As we age, our skin produces progressively less collagen and elastin. Collagen and elastin are proteins and fibers that are required to keep skin tight and wrinkle-free. At Advanced Dermatology Center in Wolcott, CT, we proudly offer numerous anti-aging treatments to help you restore your youth and natural beauty. Among these is a treatment known as a PDO thread lift; that’s what we’d like to highlight today.
What, Exactly, Is a PDO Thread Lift?
A PDO thread lift is an anti-aging treatment that was approved by the FDA to tighten loose skin safely, effectively, and non-invasively. These threads comprise PDO thread lift, or polydioxanone, threads that can be absorbed by your skin safely. The great thing about these threads is they encourage collagen induction and neovascularisation.
How Long Do the Results of Treatment Last?
Since these threads can be absorbed by your skin, you can’t expect results that last a lifetime. How efficiently your skin absorbs these threads depends on several lifestyle factors. The average person can expect the threads to remain in place for roughly six to eight months.
Once your skin has absorbed the threads fully, the youthful appearance provided by the treatment may remain for another three to six months thanks to the cell turnover promoted by the threads.
What Can I Expect During Treatment?
You can expect to feel no pain or discomfort during your treatment session. Before the treatment process starts, we numb the targeted area. The threads are inserted with cannulas that may be blunt or sharp depending on your unique needs. These cannulas pass through several layers of your skin and stabilize the threads so your skin can be tightened. After the threads are anchored, the excess threads are cut off.
How Long Should I Expect This Treatment to Take?
The typical PDO thread lift treatment lasts between 15 and 30 minutes. We can’t tell you exactly how long you should expect your treatment to take until you come in for an initial evaluation. However, most people treated in fewer than 20 minutes. Once your session is complete, you are free to return to work. Unlike an invasive facelift, there is no significant recovery period and you don’t need to worry about downtime.
Which Areas Can This Treatment Improve?
What’s exciting about a PDO thread lift is it can improve several parts of your face. Among the areas this treatment commonly improves upon are the:
- Area beneath the eyes
- Area between the eyebrows
- Area around the corners of the eyes
- Cheeks
- Area between the nose and mouth
- Area around the corners of the mouth
- Neck
- Jawline
When you use this treatment to target the midface and lower face, you may benefit greatly from combining it with Ultherapy. Although this treatment pairs well with dermal fillers, such as Juvederm, it is often more effective when paired with a neuromodulator.
What’s So Great About Pairing This Treatment With Neuromodulators?
The great thing about pairing a PDO thread lift with neuromodulator injections is neuromodulators work differently than PDO threads and hyaluronic acid-based dermal fillers. HA fillers and PDO threads work, partially, thanks to their ability to induce collagen production. This is perfect when you have cosmetic concerns caused by a lack of volume in the skin.
Neuromodulators work differently. They treat cosmetic concerns caused by overactive muscles. Such lines, wrinkles, and folds often appear around your mouth, between your brows and around your eyes. Although these lines and wrinkles are permanent without professional treatment, they deepen when you emote.
What Type of PDO Threads Will Be Used During My Treatment?
There are two primary types of PDO threads used to lift and smooth the skin. These are referred to as floating barbed threads and floating non-barbed threads. The two subtypes of floating non-barbed threads are braided threads and mono-filament threads. There are also several subtypes of barbed threads, including:
- Unilateral barbed threads
- Bilateral barbed threads
- Uni-directional barbed threads
- Bi-directional barbed threads
- Z-directional barbed threads
- Cutting barbs
- Molding barbs
Sometimes, threads are described with less formal monikers, including “tornado,” double screw” or “heart barb” threads. These colloquial monikers always describe a subtype of barbed thread. What’s more important than whether a thread is barbed or not are how thick the threads are and how long the threads are. The gauge and length of the threads affect, among other things, the quality of the treatment results.
The Bottom Line
The appropriate type of thread for your unique cosmetic goals will be determined during your initial consultation once we know the extent of the improvement you need, your specific concerns, and the type of skin you have. Depending on your unique case, we may recommend a combination of several gauges, lengths, and shapes.
Incredible Advantages of Thread Lifts
1. Absorption That Is Safe and Slow
Remember, the gauge and length of the threads used during your treatment affect how long absorption takes. Thicker, longer threads can last for up to 12 months before your skin absorbs them fully. Again, the average person enjoys threads that stay in the skin for eight to six months and results that remain for an additional three months. However, results can last for up to 24 months once the skin has absorbed the threads.
In other words, the results of your treatment may last anywhere from nine to 36 months. There is no comparable alternative. PDO threads have been used safely and effectively to treat and close wounds, resolve gynecological concerns, and suture incisions made during cosmetic procedures for over three decades. Over the course of over 30 years, there have been no instances of allergic reactions to the safe, toxin-free threads.
2. Discreet, Non-Invasive Results
Another advantage this treatment has over a traditional facelift is it is not invasive. As soon as your treatment is complete, you will show no signs that you have had “work done,” such as redness, irritation, bruising, or swelling. The only thing people will be able to see is you look healthy and young. Furthermore, these threads are only inserted into your skin’s top layers.
Since there are so few nerve endings in the superficial layers of your skin, you shouldn’t expect to feel any pain or discomfort. Moreover, we apply a topical numbing cream to your skin before your session begins so you won’t feel anything when the needles are inserted beneath your skin. If you’re not apprehensive about cannulas, you may choose to receive no anesthetic before your session. A lot of people don’t like their faces feeling numb temporarily.
3. Results That Can Be Enjoyed Immediately
Yet another advantage this treatment has over a traditional facelift is you must wait several weeks to enjoy the results due to extreme inflammation and swelling if you opt for a facelift. In contrast, a PDO thread lift provides immediate results.
Granted, you don’t get to enjoy the final results of treatment right away. Your skin produces collagen in response to the micro-injuries experienced during the thread lift. Your results will continue to improve over the course of two to three months as your skin produces extra collagen.
4. This Treatment Is Completely Customizable
Another advantage of this treatment is how customizable it is. Since the threads come in numerous shapes and sizes, we can customize your anti-aging treatment based on the health of your skin, your unique aesthetic goals, and the type of skin you have.
For instance, mono-threads are perfect for restoring volume to the chin and cheeks because they are relatively fine. On the other hand, thicker threads are perfect for tightening skin that sags around your neck and lower jaw.
5. This Treatment Rejuvenates Your Skin and Revitalizes Your Appearance
A PDO lift tightens and lifts sagging skin, rejuvenating your skin and revitalizing your appearance immediately. From there, the results only improve over the course of several months. During the threading process, your skin produces more collagen and elastin than it would have produced otherwise. After only a couple of months, you’ll realize that the wrinkles and lines that used to cross your face have vanished completely.
Hollow cheeks are rounder than they have been in more years than you care to count. The produced elastin keeps your skin elastic long after the threads have been absorbed by your skin. The collagen ensures that you will enjoy several months or years of adequate volume in the previously sunken regions of your face.
6. This Treatment Is Incredibly Affordable
How much your treatment costs will depend on a variety of factors, including how many concerns you are correcting, the type of thread or threads used, and whether you opt for a local or general anesthetic.
Regardless, this non-invasive treatment will always be more affordable than chin augmentation, cheek augmentation, or a facelift. This includes consideration of the results fading with time. Even invasive procedures don’t provide results that last a lifetime.
7. This Treatment Works Very Well With Other Anti-Aging Treatments
PDO lifts work very well with other anti-aging treatments, like hyaluronic acid-based dermal fillers. For instance, if you are suffering from severe volume loss in your cheeks, you can complement a thread lift perfectly with Juvederm Voluma XC. We also offer other dermal fillers designed to correct other aesthetic issues.
Is This Treatment Appropriate for Me?
This treatment may be appropriate for you if you want to reverse the signs of aging without undergoing an invasive procedure. The ideal candidate is experiencing mild-to-moderate skin laxity issues and is between the ages of 30 and 65. To be considered a good candidate for a thread lift, you should be at a healthy weight. Furthermore, you should not have undergone a facelift in the past.
If your skin is very unhealthy due to lifestyle choices, like smoking, excessive alcohol consumption or chronic unprotected sun exposure, you may be considered a poor candidate for this treatment. Additionally, the best candidate for this treatment has realistic expectations about the results. He or she understands that the initial results of treatment are immediate and will improve over the course of several months.
What Can I Do To Make the Results of Treatment Last Longer?
To make the results of your treatment last longer, don’t smoke, consume alcohol in moderation, wear sunscreen when you go outside and minimize the time you spend in direct sunlight.
Restore Your Youth and Inner Beauty
You work hard. You juggle a hectic life like a champion. You’re entitled to a little personal time to care for your skin. If you think it’s time to rejuvenate and revitalize your skin, boosting your self-confidence and looking years younger, contact us now at Advanced Dermatology Center in Wolcott, CT to book an appointment. You’ll love the way you look.
