Many patients notice that over time the contour of the face becomes less defined, jowls appear, the cheeks descend, and the familiar cosmetic procedures no longer give the effect they once did. At this point a natural question arises: continue with cosmetic treatment or turn to a plastic surgeon?
There is no single answer. Everything depends not on age, but on the changes that have occurred in your particular case.
What can cosmetology do?
Modern cosmetology helps to improve the quality of the skin, reduce fine wrinkles, increase its density, correct a small loss of volume and maintain a youthful appearance.
With the first age-related changes, injectable and device-based procedures can be an effective solution. In many cases they make it possible to postpone the need for surgical treatment for a long time.
When may cosmetology not be enough?
With age it is not only the condition of the skin that changes. The soft tissues of the face gradually descend, their firmness decreases, excess skin appears and the facial contour changes.
That is precisely why even modern cosmetic procedures are not always able to remove pronounced jowls, restore a defined jawline or correct a noticeable descent of the cheeks.
In such cases it is worth booking a consultation with a plastic surgeon.
Which signs may indicate that it is time to consult a surgeon?
- pronounced jowls;
- an indistinct facial contour;
- descended cheeks;
- excess skin on the face or neck;
- a double chin;
- deep nasolabial folds related to tissue descent;
- cosmetic procedures have started to give a less noticeable or shorter-lasting effect.
A facelift and cosmetology are not competitors
There is a widespread belief that plastic surgery completely replaces cosmetology. In reality this is not so.
These methods address different tasks and often complement each other.
Cosmetology is aimed at improving the quality of the skin and correcting the initial age-related changes.
Facial surgery helps to address pronounced tissue descent, excess skin and jowls, and to restore more defined facial contours.
After surgical treatment, cosmetic procedures can also be used to maintain the quality of the skin and preserve the result.
Do you need to wait for a certain age?
No. There is no age after which everyone needs a facelift.
In some patients pronounced age-related changes appear earlier, in others considerably later. This depends on heredity, the structural features of the face, the quality of the skin, lifestyle and other factors.
The decision is therefore made not by age, but by the condition of the tissues.
Will threads remove jowls?
With minor age-related changes, some non-surgical methods can give a moderate effect.
However, with pronounced tissue descent, excess skin and noticeable jowls they do not always make it possible to achieve a result comparable to a surgical facelift.
The optimal treatment method is determined only after an in-person examination.
How does the doctor choose the treatment method?
During the consultation the plastic surgeon assesses the condition of the skin, the position of the soft tissues of the face, the extent of the age-related changes, the condition of the lower third of the face and the neck, the presence of excess skin, the anatomical features and the patient's wishes.
After this the doctor explains whether cosmetic treatment can be continued or whether a plastic surgery procedure should be considered in order to achieve the desired result.
Not every patient needs a comprehensive facelift. Sometimes correcting a single zone is enough - for example, the lower third of the face, the middle zone or the neck.
Is a natural result possible?
Modern plastic surgery is aimed not at changing the appearance, but at restoring the natural contours of the face.
The surgeon's main task is to preserve the patient's individual features and make the face fresher and more harmonious while avoiding an over-tightened effect.
That is exactly why today what matters is not the name of the technique, but choosing it correctly, taking into account the anatomical features of each patient.
The main thing
If cosmetic procedures have stopped giving the expected result, it does not mean they were performed incorrectly. Different methods simply address different tasks.
Whether cosmetology is enough or a facelift is worth considering can be determined only after a consultation with a plastic surgeon. After the examination the doctor will assess the condition of the tissues, explain the possible correction options and help you choose the most suitable treatment method.
You can read more about surgical lifting techniques in the article SMAS lift, Deep Plane or endoscopic facelift, while the scope and stages of the operation are described on the service page facelift and facial contour.