Gone are the days when you had to visit plastic surgeons and undergo cosmetic surgery to combat the effects of aging. You can now significantly rejuvenate your skin with a nonsurgical facelift. If you’re someone, therefore, who prefers not to go under the knife, nonsurgical procedures are accessible and efficient.
Demand for facelifts, neck lifts, and brow lifts from many patients has significantly increased over the last two years, according to the 2021 plastic surgery statistics report from the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Following this trend, options of nonsurgical facelifts continue to grow.
For example, Botox, dermal fillers, microneedling, thread lift, and chemical peels are just a few of the many minimallyinvasive treatments available to effectively address common signs of aging that include:
- Wrinkles
- Lost volume
- Sagging skin or loose skin
- Frown lines, sometimes called “elevens”
- Deep creases
- Skin laxity
- Thinning lips
- Smile lines
- Loose jowls
- Sunken cheeks
But with so many nonsurgical treatments on the market, you may get lost when choosing what’s best for your needs and expectations.
To help you make your decision wisely, we’ve gathered all the information you need into this ultimate guide for nonsurgical facelifts.
Keep reading to learn about these convenient nonsurgical alternatives to cosmetic surgical facelifts – because they can take years off your appearance with satisfactory results and minimal downtime or discomfort.
What is a Nonsurgical Facelift and How is it Different?
Is a Nonsurgical Facelift Suitable for Me?
What Are the Risks of a Nonsurgical Facelift?
Different Kinds of Nonsurgical Facelifts
More Nonsurgical Alternatives: Microneedling and Thread Lift
What’s Happening to My Face?
Do you notice a different line on your face every time you look in the mirror? A loss in facial skin quality is one of the most obvious signs of aging, and it can lead to many of the issues we mentioned above.
As you age, your tissues soften, your collagen production decreases, and you repeatedly contract specific muscles in your face, which leads to fine lines and wrinkles. This natural loss of skin elasticity – combined with the pull of gravity – means sagging skin and other changes in appearance.
However, many patients know it’s now possible to reverse these aging signs with minimally invasive treatments – i.e. nonsurgical facelifts.
What is a Nonsurgical Facelift, and How is it Different From a Surgical Facelift?
A facelift is a medical procedure aesthetic doctors have been performing for years to tighten, lift, plump, refresh, or rejuvenate facial skin.
In a surgical facelift, a plastic surgeon makes large incisions to tighten the skin on your face and neck, or transfers fat from your body to the target areas. This restores lost volume. But because it’s a surgical procedure, it may be risky, requiring general anesthesia and a long recovery time.
Nonsurgical facelifts, on the other hand, combine minimally invasive and nonsurgical techniques to rejuvenate and improve your skin’s appearance without the need for cuts, overnight hospitalization, or general anesthesia. That usually means minimal discomfort too!
They’re safe, fast, and affordable. You can still get significant results – with minimal downtime and little to no post-op discomfort. And usually, you see results immediately after the treatment or a few sessions later.
Imagine leaving your doctor’s office quickly and returning to work and normal activities without those crow’s feet or frown lines that bothered you so much!
That’s what you get from a nonsurgical facelift, like botulinum toxin or dermal filler injections:
- no healing time,
- no overnight hospitalization, and
- immediate results for half the time and price of surgery.
Are Nonsurgical Facelift Treatments Suitable for Me?
You’re a good candidate if you’re
- nervous about general anesthesia and large incisions or
- looking for an affordable, minimally invasive, and natural way of getting a youthful look without the discomfort and recovery time of a surgical procedure.
Of course, any facelift needs to be appropriate for your unique needs. But here are some general results you may expect from these nonsurgical procedures:
- Tightening of your skin
- Removal of wrinkles and fine lines
- Stimulated production of collagen
- Restoring lost volume in your face
- Overall improvement in your facial skin quality
Compared to a surgical facelift, they don’t provide a dramatic and long-lasting transformation, but they do offer the ultimate convenience of fighting aging. And they come with
- fewer risks
- a quick doctor’s appointment,
- minimal downtime, and
- results that are so natural no one will know you’ve had anything done.
People will notice you look good, and you’ll get compliments. The changes are discreet and last for a few months, but you’ll need regular treatments for optimal results.
What Are the Risks of a Nonsurgical Facelift?
When you book dermatologists, plastic surgeons, aesthetic doctors, and certified practitioners, nonsurgical facelifts are generally safe, with minimal side effects and downtime.
But they may present the following risks:
- Infection
- Bleeding
- Bruises
- Lumps
- Peeling skin
- Skin burn
- Scars
These risks may increase if you have some pre-existing skin conditions that the treatment may trigger.
In that case, your doctor may advise you not to do a non-invasive procedure. So, make sure to mention if you have any of the following skin issues:
- Acne outbursts
- Psoriasis
- Eczema
- Herpes
- Freckles and moles
Different Kinds of Nonsurgical Facelifts
Let’s deep dive into some of the most common nonsurgical facelifts, so you can have an idea of which option best addresses your needs.
As you’ll see, each treatment targets specific skin conditions. But you can have some in combination to get the desired results, so don’t forget to schedule a consultation before the procedure to get a tailored treatment.
Your doctor will indicate which is best for your skin type and aging signs and how many sessions you’ll need.
Needleless Treatments
If needles and pain scare you, we have good news. Many nonsurgical facelifts available today don’t use needles. And they’re as effective as injections for achieving a younger look. Here are some of them.
1 Emface
Emface is a clinically proven, non-invasive, and needle-free device that simultaneously lifts, tightens, and tones your entire face.
It uses radio frequency and electromagnetic energy to:
- Reduce wrinkles
- Lift skin
- Boost production of collagen
- Improve facial contours…
…by selectively activating, contracting, and toning facial muscles.
This is revolutionary! Emface’s high-intensity focused electromagnetic energy (HIFEM®) technology sends electromagnetic pulses into sagging areas to stimulate muscles in the face to contract at a higher intensity than standard.
This increases the density and quality of muscle structure, remodeling your skin, heating the dermis, and increasing collagen and elastin fibers.
Emface is one of Nava’s all-time favorite nonsurgical facelifts, because it addresses more than one structural aging issue at once. It tones facial muscles, supports and restores facial tissues, and creates a lifting effect.
This is the first technique you should ask about because we highly recommend this innovative breakthrough technology from BTL. You get two for one: it targets muscles and skin simultaneously.
2 Medical-Grade Chemical Peels
Medical-grade chemical peels have different strength levels (superficial, medium, and deep). You have the procedure in a medical office.
Chemicals placed on the target area remove the top layers of skin. In a simple procedure, these peels
- help reverse the effects of sun damage,
- remove dead skin cells,
- address hyperpigmentation, and
- reduce fine lines.
Chemical peels remain one of the most popular and cost-effective ways of restoring skin quality to get you a younger look without needles!
Downtime depends on the strength level of the peel, so you might need to have up to a week without sun exposure.
Here are some of the main benefits you can get from this procedure:
- Reduction of large pores
- Tighter, brighter, and glowing skin
- Minimizing of wrinkles
- Revealing new, firmer skin
3Laser Skin Resurfacing
Laser skin resurfacing treatment can either remove the outer layers of your skin or stimulate collagen production. It’s a very effective nonsurgical facelift to get the following results:
- Improve skin tone and texture
- Tighten the skin
- Remove fine lines and wrinkles
- Remove acne scars
- Reduce dyspigmentation
4 Ultherapy
Ultherapy treatment – one of several ultrasound treatments – uses micro-focused ultrasound energy to heat tissue through vibration and friction.
The heating produces minor coagulation points in your dermis, remodeling and boosting collagen in the deeper layers of your skin.
This ultrasound treatment is FDA approved, has no downtime, and the results are gradually visible, from a few days post-treatment to best results at 3-6 months, when the new collagen has built and lifted the skin.
It’s excellent for tightening and lifting – making it the go-to option if you want to improve the contours of your face and get a more defined jawline.
The main benefits of this treatment include the following:
- Tighten the skin of the face, neck, chin, and brow
- Stimulate new collagen production
- Eliminate fine lines and wrinkles
5 HydraFacial
This nonsurgical treatment has become so popular that someone in the world has the procedure every 15 seconds! That’s not surprising, considering it’s an all-in-one, non-invasive facial treatment with absolutely no downtime.
HydraFacial is the first patented microdermabrasion in the United States. It uses vortex technology to exfoliate, cleanse, extract, hydrate, and infuse your skin with intensive serums – including hyaluronic acid and vitamins – to provide your skin with an immediate glow.
The main benefits include the following:
- Reduce fine lines and wrinkles
- Improve elasticity and firmness
- Even your skin’s tone and vibrancy
- Improve skin texture
- Eliminate dark spots
- Eliminate oily, congested, and enlarged pores
Injectable Treatments
If needles are not a problem for you, and if you’re looking for more dramatic transformations, injectable nonsurgical facelifts may be your best bet.
Injectable treatments are economical, require no downtime, and provide immediate, satisfactory results.
We’ll now talk about the most popular ones.
1 Botulinum Toxin
Botulinum toxin injections, such as Botox and Dysport, temporarily block nerve signals in the target areas. This relaxes the tense muscles in your face that create fine lines and creases due to repetitive expressions!
Botox remains the favorite treatment for most patients looking for a nonsurgical facelift. Moreover, it’s ideal for treating wrinkles at the top of the face, including:
- Crow’s feet
- Frown lines
- Deep creases
The procedure for Botulinum toxin injections is fast and safe when applied in small amounts by a certified doctor – and doesn’t require downtime. Results are almost immediate and last for three to four months.
2 Dermal Fillers
Dermal fillers are the liquid source of youth. When injected beneath the skin, these gel-like substances – such as hyaluronic acid, poly-L-lactic acid, or calcium hydroxylapatite – smooth facial lines and restore fullness and volume in the face.
Dermal fillers are ideal for treating the following signs of aging:
- Smile lines
- Under-eye bags
- Sagging cheeks
- Facial contours that need reshaping
- Plumping lips
This non-surgical treatment only takes about 10 minutes, and you’ll see results within just a few days with the product injected directly into the target areas.
Due to the number of injections, the doctor or registered nurse practitioner may apply some local anesthetic, and your skin may get bruises for around two to three days.
But it’s definitely worth it, as results from dermal fillers usually last about 9-12 months, and the cost-benefit is much better than having a surgical facelift.
3 Fat Injections
Also called fat grafting, this minimally invasive procedure uses fat from your body to fill areas of your face that have lost volume over the years.
Despite being considered one of the nonsurgical treatments, it’s a little bit more invasive than dermal fillers. That’s because liposuction is needed before the fat injections.
The anti-aging results are similar to what you get with dermal fillers, and the younger look may last as long as what you could get with a surgical facelift.
More Nonsurgical Alternatives
Finally, we’ll take a look at two other treatments that are popular if you’re looking for nonsurgical alternatives: microneedling and thread lift.
Microneedling
Also known as collagen induction therapy, microneedling is a nonsurgical, minimally invasive treatment. It targets skin renovation from the inside out by boosting the production of collagen via your body’s natural healing capacity.
The procedure uses tiny needles to provoke micro-injuries in the outer layer of the skin. During the healing process, your body produces new collagen and elastin that significantly improve the skin tissue, tightening and toning your skin.
Microneedling is especially efficient in addressing the following issues:
- Acne scars
- Dark spots
- Wrinkles
- Large pores
At Nava, we use Morpheus8 microneedling that also targets deeper layers of skin.
Thread Lift
This minimally invasive facelift is excellent for addressing skin laxity and correcting volume loss. It dramatically improves your skin, and reduces the signs of aging without the need for a surgical facelift.
However, the procedure falls somewhere between surgery and non-invasive facelifts because some sutures and cuts are necessary. These enable the provider to implant threads inside the subcutaneous layers of your skin.
Thread lift sustains sagging skin, and encourages some collagen formation, which makes thread lift highly effective for treating the following conditions:
- Sagging forehead and droopy eyebrows
- Sagging eyelid
- Marionette lines
- Nasolabial folds and smile lines
- Sagging jowls
- Sagging neck
Nava Can Help Restore Your Self-Esteem with a Youthful Look
At Nava Center, we’re committed to making you love the skin you’re in by highlighting your innate, natural beauty.
We understand that each aging process is unique to you and that surgical procedures are not always necessary to restore fullness and a youthful glow to your face.
We therefore provide a range of regular treatments that can be as effective as surgical facelifts to reach your beauty goals – including Botox & Dysport, dermal fillers, EMFACE, HydraFacial Treatment, medical grade facial peels, and Morpheus8.
However, there isn’t one best treatment for everyone – although we love Emface, as we said. So we work with you to understand what you’d like to address and then create a tailored treatment to fulfill your needs, considering your genetics and lifestyle.
Together, we can decide on the best nonsurgical facelift to restore the condition of your skin, at any age. Schedule your consultation with a Nava aesthetics expert and treat your skin the way it deserves!