Liquid Face Lift? Dermal Fillers? Are They The Same?
In short, liquid facelift and dermal fillers are not precisely the same. Although, some people use these terms interchangeably.
If you are to nitpick, you can say that a liquid facelift is a combination of Botox and dermal fillers.
Dermal fillers aim to iron out your facial wrinkles, but also add a bit to your skin volume and lift any tired skin a notch.
A lot of people are deciding to have liquid facelift instead of the old-fashioned surgical one. Usually, this is because dermal fillers are less invasive and less risky.
How Does a Liquid Facelift Work?
Your liquid facelift has two elements, the Botox and the dermal fillers. Botox is there to relax your facial muscles and iron out the wrinkles.
This happens because Botox influences the nerves that control the facial muscle contractions. You contract your muscles when making grimaces throughout the day, and that is the cause of your wrinkles.
That is why Botox is so powerful in fighting off those types of wrinkles that originate from facial expressions.
Due to Botox, the creases on your face are relaxed. This means that it is time to use dermal fillers in those places. There are several types of dermal fillers. You may have heard about:
Most of these are doing more or less the same thing. There are some differences that you should discuss with your doctor. Some doctors even use your fatty tissue and inject it into the facial wrinkles. Some patients are not OK with using the fat from their buttocks for facial injections.
Eventually, the filler breaks down, and the wrinkles start to appear again. Usually, it takes about six months until the entire process plays out. Botox prolongs the lifespan and the effects of dermal fillers.
Don’t End up Looking Like a Wax Doll
A liquid facelift makes you look younger, more rested, fresh, and lovely. Unless it doesn’t. More precisely, if it is not done correctly, a liquid facelift can give you that highly dreaded wax doll appearance. Here are some tips about how you can avoid this from happening to you:
- Don’t use silicone liquid or gel.
- Only FDA approved dermal fillers are allowed.
- Knocking two decades off your face is not realistic. Don’t ask for it, or you’ll regret it.
- Pick one procedure and stick to it. Don’t combine them.
- Start with temporary fillers and go back to do long term ones only if you agree with the results.
It’s Time to Talk About the Money
A liquid facelift can cost anywhere from several hundred to several thousands of dollars. You need to see a doctor to get the precise estimate. It all depends on the number of necessary injections, as well as their locations. Let’s not forget the type of one or more dermal fillers that will be used.
What you want to do is – a high-quality initial treatment. Find a doctor that uses advanced technology and makes good combinations of different fillers to achieve the best results. In that way, the maintenance costs will be much lower as the liquid facelift effects will last longer.
Discuss the price of your first liquid facelift, but also talk about the cost of touchup treatments. Expect that you will have one to two touchups per year. Some doctors offer discounts if you book these in advance.
Find an Excellent Doctor
Almost anybody who has ever had a liquid facelift will say that their physician is the best. Of course, you should listen to the word-of-mouth, but only if it comes from the very trusted sources. You should always check the credentials of the doctor you are seeing.
Never, ever, ever fall victim to one of those notorious injection parties. A real doctor will never host such an event. Regardless of how affordable it may seem, it is never worth the risk.
So, how do you find a reliable doctor? Luckily for you, some societies have special entry requirements. For example, only reputable physicians can be members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons or the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
Moreover, the members of the Liquid Face Lift Association have to perform at least 1,000 dermal filler procedures. All of these procedures need to be well documented and proven.
Even if you have taken all measures of precaution, there are always some bad apples in the barrel. Below is the list of red flags. If you spot any of them, leave and change the doctor.
- They leave the procedure to the nurses.
- They are avoiding to show you their license.
- They are offering a filler that is not approved for use in the USA.
- They don’t check your skin for sores before starting or booking the procedure.
Only a licensed doctor is allowed to come anywhere near your face with an injection of dermal fillers. This doesn’t include nurses, estheticians, and similar medical professionals.
Also, not all doctors have been licensed to perform this procedure. Licensed and experienced doctors will know that any sore on your face, including those made by chemical peeling, means that injections will have to wait.
Other concerns regard the quality of fillers. The USA has a very rigorous procedure for accepting any substance for human use. FDA has strict rules for this. That is why you should never settle for anything else than FDA approved fillers.
With all this taken into concern, the liquid facelift is still a great way of holding the clock back. It has fewer risks than undergoing surgery, and the results are excellent. The downside is that you have to do touchups occasionally. However, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing since that gives you more control over the results.
