- If you want the effects of your treatment to last then the PDO Thread Lift comes out on top as it lasts a minimum of 12-18 months on average whilst dermal fillers have a lifespan of around 6-9 months and will require regular top-ups to maintain your results.
If you want most of the benefits of a surgical facelift minus the months of downtime, thread lifts are a good option. If you have a single or a few areas of concern (thin lips, sagging jowls, sunken cheeks etc.), dermal fillers are a terrific option.
While PDO smooth threads help plump the skin, it doesn't provide the same extent of volume replacement as dermal fillers. Integrating the two treatments may be beneficial to not only volumize the skin but also increase the skin's elasticity over time as the threads stimulate gradual collagen production.
There are areas like the neck and jawline where dermal fillers are unsuitable, but PDO thread lift is the perfect solution for the sagging skin. The results of dermal filler are visible immediately while those of a PDO thread lift is fully visible when the body starts generating collagen.
The ideal candidates for PDO thread lifts are at a healthy and stable weight, range in age from their early thirties to mid-fifties, and are concerned with mild to moderate skin sagging and wrinkles around the mouth, nose, chin, or jaw.
How Often Should You Have Treatment? The results of this treatment can last for six to 12 months at a time, so how long the results of your treatment lasts will determine how often you should have treatment. Many patients opt to have regularly scheduled PDO thread lifts once or twice a year.
Dermal filler injections provide results that last 6 to 18 months. Thread lift results last for about 3 years.
Neck lift surgery (platysmaplasty) is the most effective, but also most invasive, treatment for jowls. It may be the only option available to patients with severe jowls or substantial laxity.
Because the dissolving PDO threads encourage the production of collagen, the skin will continue to become firmer, tighter, and more youthful-looking over the next several months.
What can go wrong with PDO threads? Potential complications include: Visible sutures (especially in people with thin skin) – like minor bruising. Rejection – The thread is a foreign body and might even be rejected by certain people, or it may start to protrude out of the skin.
Some common treatments combined with PDO threading include: Wrinkle relaxers: Wrinkle relaxers, like BOTOX® and Dysport®, could be used in conjunction with a thread lift near the brow and eye area to reduce Crow's feet and frown lines, as the threads are often not suitable for those areas.
CONS OF THE THREAD LIFT:
The thread lift is considered a minor surgery, and as such, once the skin is cut there is the risk of infection, bruising, temporary discomfort, rippling off the skin and temporary numbness.
The results from a facelift last much longer than a thread lift. Depending on your age and goals, a thread lift may not be adequate. A facelift may have more impact on older patients or those who may want more dramatic correction.
Lactic Acid threads, dissolve after 12 to 18 months. PCL, or polycaprolactone threads, are the most durable of the three. They take two to three years to dissolve fully.
Best procedure for sagging jowls in 2023
Considered one of the best non surgical facelift options, NovaThreads use absorbable sutures to lift and tighten the skin to improve facial aging concerns, like sagging jowls and droopy skin, resulting in a noticeably younger appearance.
Ultherapy is a noninvasive treatment that is FDA-cleared to lift and tighten skin around the neck, chin, and brow. To lift saggy jowls, the device sends targeted ultrasound energy directly into the treatment area, which stimulates new collagen.
Bottom line: Laser resurfacing can tighten skin, usually better than any other skin-tightening procedure. It can also diminish fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots on the skin, such as age spots. The tradeoff is that it requires downtime and has a greater risk of possible side effects, such as scarring.
Bellafill® is a dermal filler that replaces lost volume in the skin for correction that is both immediate and longer-lasting than other types of fillers. Unlike temporary fillers, Bellafill is the only dermal filler that stimulates collagen growth long term to help maintain your youthful appearance for up to 5 years.
Dermal filler will not cause the skin to stretch and sag, once the filler naturally breaks down. The only case where this would happen is if the face were to be grossly overfilled with extreme amounts of dermal fillers, which is something we most certainly do not do at Cityskin.
If you're looking for a quick and affordable way to get rid of wrinkles and fine lines, both treatments are great options. PDO thread lifting is best for people who want to get rid of deeper wrinkles but Ultherapy treatment is better at treating fine lines.
A study published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) confirms PDO thread lifts do work, stating thread lifts indisputably lift and shape facial soft tissues. Another study published by the NIH indicates this therapy yields around a 90 percent success rate.
An average of 10 threads per area (cheek or jawline, for example) are used.
On average, patients require between 2 – 4 threads on each side of the face for a mid-face thread lift. An additional 2 – 4 threads may be needed for the lower face and/or neck.