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Ultherapy and Surgical Facelifts: Which Is Right for You?

Aging is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have control or power over how you age.

Facelifts have offered patients a way to determine how their facial skin and structures look once the kiss of youth has faded.

Facelifts: What They Are and How They Work

A “facelift” can describe either a surgical or non-surgical procedure that helps treat loose, sagging skin on your face to create a more youthful appearance.

Although conventional facelifts are typically achieved through surgery, non-surgical alternatives to facelifts are available.

Surgical Facelifts

Surgical facelifts describe a type of cosmetic procedure where the skin is permanently removed from your face. Surgical facelifts are effective yet invasive procedures. They require a lot of prep and downtime.

Ultherapy: The Non-Surgical Facelift Alternative

Ultherapy is a type of non-invasive skin tightening treatment that can lift the skin around the brow, neck, and chin. Ultherapy also doubles as a wrinkle treatment because it can improve the appearance of lines and wrinkles on your face and upper chest.

For these reasons, Ultherapy is considered to be a non-surgical alternative for a facelift.

How Ultherapy Non-Invasive Skin Tightening Works

Ultherapy non-invasive skin tightening works by stimulating your body’s new collagen and elastin production. The production of new collagen and elastic creates natural-looking results without the hassle of surgery and recovery downtime.

Ultherapy relies on ultrasound technology capable of penetrating deep into the skin’s mid-layer, known as the dermis. The ultrasound waves are precise and focused and generate heat, which affects your skin’s tissue at a micro-level.

By creating microdamage in your skin’s tissue, this FDA-cleared, non-invasive procedure prompts the production of heat and blood flow to the treated areas.

From the increase in blood flow comes an increase in fibroblasts. Fibroblasts are some of the most common cells in the skin. These connective tissue cells help treat areas in your body that need support with wound healing.

Fibroblasts support the health of your skin by stimulating the production of new collagen.

Ultherapy creates a thermal effect in your skin’s outer layer, which causes it to lift, tighten, and firm. These anti-aging results are credited to skin rejuvenation via new collagen renewal in your body. Additionally, Ultherapy helps straighten the elastin fibers in your skin, which helps skin “bounce back” from wrinkles and lines.

Ultrasound therapy not only tightens the skin but offers skin rejuvenation effects by exfoliating and smoothing the outer layers of your skin. In this way, Ultherapy can help improve the appearance of your skin’s overall tone and texture.

Ultrasound therapy is unique in the world of cosmetics because it can actually change the structure of the superficial layers of your skin. These changes make it easier for your skin to absorb the nutrients from your topical skincare products.

What Areas Can Be Treated with Ultherapy?

Ultherapy is a versatile treatment that can assist with skin tightening around the eyes, mouth, jawline, cheeks, and neck.

Ultherapy typically targets these areas because they show some of the most obvious and visible signs of aging once your skin’s nutrients begin to decline.

After around age 30, the essential nutrients and proteins in your skin like elastin and collagen start to deplete. This is why wrinkles and lines become more visible as you continue to age.

What Happens During an Ultherapy Treatment?

The medical team at Columbus Facial Plastics are experts in Ultherapy non-invasive skin tightening treatment. It’s one of the most commonly performed procedures at our center.

Our team will use an FDA-approved handheld device to emit ultrasound waves into your skin at the treatment sites during your procedure. The ultrasound waves are controlled and precise, allowing us to deliver a specific amount and depth of ultrasound waves into your skin.

Before your treatment, our team will apply a topical anesthetic to help increase your comfort during the procedure.

After Ultherapy

After your treatment, you may experience minor tenderness or redness at the treated sites; however, you can expect these effects to dissipate within an hour.

One of the major benefits of Ultherapy over traditional facelifts is it does not require any downtime. While surgical facelifts require several weeks of recovery, non-surgical facelift procedures like Ultherapy enable you to resume your lifestyle and routine immediately.

How Many Sessions of Ultherapy Are Required?

We recommend that patients receive between one and two Ultherapy treatments to achieve their desired skin tightening results.

The average patient will begin seeing results within just a few weeks. Typically, full results are visible between three to six months after your initial treatment.

You may be wondering why Ultherapy does not produce immediate results. The fact of the matter is it takes your body time to build up new stores of collagen and elastin to help support the integrity of your skin.

How Long Do Ultherapy Sessions Take?

On average, Ultherapy sessions range from an hour to an hour and a half. The time difference is due to the specific patient and the surface area they are treating.

Larger surface areas will take a longer time. However, all in all, Ultherapy is a quick and convenient procedure, making it the ideal cosmetic treatment for busy people.

What to Do Post-Procedure

After your procedure, our team will advise you on a maintenance schedule to help maintain your results. A good rule of thumb is to receive maintenance treatments every couple of years.

Ultherapy isn’t permanent. Your body has to be consistently encouraged to produce new collagen in order to retain the results you get from Ultherapy.