BY LISA WILLIAMS
The Newest Extreme Dermatology Promises Dramatic Results With Less Downtime
If eyebrow threading makes you uneasy, honey, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Queen of off-kilter beauty extremes (remember vagina steaming?) Gwyneth Paltrow has another treatment for you to think about: The Threading Face-Lift.
A recent GOOP article on her popular blog explored the ins and outs of the “under-the-radar” method for anti-aging which was approved by the FDA ten years ago. So what exactly is the draw of giving your face the ‘thread-lifting’ treatment? That would be the fact that’s it’s scalpel-free, has a lower downtime and is relatively low-cost compared with other, more invasive treatments, but comes with a bigger payoff of greater lifting capacity compared to run-of-the-mill lasers and creams.
Blame silent screen-era director D. W. Griffith for the cult of perfection in Hollywood (and the rest of the world): His pioneering closeups arguably led to generations of actors (supposedly everyone from Marilyn Monroe and Greta Garbo to Burt Lancaster and John Wayne) becoming plastic surgery guinea pigs, ready to try everything from cheek-plumping paraffin shots, precursors to today’s fillers, to painful hairline electrolysis. To help the most crinkled faces, early cinematographers started “Vaselensing,” coating the camera lens with Vaseline—a practice that seems both quaint and kind in this era of HD cameras capable of discerning every pore and all but the most undetectable dermatological interventions.
People think that the true beauties of the world don’t do anything. The reality is that they just have a lot of subtle work—a little bit of everything. It’s only the bad work that we notice.
Read more: Which is the best: Threadlift, Filler or Ultherapy?
LIFT IT
When the thread lift was launched in 2005, promising a mini-facelift with little to no downtime, Hollywood jumped. Newer iterations provide the same lifting effect, with two significant upgrades: It stays in place better thanks to additional hooks, and the threads (previously tricky to remove if anything went awry) dissolve in seven months, with benefits lasting up to two years. Plus, studies have found that by repositioning skin, threads spur collagen growth in adjacent tissue. Newer versions allow a myriad of lifting, face contouring and even nose shaping benefits. Extra-thick versions, like the new Infinity Instalift performed by masters of the thread-lifting technique Dr Kenneth Lee at SW1 Clinic, create a more dramatic lift. “The initial result is immediate, unlike lasers, which require patience,” says Dr K. Lee, who believes that threads can deliver, in just 30 minutes, 70 percent of the lift of a surgical facelift without the months of healing. But there are detractors who remains skeptical of threads’ safety, noting that if not properly placed, threads can also be visible through the skin. That is why unlike lasers, thread-lifting should only be performed only by the most highly trained doctors and in the most sterile environment possible. Don’t just shop for thread-lifts based on price, warned many thread-lift advocates, this is where the quality of the threads used and the expertise makes all the difference in the world.
Read more: Nose Lift: What’s it really like to get nose fillers
“I did my first thread-lift with disastrous results”, remarks Christine, a 43 year-old photographer. “The doctor was extremely rough and did the procedure very quickly in his cramped one-man-show clinic. Needless to say, it didn’t deliver the results I expected even though the price offered by the clinic was a steal. I was bruised all over for a week, and worst of all, did not have much results to speak of after my ordeal.”
Despite that initial letdown, Christine embarked on her second thread-lift. “My friends were getting these fabulous results, that was how I found our about Infinity Instalift at SW1 Clinic. The price was certainly higher but the results were about 5 times better, with less pain and downtime as well! My advice to anyone contemplating a thread-lift procedure is to do their homework and only go for the best.”
Dr Kenneth Lee, whose waiting list for his signature Infinity Instalift is said to stretch for months, treated Christine in under an hour. Initially apprehensive, Christine felt so reassured with his meticulous nature and professional expertise that right after her Infinity V-lift to address her jowls and marionette lines (lines below the corner of her mouth), she opted to go for Infinity Brow lift and Infinity Nose lift at the same session! Leaving the clinic with a surgical tape over her nose, she reported mild tenderness over the treated area, but was nevertheless buoyed by the fact that she could already see some improvements.
Over the next few days, Christine was really pleased as the swelling subsided and her face-shaping and skin lifting results became even more apparent. “Compliments started flowing in, my friends could not figure out what it was I did but said I looked at least 5 years younger!” she laughed.
When asked if this is something she would undergo again, she replied without hesitation, “Definitely! I cannot put up with months of healing from surgery, so one to two days of downtime from Infinity Instalift is a small price to pay in exchange for the remarkable improvement in my skin, something that I could never achieve with skincare or lasers alone.”
Read more: My Quest for a Sharper Nose without Surgery