By: Dr. Susan Stuart

Each year, thousands of men and women nationwide choose surgical facelifts to achieve a younger and revitalized appearance. But for those who aren’t quite ready for facial surgery, there’s an exciting new option that utilizes the latest injectable fillers: the “liquid facelift.” This treatment has been receiving a lot of positive press recently, and a number of my patients have been asking for more details.

A liquid facelift incorporates a selection of nonsurgical techniques to rejuvenate the facial tissues and enhance facial structure.

At my state-of-the-art facility in La Jolla, Restylane® and BOTOX® Cosmetic play a central role in the liquid facelift. BOTOX Cosmetic softens the look of dynamic wrinkles created by repeated facial muscle movements such as smiling and frowning, while Restylane fills out and smoothes wrinkles on the lower portion of the face such as nasolabial folds and marionette lines.

La Jolla BOTOX® and Restylane® Benefits

For starters, liquid facelifts involve fewer risks than traditional surgical lifts. Surgical facelifts are commonly performed using general anesthesia, which often causes grogginess and nausea during recovery until its effects have worn off. But with a liquid facelift, you can receive treatment and be back to your day’s activities in just a few hours.

The risk of bruising is also much lower with liquid facelift because although some patients may experience minor bruising around the injection sites, the procedure requires no incisions. Liquid facelifts in La Jolla use BOTOX Cosmetic injections to freshen the skin by smoothing away many of the wrinkles around the brow and eyes that make you look older and tired. Then, I can use Restylane to restore the appearance of the cheek, chin, and jaw area to provide a more youthful contour.

To complete their treatment, many of my patients also choose to add in a medical-grade facial to further clarify and restore tired facial skin. Laser therapies, microdermabrasion, and Cosmelan® depigmentation treatment also can help improve the results of your liquid facelift.

Which Facelift Is Right for You?

When you choose a facelift procedure, your skin condition and specific cosmetic goals determine whether you would most benefit from a surgical or nonsurgical procedure.

While in almost all cases a liquid facelift will be less expensive than a surgical facelift, its effects are also less permanent. La Jolla BOTOX and Restylane treatments should last for several months at a time, but follow-up treatments will be needed to maintain your refreshed look. If your face requires more intense and long-lasting rejuvenation, a surgical procedure might be the better choice. But for busy women and men in La Jolla, a liquid facelift may provide exactly the refreshment you’ve needed.