Thread lifts are a trending topic.

At Dr. Leah Clinic, we have featured in The Guardian and Saturday Times Newspaper in the last month alone for our industry-leading, award-winning thread lift procedure – The Silhouette Soft Lift.

Dr. Leah has performed the most procedures of its kind in the UK and is widely acknowledged as ‘the very best’ for Silhouette Soft Thread lifts. But why are more people than ever choosing to have a thread lift over a surgical face lift?

Indeed Dr. Leah Clinic has seen a surge in clients requesting the treatment in the last two years, with patients flying from across Europe to undergo the facial lifting procedure. The number of searches for thread lifts online is increasing month on month, with beauty bibles such as Tatler recently deeming facial thread lifts as a “life-line’ for facial sagging.

To understand why thread lifts are swiftly becoming the most popular treatment for facial rejuvenation, we must delve into the history of its surgical counterpart - the traditional face lift.

 

The History of Facial Lifting.

A historical surgical procedure

 

Traditional face lift surgery had existed for over 100 years when in 1916, surgeon Erich Lexer first performed the procedure. His method involved lifting the skin above the facial muscles, pulling it back over the ear, and cutting off any excess skin. For nearly 60 years, the Dr.Lexer technique of face lifting remained the fashion; however, this procedure often resulted in the typical over-tight, overstretched look. This ‘windswept’ outcome resulted from the facial skin being too tightly pulled across the earlobe and underlying tissue not being addressed, which is the root cause of facial sagging.

It was not until the 1970s when Dr. Paul Tessier tweaked the Dr. Lexer method to address the superficial muscular aponeurotic system where this procedure really came into its own. The Dr Tessier method focused on repositioning sagging, soft tissue under the skin to a higher, more youthful position prior to removing excess skin. The result: a significant lifting of the jowls, sagging cheeks, and nasolabial folds. The Dr. Tessier technique is still widely used today and is otherwise known as the SMAS facelift.

And so, the SMAS facelift begins the practice of facial lifting and sculpting via the deeper layers of facial tissue and muscle. This evolution brings about the transition into the non-surgical facelift with the non-invasive thread lift.

 

An Evolution to less Invasive Facial Lifting…

Let’s now discuss thread lifting and how it compares to this surgical approach to facial rejuvenation.

A thread lift technique uses the innovative aspect of the SMAS lift, which goes beneath the surface of the skin to lift the underlying tissue and address facial sagging. There are, however, key differences between the two procedures which are making the thread lift a popular choice for those worried about going under the knife.

Firstly a thread lift is not as invasive as a SMAS lift and does not involve any cutting of the skin, which results in less downtime and potential complications associated with a traditional surgical facelift. The thread lift process involves a fine needle being inserted into the face; to (like the SMAS facelift) address the deeper layers of facial matter below the surface of the skin. This enables a more effective and long-lasting lift to the face without any cutting of the skin, which can result in unsightly scarring. The thread lift needle delivers a thread with tiny cones attached to it, which painlessly hook into a subcutaneous layer of fat in the face. The threads are then pulled tightly upwards to lift the layer of fat in the face, resulting in a subtle lift. Like the SMAS facelift, this treatment raises and sculpts the jowl area, noticeably reducing the look of nasolabial folds and marionette lines. Another key benefit to a thread lift is the production of new collagen caused by the cones, which helps to plump and rejuvenate the face.

 

The Silhouette Soft Lift technique…

At Dr. Leah Clinic, we are proud to lead the field in the most effective of thread lifting procedures. We use the most premium brand of threads - Silhouette Soft Threads, which are made out of Poly-L-Lactic Acid material and have greater longevity in comparison to PDO threads (another popular type of thread lift)

A Silhouette Soft Lift at Dr. Leah Clinic lasts around 18 months vs. the typical six-month lifespan of PDO threads. Silhouette Soft threads are also superior in terms of immediate lifting effects and collagen production.

 

Why are thread-lifts increasing in popularity?

(Above) Fox eye thread lift at Dr Leah Clinic

 

Recent years have seen a rise in celebrities having some thread lift help. The Eye thread lift, in particular has heightened in demand over the last year with the suggestion that high profile models such as Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid have had the treatment to achieve a lateral brow lift effect (commonly known as the Fox eye lift)

This move-in popular culture to embrace non-surgical face lifting methods has undoubtedly affected the popularity of the thread lift treatment. The trend for facial lifting has also been popularised through viral Tik Tok and social media videos striving to achieve a lifted look to the eye and lower face through the clever use of makeup and face lifting tape. While these methods are undoubtedly creative, a Silhouette Soft Lift offers a longer-term solution and unlike a traditional surgical facelift does not involve months of recovery and 15k plus price tag.

Thread lifting at Dr. Leah Clinic can be conducted in less than an hour, with quick results and minimal downtime.

Prices start from £2200

BOOK your consultation today.

 

 

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More about Dr. Leah Clinic - the UK

number one thread lift expert: Dr. Leah

Clinics are a center of excellence for Thread Lifts in the UK. Medical Director Dr. Leah Totton isknown as the “best thread lift doctor” in the country and has won awards for

the procedure. She is an international trainer for Silhouette Soft thread lift and has personally performed more Silhouette Soft thread lift procedure

than any other UK doctor. Dr. Leah sits on the medical advisory board for Silhouette

Soft, demonstrating her high level of expertise in performing the procedure. Dr. Leah has also trained associate medical director Dr. Sheila to the same standard in this procedure.

What Does a Mummy Tummy Makeover Consist Of?

Dr Leah’s ‘Mummy Tummy Makeover’ is a new skin tightening treatment for the stomach which uses a combination of medical laser plus radiofrequency treatments over a course of 8 sessions to target the appearance of stretchmarks and tighten loose skin. Dr Leah created the new treatment in response to seeing a huge surge in the number of people presenting with excess skin and stretchmarks following extensive weight loss over a short period of time, the makeover uses the latest in non-surgical technology to tighten loose skin and treat the appearance of stretchmarks with no downtime or scarring. 

Our founder and Medical Director, Dr Leah, explains: “We have seen a dramatic rise in the number of clients requesting treatment for excess skin and striae (stretchmarks) following dramatic weight loss. We are in the era of ‘body transformations’ - new mums seem to be returning to their pre-pregnancy weight in very short periods of time and social media is awash with examples of people who have had dramatic weight loss transformations. What is not often highlighted is the effect of such dramatic fluctuations in weight on the skin- the striae (stretchmarks) which can be caused by rupture of elastin fibres from excessive stretching and the residual lax skin which can often remain. It is not uncommon for my clients, including Clare, who went from a size 22 to a size 10, to actually tell me that they preferred their appearance before losing weight to the appearance after. It can be a very disheartening thing to go through the effort and commitment involved in losing weight only to still feel unhappy with your appearance, albeit for a different reason. Until recently surgery has been the only real option to remove excess skin– this comes with the risk of general anaesthetic and scarring, there is an associated recovery time and reasonable financial cost involved. At Dr Leah Clinics we are passionate about innovation in the non surgical cosmetic space and are keen to bring the most advanced treatments to a UK audience.  Advances in recent years in non-surgical aesthetic medicine mean that we have been able to create the Mummy Tummy Makeover which is a simple and non invasive course of treatments to tighten loose skin on the tummy and reduce the appearance of stretchmarks without the need to go under the knife, without downtime and without scarring. It has proved incredibly popular.”

How does it work?

The process of undergoing a Mummy Tummy Makeover involves several appointments; 

  • Appointment 1 Initial Body Consultation - FREE

During your Initial Body Consultation, a patch test is completed to ensure suitability for the treatment course. 48 hours after your initial consultation, your treatment course will begin. 

  • Appointment 2 - One iPixel or Dermapen Session

iPixel 

As we age, the tone and texture of our skin changes. Fine lines and wrinkles begin to appear, age spots and blemishes may develop, and the texture of our skin can become coarse and uneven. To combat this, we use light and laser-based skin resurfacing technologies to smooth out and balance the skin texture, tone and elasticity. Our iPixel employs a fractional delivery method which creates pixel-sized perforations in the skin, leaving the surrounding tissue intact. This allows the skin to heal faster as the epidermis is regenerated. 

Dermapen 

Dermapen is the industry leading microneeding device, it is a skin repair treatment that can help to significantly improve the appearance of ageing or scarred skin. It uses tiny needles attached to a pen device to gently puncture the skin causing a series of traumatic punctures on the skin. The result of this is that the skin responds to this by naturally producing collagen and elastin to repair itself. The production of collagen and elastin work to smooth and firm the skin, plumping out deep lines and improving the indented or red appearance of scars and stretch marks.

  • Appointments 3 to 8 - Six Radiofrequency Sessions 

Radiofrequency

Our radiofrequency utilises electrodes to deliver the Radiofrequency energy under the skin (which is controlled and limited to the treatment area). Radio frequency helps to concentrate the body’s collagen fibres and encourages the quick regeneration of the collagen and elastin that we lose as we age. This results in a firmer, more youthful look.

  • Appointment 8 - One iPixel or Dermapen 

 Finally, the area of concern is treated with another powerful iPixel or Dermapen session to further enhance the tightening effect provided by the Radiofrequency. 

 

 Click here to see the treatments in action!

 

Clare's Story

“After I gave birth to my little girl when I was 18 years old, my weight quickly ballooned and this left a lot of stretch marks. I had my son 5 years later and at my biggest I was a size 22. I have worked really hard and I have been able to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, a healthy size 8. I did it through diet and exercise and I have sustained my weight at this level for several years now. Losing the weight was one of the hardest things I have done, it required an entire lifestyle change but I was prepared for it – what I was not prepared for is the stretch marks and loose skin I was left with. I feel healthier now and I am confident with how I look with clothes on but my stomach looked better when I was a size 22! No one ever talks about the fact that your tummy may actually look worse after you lose the weight!

I remember trying on a bikini for the first time after I had reached my goal weight, and thinking to myself that my tummy looks like an 80 year old’s, I felt really disappointed. I thought to myself I have just replaced a big belly with a wrinkled one and neither looked good!

I decided last summer to do something about it, I started to explore options and actually went for a plastic surgery consultation to find out about going under the knife to remove the loose skin but after the consultation scared me, I didn’t feel I could justify the risk of a general anaesthetic when I have two children or the time off work to recover and the amount of scarring I would have and the cost was thousands of pounds.

Realising surgery was not going to be for me, I began to look into other options, I researched non-surgical clinics and found Dr Leah Clinics. I remembered Dr Leah from The Apprentice and knew she was a medical doctor, I also saw her clinics had won awards so I knew they would be offering the best treatments available. I went to speak to Dr Leah about my tummy and see if she could help. Dr Leah immediately put me at ease, she was lovely, she listened to my concerns and made me feel that I was not the only person who had this problem and that there was hope without having to go under the knife. Dr Leah recommended the Mummy Tummy Makeover for me, which involved treating my stretchmarks and loose skin in a combination of 8 treatments (one per week for 8 weeks). The treatment was a mixture of medical laser treatments and radiofrequency based treatments. I was slightly nervous on the day of my first treatment, more about showing my stomach to the aesthetic therapist but she was really nice and put me totally at ease and the treatment was not painful at all. There is a slight tingling sensation when having the medical laser and I had some scabs on my tummy for a few days after, where my stretchmarks had been. The Radiofrequency treatment was actually really relaxing. Each treatment took around 45 minutes and I was able to return to work and normal life immediately after all treatments and no one knew I was having them!

I started to see the results after about my third treatment, by my 6th I was really impressed and now I have completed the Mummy Tummy Makeover I am absolutely delighted with the results. I know my stomach will never be ‘perfect’ but for the first time ever I feel confident to have my tummy on show and will be wearing a bikini this summer!”

 

 Click here to read Clare's story on The MailOnline!

 

Summary of Treatment

 

Procedure Time

Consultation – 30 Minutes 

iPixel - 30 Minutes

Dermapen - 40 Minutes 

Radiofrequency – 40 Minutes 

 

Back to Work

Immediate estimated

 

Anaesthetic

None required

 

Full Recovery

iPixel – Scabs & Dryness 7 – 14 Days

Radiofrequency – 24 hours estimated

Dermapen – 24 hours estimated

 

Suitable for

All skin types

 

What are the benefits?

     No surgery

     Pain free

     No risk of scarring

     No recovery time

     Effective results

     Medical grade technologies

     Suitable for all skin types

 

What is the cost?
x2 iPixel (£800) & x6 Radiofrequency (£900) Usually = £1700

Package Deal = £990

 

x2 Dermapen (£460) & x6 Radiofrequency (£900) Usually = £1360

Package Deal = £990

 

To book in for a free consultation, call us on 020 7877 5999 or email info@drleah.co.uk