Maybe there’s a certain area of your face or body that you’d like to look younger, but you are hesitant to undergo surgery, such as a facelift or rhinoplasty, at the moment. While at one time, plastic surgery was one of the only options when it came to facial rejuvenation, now, you have a number of minimally invasive and non-surgical options to choose from. The procedure that’s right for you depends on the area you’d like to focus on.
Lip Augmentation
Thinning lips is part of the aging process. As you get older, you lose volume and fat all over your face, including in the lip and cheek area. While there are more permanent ways to get fuller lips, such as fat grafting or an implant, fillers such as Restylane or Juvederm offer temporary results. You may decide to use a filler to plump up your lips if you are unsure of how the results will look and want something that will fade in time.
Compared to a fat graft, the downtime after a filler to add volume to the lips is minimal. You might feel some pain after the injection and it’s likely that there will be some bumps in your lips for the first few days. You can reduce any bumps by gently rubbing the lips. Results appear immediately after the injection and often last for about nine months.
Cheek Augmentation
Like the lip area, you can add volume to the cheek area using fat grafts, implants or fillers. Implants and fat grafts often have a longer recovery time and involve incisions and surgery. Fillers, on the other hand, provide instant results with almost no recovery time.
Non-Surgical Facelift
Also called a liquid facelift, a non-surgical facelift procedure uses an array of fillers to give you a more refreshed look. A liquid facelift can be a good option if you want to reduce the signs of aging on your face but don’t have the time to recover from surgery or the budget for a surgical procedure at the moment. The non-surgical option also provides instant results, without the lengthy recovery time needed after a traditional facelift.
The injectables your doctor will use during a non-surgical facelift depend on the extent of aging on your face and what you want to focus on. For example, the doctor may use Botox to reduce wrinkles on the forehead or between the eyebrows and to reduce the appearance of crow’s feet. If you have lines around your mouth or nose, the doctor may also use a filler such as Juvederm or Perlane. These fillers add volume while Botox works by blocking nerve signals to the muscles responsible for certain wrinkles.
Non-Surgical Rhinoplasty
Your nose ages just like the rest of your face. Your nasal cartilage keeps growing long after the rest of you has stopped, which is why some older people appear to have larger noses. Your nose also changes shape as you get older, meaning that it can begin to droop.
Surgical rhinoplasty can change the shape of your nose or adjust any droopiness. A non-surgical rhinoplasty uses fillers to adjust the shape of the nose. Non-surgical rhinoplasty might be a better option for you if you want to see what changes to your nose will look like, without committing to the permanent results of surgery. Fillers can smooth out any bumps in your nose, make the tip more defined or increase the size of a narrow bridge.
Hand Rejuvenation
Your face is just one part of your body that shows signs of aging. Often, people focus on treatments that refresh and rejuvenate their face while neglecting other areas. Another area that clearly shows signs of aging is the hand area. The skin on the hands becomes thinner, making the bones and veins more visible. Age spots may also appear, making you look older.
A number of treatment options are available to make your hands look more youthful. Hyaluronic acid fillers can add volume to the area, reducing the visibility of bones and veins. If age spots are an issue, a chemical peel on the hands can help exfoliate the skin, causing the spots to fade.
At the Bitar Cosmetic Surgery Institute near Washington, DC, Dr. George Bitar offers a range of non-surgical options to help you look and feel more youthful. If you want to fight the signs of aging, but aren’t quite ready for surgery, call (703) 206-0506 to schedule your consultation today.
George Bitar, MD, FACS is an award-winning, board-certified cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgeon, the Founder and Medical Director of Bitar Cosmetic Surgery Institute in Virginia. He specializes in the latest surgical and minimally invasive techniques to scar management and reduction. Dr. Bitar is involved in groundbreaking research and education in plastic surgery and has authored numerous articles, abstracts, and chapters.
