Treatment Spotlight: Thread Lifts

Known colloquially as the ‘one stitch facelift’, the modern thread lift offers a fantastic option for those who have no interest in going under the knife, but still hope to see improvement in their face area as they age.

What can thread lifts do? 

Thread lifts are a non-surgical way to lift and redefine facial contours seeing almost immediate results, with most clients opting for treatment around the mid face and jawline areas. The specific product we use at Lumea is called Silhouette Soft, a revolutionary product in the thread lift space from experts in the UK.

Though sun protection, skincare and a healthy lifestyle make a huge difference, very few can fully escape the effects of age, with sagging and thinning skin the result of our bodies producing less collagen. From our mid-20s, natural collagen production starts slowing down, eventually leading to fine lines, wrinkles and loose soft tissue around the face.

By repositioning sagging skin, a thread lift helps to reduce the visibility of wrinkles and folds, restoring your facial shape and its definition in a natural, subtle effect that makes it perfect for many Lumea clients.

An added benefit from Silhouette Soft in particular is that once in the skin, the product itself stimulates collagen production in and around the treatment area, lasting up to 24 months. This provides longer-lasting results that continue to improve over time, even past when the sutures are resorbed into the body.

How do thread lifts work? 

After an in-depth consultation and treatment plan is developed with our experts, the skin is prepared by mapping out your skin’s entry points and administering a local anaesthetic to each of those points. The treatment itself consists of inserting fine and resorbable suspension sutures into the skin, which look like long threads with very small cone-like structures along some of its length. These are inserted in and out of the top fat layer of the skin, with the cones and clinician’s skill anchoring the skin and repositioning the tissue into the desired place – with most clients noticing a natural and rejuvenated appearance within just a few days.

Are thread lifts safe?

Treatments known as thread lifts have been around for decades, and used to have more negative side effects mainly due to the sutures being permanent and staying in the soft tissue. The innovative technique from Silhouette Soft uses temporary sutures with cone-like anchors that dissolve after a period, made from PLLA and PLGA (Poly L Lactic acid & Poly Lactic-co-Glycolic acid), that has been used safely in medicine for decades. The results do fade after 12 to 18 months as ageing continues, but most would agree this a fair price to pay for a simple, relatively quick and low-risk treatment – with minimal swelling or bruising.

These days, one of the main risks is simply from infection as there always is with foreign objects entering the skin, but the chances of this occurring are kept extremely low with qualified, experienced clinicians, single-use equipment and a few key aftercare steps.

Find out more about thread lifts and book an initial consultation here, or head to Silhouette Soft’s website to discover incredible results from real past clients.

Dr Toro & The Lumea Aesthetics Team