Rosacea is a common skin disorder. It often begins with a tendency to blush or flush more easily than other people. The redness can slowly spread beyond the nose and cheeks to the forehead and chin. Even the ears, chest, and back can be red all the time.
Facial Laxity at a Glance
Best Results 1-4
Treatment Recovery 0- 6 days
Procedure Time 10-80 min
Skin Specialist Dr Robbie
Duration of Results 12-60+ months
Anaesthetic As per procedure
Back to Work Next Day- 7 days
The Facts to Know
Non-surgical facelifting can yield good results if performed correctly
Laser resurfacing is useful if there is background sun damage & poor skin quality
Dermal fillers can displace volume, providing a lift. This is termed a liquid face lift
New collagen stimulating injectables reduce skin laxity & wrinkles without adding volume
HIFU or Morpheus can be a useful treatment for lifting the lower face
RF or radiofrequency energy can be delivered on the skin’s surface
RF Microneedling can be useful for lifting the lower face & neck contouring
Thread lifting can give a good result in some patients with facial laxity
PRP does not provide any lifting (contrary to though and advertising)
Majority of patients will benefit from a combination approach to facelifting
When do I use non-surgical procedures?
Facial Laxity
Non-surgical face lifting & skin tightening is used in the following scenarios-
Patients who have mild to moderate skin laxity who are not yet candidates for surgical face lifting. This group of patients are usually between the age of mid 30s to late 50s.
Patients who are candidates for surgical face lifts but choose not to undertake a surgical procedure.
Patients who have had surgical procedures including face & neck lifts, however would like further improvements.
The MOST important factor in determining what is the best treatment is based upon a complex algorithm as outlined below.
How can HIFU or Morpheus treat facial laxity?
Yes, if you are a suitable candidate for the procedure. Remember the ideal device depends on your skin quality, age, laxity, dermal thickness, current volume & ethnicity. This is why I employ many devices & methods for lifting.
Ideal HIFU patient profile, mild to moderate laxity, thick dermis with good volume & minimal sun damage. The logic is that we can contract lax collagen & not worry about volume loss– especially in the lower face.
What is the ideal non-surgical treatment for facial laxity?
In reality the algorithm is very complex. Put simply it is NOT one device, or one method. I take into consideration factors such as the grade of laxity, dermal thickness, background skin quality, degree of volume loss, ethnicity, downtime, & patient expectations.
What are biostimulatory injectables?
Introduced into Australia in late 2022, biostimulatory hyaluronic acid injections have revolutionised the way we manage skin laxity. This injectable tightens skin without adding volume.
They work by stimulating cells to produce collagen. The result? Firmer, tighter skin with less wrinkles & better skin quality. This *injectable can be used to treat both facial & neck laxity.
What is a laser face lift?
Laser resurfacing using both ablative erbium & CO2 lasers can provide collagen stimulation & contraction. This can improve the jowls, marionette lines as well as eye wrinkles, & laxity. In most cases lasers can provide an upper eyelid lift as well as marked tightening of the lower lids.
Lasers should be reserved for patients with significant sun damage with poor skin quality. The downside with laser resurfacing is the downtime of 5 to 10 days. Laser resurfacing only addresses skin quality & tone, volume should be addressed with dermal fillers or fat transfer.
What are liquid face lifts?
Liquid face lifting is a term to describe dermal fillers. Placed in strategic locations, dermal fillers displace volume loss, in turn creating lift. The exact placement of fillers depends on your facial shape, & area of concern.
In the context of lifting, the most commonly displaced areas include your cheeks, chin & jawline. The art of filling is to provide traction & counter traction in key vectors (area of pull). This displacement of volume tractions soft tissue & skin in an upward & backward vector. This causes lifting.
I use both hyaluronic acid & collagen stimulating dermal fillers to achieve this lift. In most cases I combine fillers with HIFU, RF, threads, injectables & lasers.
Refer to the section on dermal fillers for a better understanding on what specific areas can be targeted.