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Threadlifts vs fillers: What’s best for me?
These days, patients hardly have to go under the knife for cosmetic enhancement. With so many non-surgical aesthetic treatments to choose from, getting a sharper nose or wrinkle-free skin can be done as fast as a lunchtime appointment.
For patients looking to lift their nose and skin, the current most popular options are dermal fillers and threadlifts. Both achieve thereabout the same effect, but differ greatly in the way they work. Which treatment works best for you? Let’s quickly recap on these two treatments.
Fillers
Dermal fillers contain hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring substance already found in our body that improves elasticity, stabilises structure and attracts and binds water in our skin. Part of the ageing process includes collagen and volume loss in our face. This leads to signs of ageing, such as fine lines, deep Nasolabial folds and saggy skin. Hyaluronic acid helps to fill the space of this volume loss as well as stimulate skin cell renewal.
As such, dermal fillers are prized for smoothing fine lines and wrinkles, improving the appearance of scars and overall giving a youthful look by adding volume to our lips and cheeks. In addition, fillers are also commonly used for patients who wish to achieve a sharper nose without undergoing a nose job. Nose fillers make use of hyaluronic acid to smoothen bumps, add some lift to the nose bridge, improve the size of the nose and fill in depressed areas on the nose.
Have a bulbous nose and want a sharper nose tip? Fillers can be injected just at the tip of your nose for a more sculpted and relatively thinner nose.
Thread lifts
Threadlifts involve the placement of temporary sutures under the skin to produce a subtle but visible lift. These threads are made of a very safe ingredient known as polydioxanone, which dissolve in our body naturally over time. During a thread lift procedure, multiple threads are used to “hook” onto the tissues supporting the skin, pulling the tissues back. What this does is to pull the skin back slightly or prop the nose bridge up, depending on where the threads are inserted.
In addition to providing lifting properties, the threads combat ageing by provoking our body’s healing response and stimulating collagen production as they dissolve in our skin. Now, we all know the vital role collagen plays — apart from wound healing, collagen helps keep our skin supple, strong and voluminous. Introducing fresh collagen into our skin can program our body to heal by itself; patients will notice a gradual improvement in their skin’s firmness and hydration.
In other words, thread lifts provide ongoing rejuvenation for facial tissues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Thread lifts and fillers are both fantastic options for lifting the skin and nose. Which treatment you pick will depend on your preferences. Let’s compare how each technique delivers.
- Fillers make use of hyaluronic acid to add volume and lift specific areas of concern
- Threadlifts make use of polydioxanone threads to tighten and lift the whole face and nose
- A filler treatment takes approximately 20-30 minutes
- A nose thread lift takes about 20 minutes
- Dermal fillers typically last for 6-9 months
- Threadlifts typically last for 1-2 years
- Most patients can resume makeup, their daily activities and work after fillers. There might be some redness and bruising, but these are temporary and will disappear in a few days. However, patients are advised to avoid facials and massage for the first 2 weeks after fillers
- As threads are a lot more stable, patients can resume their daily activities and work with almost zero downtime
- Results of fillers are immediate, but will take up to 4 weeks for the fillers to fully integrate with the tissues
- Results of thread lifts are immediate
- When poorly administered, fillers can lead to infection, lumps and even blindness. For nose fillers, there is a risk of filler migration, resulting in a broad nose
- When poorly administered, threadlifts can lead to infection, but is overall a lot safer than fillers
- Fillers cost about $600-$1400 per syringe
- Threadlifts cost about $700-$1800 depending on the number of threads used
- Patients liken the pain from fillers to getting an insect bite; about 4/10
- Threadlifts are slightly more painful and require local anaesthesia
Which is better for me?
When choosing an option, apart from weighing the pros and cons and factoring in your budget, you should always consult a doctor too. In some cases, your doctor might even recommend that you combine both fillers and thread lifts to achieve your desired result. In fact, fillers and thread lifts complement each other well and can produce fantastic results!
Have a question?
If you have any other questions, please leave us a message anytime and we will be happy to answer them!
References
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19451452/
Abraham, R. F., DeFatta, R. J., & Williams, E. F., 3rd (2009). Thread-lift for facial rejuvenation: assessment of long-term results. Archives of facial plastic surgery, 11(3), 178–183. https://doi.org/10.1001/archfacial.2009.10 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31189193/
Bacos, J. T., & Dayan, S. H. (2019). Superficial Dermal Fillers with Hyaluronic Acid. Facial plastic surgery : FPS, 35(3), 219–223. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0039-1688797
