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In these uncertain times, there are a few things that we can be sure of.

The sun will rise, deep down nobody actually likes kale, no matter how much they pretend to, and at some point, every one of us is going to develop fine lines and wrinkles.

If you’re struggling to cover up a few, and you’re starting to consider Botox, fillers, or threads, you might find yourself doom scrolling through images on social media or recalling the comically absurd visuals of Botox fails from movies or TV.

Instead of going down that rabbit hole, let’s unpack those procedures so that you know what they’re about. With the proper knowledge on hand, you’ll be able to make an informed decision that gets you the most effective and natural-looking results.

We brought in the experts over at Skin Renewal to walk us through the procedures and how they work.

The first thing that you need to understand is how ageing works.

Sagging and wrinkling as we age happen due to a few important changes in the skin:

• Volume loss due to the plump fat pads in the cheeks and under the eyes atrophying and diminishing as we age.
• Lines that form due to years and years of movement and expression (lines that have become more prominent and are only visible when you move your face in certain ways).
• Thinning skin, or skin that loses its elasticity and therefore doesn’t “snap back” like it did when you were younger.
• Skin that has become stretched and lax – this can happen if you have gained or lost a lot of weight when you were younger leaving you with stretched, excess skin.

Now that we have a basic understanding of what went wrong, let’s look into what you can do to correct it.

Fillers

Fillers are used to add volume to the skin. They work by filling in wrinkles and lines and replacing the plumpness that has been lost when your facial fat pads started to diminish.

Fillers are commonly used to treat areas that have lost volume, such as the cheeks, under-eye area, and temples. Fillers are also used to plump up lips and hollows under the eyes and to fill in deep lines like nasal labial folds and marionette lines.

They can also be used to “reshape” areas such as a rounded jaw or a flat chin.

Botulinum, commonly referred to as Botox

Botox cannot replace facial volume and therefore cannot plump the skin. It does not add anything to the skin, but rather relaxes muscle movement. It’s great for lines and wrinkles that occur due to repetitive movements. Essentially, the aim of botulinum is to stop you from being able to excessively make the movements that create these dynamic lines and wrinkles.

Threading

Here you have a few options.

1) Suspension Sutures

These include threads such as Silhouettes (Genop) and Anchor DX (Tasosol).

These threads are used for lifting, tightening, and re-draping the skin – think of it as a very subtle “facelift”, but without going under the knife.

2) Barbed Threads & Anchor Threads

These threads are used for lifting and tightening the skin.

They target particular areas where sagging has started to occur such as jowls. Anchor threads are much thicker and stronger than barbed threads, and grip and lift more than barbed threads.

Therefore barbed threads are usually selected for thinner, lighter, milder sagging, while anchors are chosen for more severe sagging.

3) Monofilaments

These threads are used for strengthening the skin (they do not lift or tighten). They are for targeting particular areas where the skin is thinning and weakening. They can also be used to stimulate circulation and collagen production in areas where the skin has started showing the signs of ageing.

4) Specialty Threads

These speciality threads include Broom threads and Peako threads which are commonly used for “non-surgical nose jobs”.

There are also Spring threads, Screw threads, and Spiral threads, which are commonly used to treat areas where the skin needs strengthening, but the area is quite active in terms of movement.

Now that you know what’s out there, remember that your results will only ever be as good as the doctor administering the procedure.

Make an appointment with one of the doctors at Skin Renewal to find the treatment that’s best for you.