Age affects us all in different ways, but there’s one age-related change we all have in common: sagging skin that’s a lot more prone to wrinkles and lines.
For years, facelift surgery was the only solution for tightening up lax skin and smoothing out pesky lines. But now, Sanctuary Cosmetic Center offers another solution that can give you great results: Silhouette InstaLift®, a minimally invasive treatment available for patients at our McLean and Dulles, Virginia, locations.
Soheila Rostami, MD, FAAO, FAACS, and Joseph K. Davidson, MD, FACS, offer InstaLift for women and men who have unwanted facial sagging, jowling, and wrinkles in the mid to lower face. Here’s how Silhouette InstaLift can help you look younger — and what to expect after your procedure.
Sometimes referred to as a thread lift, Silhouette InstaLift uses absorbable sutures to gently lift sagging skin from inside. Each suture has a tiny hook on the end. The hooks “grab” your skin, allowing your doctor to reposition sagging skin and anchor it in a lifted position.
InstaLift differs from other thread lift treatments in its suture design. While other thread lifts use smooth or barbed sutures, Silhouette InstaLift sutures feature a series of tiny “cones” designed to gather more skin, so you achieve greater lift compared to other lift products.
In addition to repositioning sagging skin, Silhouette InstaLift sutures create controlled “injury” inside your skin, promoting natural healing responses that include ramped-up collagen production. As one of skin’s building blocks, collagen helps your skin look and feel firmer over time.
Silhouette InstaLift treatment takes about 45-60 minutes and uses a local anesthetic to keep you comfortable. The sutures are applied using a special needle designed to apply each suture in its precise location, based on your facial anatomy, degree of sagging, overall goals, and other factors.
Unlike a surgical facelift that’s associated with a prolonged recovery time (along with swelling that can last for months), Silhouette InstaLift lets you get back to your regular routines right away. You might have some soreness, redness, or very mild swelling near the insertion sites, but all these effects resolve soon afterward.
Silhouette InstaLift results can last for two years or longer, helping you look years younger without the downsides of facelift surgery. While the results are less dramatic than a facelift, Silhouette InstaLift can be a great choice for anyone with mild to moderate facial sagging or for any patient who can’t or doesn’t want to undergo facelift surgery.
Although Silhouette InstaLift is far less invasive than a facelift, there are a couple of post-treatment precautions you’ll need to observe. First and most importantly, you shouldn’t rub your face for at least a week after your treatment. Rubbing could dislodge the sutures, negating the effect of the procedure. Take care when washing your face or applying moisturizer.
It’s also a good idea to sleep with your head propped up during the first week or so. Using pillows to keep your head slightly elevated prevents you from rolling over onto the sutures and applying pressure that could cause them to lose their “grip.”
Very rarely, a patient experiences irritation around the suture or the suture becomes more visible. If that happens, call the office so we can remove the sutures and discuss alternatives.
Even a little facial aging can have a major impact on how you look and how you feel. Silhouette InstaLift is a great option for lifting sagging skin and restoring more youthful contours while yielding natural-looking results.
To learn how Silhouette InstaLift can help you achieve your aesthetic goals, book an appointment online or over the phone at Sanctuary Cosmetic Center today.
