Tailored lifting for each stage of aging, accurate diagnosis according to individual condition is essential
Date posted
<JAYJUN Plastic Surgery & Dermatology Clinic> Plastic surgery specialist Park Hyungjoon ChiefMedical Director
As skin aging progresses with age, collagen in the skin gradually decreases and the fibrous tissue that supports elasticity becomes loose, causing changes in facial contour. Your cheeks may sag, your jawline may collapse, and your overall facial line may change, making you look older or more tired than your actual age. Although these changes are a natural aging process, more and more people are looking for ways to improve them because they affect their external image and self-confidence.Recently, as appearance is recognized as a factor that increases vitality and confidence in daily life beyond the realm of beauty, interest in maintaining a youthful image is increasing even among middle-aged people. Accordingly, various lifting procedures tailored to the individual's degree of aging and skin condition are being considered as options.
If you are in the early stages of aging, you can expect improvement through relatively simple non-surgical lifting procedures. Representative methods include laser lifting and thread lifting. These procedures are performed in a way that requires no incisions or only minimal incisions, so they are characterized by less burden and a short recovery period.
Ultherapy Prime, an ultrasonic lifting device, uses high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to deliver energy deep into the fascial layer of the skin. It can help improve sagging areas and increase elasticity by shrinking the tissue under the skin, and has the advantage of enabling more precise lifting as the procedure can be performed while directly checking each layer up to 8 mm below the skin through a real-time imaging device.
In addition, Thermage, which uses high-frequency energy, induces collagen regeneration in the dermis to increase skin density and firm the surface. This is a procedure to consider if you want to improve fine wrinkles or skin elasticity as it can be expected to have an overall skin tightening effect.
Thread lifting is also one of the relatively popular lifting methods. It is performed by inserting a special medical thread that is absorbed within the human body into the skin and pulling and fixing the fat layer, fascia layer, and muscle layer. Since no surgical procedures such as incisions or skin dissection are required, recovery is quick and a relatively immediate lifting effect can be expected.
However, in cases where aging is more advanced, it may be difficult to achieve sufficient improvement with simple non-surgical procedures. This is because if not only the skin surface but also the retaining ligaments and fascial layer (SMAS) that support the skin are sagging, a more fundamental improvement method is needed.
The representative method considered in these cases is facelift surgery. Face lift is a surgical lifting method that directly pulls up sagging skin and soft tissues. It is important to not simply pull the skin surface, but also pull and fix the fascial layer of the skin (SMAS). As a result, facial sagging can be improved more fundamentally, and a lifting effect that is maintained for a relatively long period of time can be expected.
However, face lift surgery is a highly difficult plastic surgery that has a wide surgical scope and requires precise handling of multiple layers such as skin, muscles, and subcutaneous fat. Because the surgery time is relatively long and delicate techniques are required, the experience and skill of the medical staff are considered important factors.
Park Hyungjoon, Chief Medical Director of JAYJUN Plastic Surgery, advised, “When considering a lifting procedure or surgery, it is important to accurately understand the current skin condition and degree of aging rather than simply choosing a method.” He also advised, “For a safe treatment environment, it is important to check whether the medical institution is staffed by an on-site anesthesiology specialist and to select a method that is suitable for you through consultation with a specialist with sufficient clinical experience.”
He added, “In particular, when it comes to face lifting, skin thickness, elasticity, and aging progress are all different for each individual, so making a plan based on sufficient consultation and accurate diagnosis can help increase satisfaction.”