seen is in their 50s-60s and has been good with keeping up with volumizing and other treatments. I repeat this over and over to my clients “I always want to be a good steward with your money”. For these clients options like Ultherapy or Agnes Precision RF are going to give them longer lasting results. I recommend these treatments first and then if they still want more lifting and tightening and have a big event coming up then we can proceed with a threadlift.
Recently I had a client in her 50s come in. She looked much younger than her age and barely had any laxity. She had done Ultherapy a few years ago and had been happy with the results. She also had a surgical facelift in the past. She had a big event coming up in a month and wanted a very defined jawline. She voiced to me that she wanted to do a treatment for longer lasting results but also wanted to do a threadlift for the big event. We planned Ultherapy for results that will be seen in 2-3 months and then the theadlift the following week for immediate results. She was incredibly happy with her results.
There are more client scenarios I could describe such as the client that is only a surgical candidate because they have too much excess skin that may bunch during the threadlift procedure. There are also the clients that have too thin of skin and need some dermal thickening from Sculptra first before we place a thread that could potentially be seen. And then there are the candidates that have the ideal neck that will get an amazing lift!
A few years ago, I was even mislead a bit by an office in L.A. who frequently posts amazing results. I thought “I’m not getting these results; I should go train at this office”. I inquired but then began reading their reviews. So many reviews stated that this office only cared about the results for Instagram. They went on to say they pulled the threads tight for photos but within weeks they themselves could not tell that much was done. Many people had felt they wasted their money and wished they hadn’t gone through the pain.
I have since continued to train with some of the best injectors in the industry on threads and do believe they have their place however I would never want these types of reviews for my business that I had mentioned that L.A. office received. I have now personally had 3 threadlifts, all with different brands and all performed by trainers in the industry. What I can tell you is that they are very temporary. One realself member (not treated by our office) writes “At first, I looked 15 years younger. Everything on my face was lifted. But after four weeks, my jowls came back. Not as bad, but definitely 60% back.”—Confused43, RealSelf member
See this recent post by Dr. Subbio. https://www.instagram.com/p/CcQhRKgLHoT/
In our industry there are some people who may disagree with this post saying results can last over a year, but I just haven’t seen it. So, in the spirit of being a good steward of your money I will always give you the “best bang for your buck” recommendations but will also work with you on your goals. So that means if you need an intense lift now and understand that it may cost $2500 and last a few months and you are good with that then let’s do it. But if you are willing to go for a slower approach that will yield longer lasting results then let’s build a treatment plan together that may consist of dermal fillers, Sculptra, Ultherapy, Pixel 8 or Agnes Precision RF. To read more experiences on threadlifts visit https://www.realself.com/nonsurgical/thread-lift. To schedule a consult in our DHH Med Spa Scottsdale office call 480-336-4195 or book online https://dhhmedspa.com/book-appointment/
