can lasers lift and tighten skin advertising messages from device
manufacturers and individual medical practices have implied or outright made
claims that facelifts can be done non surgically using lasers and other
heating devices like high-frequency ultrasound heat generating what thermal
energy devices do have a role in cosmetic medicine it's important to
understand the limitations of these technologies and understand where they
stand in comparison to any other types of procedures it's also important to
recognize the potential detrimental effects of excessive heat on the skin
I'm Dr. Amiya Prasad I'm a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and
Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon I've been in
practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years I performed a full
range of surgical facelifts from many lifts and deep plane facelift I also own
several lasers and thermal energy delivery devices including fractional
CO2 laser long pulsed 1064 YAG laser erbium lasers W-switch laser and Pelleve
radiofrequency I also perform other non-surgical facial rejuvenation
treatments like the use of PRP or platelet-rich plasma to improve skin
quality as well as fillers and implants to improve facial volume in areas such
as the lips chin cheeks and jaw line associated with genetics and facial
aging starting off with what lasers and other thermal energy devices can do they
can tighten and improve the skin several ways the heat of thermal devices can
make the skin contract so they can help improve issues like wrinkles thermal
devices work on a controlled injury model where heating the skin to specific
temperatures will induce the body to produce
halogen as a repair response to injury collagen is the protein that gives skin
its strength and its foundation and contributes to the appearance of a
youthful smooth looking skin with partial ablation also known as
fractionated laser treatment the top layers of skin can be partially removed
to allow for new fresh layer of epidermis to come in lasers such as a
q-switch laser can tone the skin and stimulate collagen without any ablation
or downtime in our practice we use a long pulsed 1064 YAG laser which can
elevate the skin temperature to tighten the skin as well as to induce fat
reduction on the face and body as effective as these devices can
potentially be they cannot lift the skin like a facelift the aggressive marketing
using celebrities to promote non-surgical so-called facelift using
devices as their beauty secret in my opinion is deceptive and potentially
harmful people come in for laser or thermal treatments wanting the same
appearance as a celebrity endorser or the results of a facelift without
undergoing surgery just because a celebrity claims to use a particular
device it doesn't mean their appearance that the result of only using the
promoted device it's more likely the celebrity also had facelift as well as
eyelid surgery and cosmetic fillers and a whole other bunch of stuff when people
want results from a thermal device that a celebrity endorser actually got from
multiple unrelated procedures including surgical lifting there is a significant
potential risk to the skins health if a patient receives more aggressive
treatment to lift their skin they may be literally cooking the fat layers beneath
the skin which is very important for a glow of youthful volume misleading
consumers to think a non-surgical lifting as possible can put doctors in a
compromising position to do more aggressive
treatments and potentially compromise safety or do less aggressive treatments
and their patients will end up being dissatisfied having achieved more
realistic outcomes another reason why lifting with thermal devices is not
effective is that sagging goes on beyond just the skin and affects the muscle and
soft tissue layers below the skin the skin throughout most of the body is only
two millimeters in thickness but muscle and soft tissue also sags with aging
various thermal devices only focus on the outer layer and even if they can
contract and tighten the skin they cannot do that for the muscle and soft
tissue in a way that is done in surgery so visible sagging will persist even
minimally invasive procedure such as thread lifts can only lift the skin and
not the underlying muscle or soft tissue layers surgical lifting can tighten and
lift the muscle and soft tissue layers which leads to obviously visible and
superior results in appearing more youthful and ensures a longer-lasting
effect than just treating this top skin layer facelifts don't address every
aging issue and additional treatments can be needed from volume augmentation
and maintaining skin quality while surgical face lifting and laser
treatment alternatives are often considered as the first treatment for
facial aging a significant aspect of facial aging is often not factored in
the facial foundation is bone bone loss has the most significant effect on
facial appearance this volumetric loss throughout the face notably in the
cheeks causes the facial structure to shrink and the face to look deflated
with less facial volume to support the skin the skin appears like it's sagging
facial volume loss can be treated without surgery using a technique
called Structural Volumizing by placing thicker longer-lasting fillers deeper
than traditional filler placement at the foundational bone level we can restore
volume and give the face more definition since volume is placed at the bone level
and held in place by the muscle layer the filler doesn't migrate like it tends
to do when placed just below the skin which is typical I would say that for
the majority of people who are trying to tighten and lift their skin without
surgery that structural volumizing will have a much more substantial benefit to
their appearance than heating the skin to try to shrink wrap their way to a
more attractive appearance a youthful face has volume and definition with a
soft and radiant glow to the skin by defining the problem you define the
solution lasers and other thermal treatments are perfectly suited for skin
resurfacing tightening collagen stimulation however if you're looking to
lift what appears to be sagging skin a proper evaluation to determine the
degree of volume loss relative to the degree of skin and underlying tissue
sagging provides the key information needed for you to make an informed
decision when facial aging is approached from the inside outward volume provides
structure and the skin can be treated with lower energy non ablative lasers
PRP and gentle treatments to the epidermis patients come in asking for
the latest over hybrid heating device after educating them about bone loss I
provide more impressive results in 15 minutes with structural volumizing using
long lasting hyaluronic acid fillers then any shrink-wrapping heat technology
could ever produce I hope you found this information helpful thank you for your
question