Liquid Facelifts Promise To Improve Looks Without Surgery
Posted April 20, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Beverley Wise wanted to change her look, and with the signs of age having set in on her face long ago, she turned to a relatively new form of wrinkle and skin treatment colloquially known as a “liquid facelift.”
“I had very hollow cheeks and it’s really starting to fill out,” said Wise.
The treatment, technically known as Sculptra, is an alternative to the more painful, labour intensive and dangerous face lift surgeries, and only requires some quick injections into the affected areas.
Wise started her series of treatments in the fall of 2006, and now that it’s spring she’s ready to unveil the new face and says the difference is noticeable.
“I was getting to the point where it was sort of sunken in,” she said in reference to her cheeks.
“Now this is more natural and it filled in.”
Sculptra treatment can be completed with anywhere from one to as many as six injections. Wise needed three, which were spaced around six weeks apart.
“What it does is it stimulates your own collagen, to form around these little particles,” said dermatologist Dr. Fred Weksberg, who performed Wise’s procedures.
“It’s a natural substance, it’s been used in sutures and used in the medical field for many years so it’s safe.”
Wise added that she experienced almost no pain, but said the best part about the surgery is that it’s so gradual and subtle that not even her husband knows she had it done.
“You don’t want to have it drastic where somebody says ‘what have you done?’ rather than ‘hey you look great,'” Wise said.
So what’s the cost for younger skin through a liquid face lift? Treatments range from $2,000 to $10,000.
More On Sculptra/Liquid Facelifts
What Is A Liquid Facelift?
It’s kind of like cosmetic surgery, without the surgery part.
Using a substance called Sculptra, the technique originated as a facial treatment for AIDS patients that had lost some of their facial volume because of the disease.
Sculptra is basically an injectable volumizer that fills in facial pockets the same way collagen does, only its effects are typically longer lasting.
How Does A Liquid Facelift Work?
First, the doctor marks the area to be treated after it’s numbed with a special gel.
The patient is awake for the procedure, but doesn’t feel anything as the Sculptra is injected with a small needle, not into a wrinkle, but deep into the dermal layer of the skin.
The substance is synthetic, which provides a number of advantages, namely that it takes only 20 minutes to complete the procedure and can last two years or more.
Usually, between three and five sessions are required.
Do Liquid Facelifts Work?
Well, it’s not going to correct the underlying cause of your facial fat loss (usually age or illness), but it will help increase skin thickness in the treated area.
Of course a great deal depends on who’s doing the injection, since the procedure can be very artistic and requires a strong eye for the three-dimensional facial structure.
If you find the right person, it can be very effective, and the immense popularity of the procedure — more than 150,000 people have tried it since 1999 when it was approved for non-medical use — suggests it has some merit.
What Side Effects And After Care Are Involved?
Compared with the dangers of anesthetic and facial surgery, the procedure is extremely safe.
The most common side effects are typical bleeding, tenderness, redness or bruising in the area of the injection, and these can last from a couple of days to a week as they do with most needles.
Your practitioner will give you additional aftercare instructions, which will most likely include massaging the treated areas for a couple of minutes each day. If extreme inflammation or small bumps appear, they’ll encourage you to look into it further.
Also, the effects may not be completely visible for a few weeks, and the significance and size of the work you’re having done determines how many injections are required.
For more information on Sculptra and liquid facelifts and to contact the doctor featured in Laura’s story, click here.
