Facelifts have come a long, long way since the early 20th century. Technically, a facelift is known as a rythidectomy (which means “wrinkle removal,” if you speak ancient Greek), and it aims to reverse the effects of gravity on the face — including heavy hugs and sagging, sagging skin. It is a popular procedure and the third most common cosmetic surgery procedure in the US
“As we age, we lose muscle mass in the facial muscles that help pull the skin up,” says Dr. Kate Dee, MD, founder of Glow Medispa in West Seattle and Kirkland. So facial sagging is not just gravity, but an average loss of 3%-8% of facial muscles every decade after age 30.
Restoring a youthful appearance historically required surgery that combined tissue tightening and excess skin removal. However, surgical phobia can be alleviated knowing that specialists can now perform facial enhancements without scalpels and syringes.
But first, a little background.
History of the face lift
The injuries of World War I led to plastic surgery and improvements in facial reconstruction, which soon found their way into surgeons’ rooms. The first facelifts essentially lifted, tightened and resurfaced the skin of the face.
By the latter half of the 20th century, the field discovered the superficial myoaponeurotic system, or SMAS. In essence, your head and neck contain five layers of soft tissue. The SMAS works in the third layer, the superficial fascia.
“This is the plane that lifts the face, with a membrane that extends under the chin and blends into the neck,” says Dee. Pulling the top half up also lifts the bottom half – like pulling the sheets over a bed.
At the time, surgeons pulled this layer up and back to reverse the effects of gravity for a more natural appearance, along with tightening the skin, which sometimes provided an overly stretched appearance.
Newer developments included deeper loosening and soft tissue repositioning, and doctors began working in specific areas such as brow lifts, facial implants, and chin surgery. However, existing facelift techniques presented similar problems for patients. Recovery often involves facial swelling, pain, and downtime from work or life — plus the potential problems that can occur with any surgery. In addition, facelifts usually do not provide skin improvements beyond tightening.
Non-surgical facelifts strive to provide quick, less expensive and faster healing results. Dermal fillers plump the cheeks and lips with injectable gel to replicate muscles, while Botox reduces muscle movements that lead to wrinkles. These anesthetic-free approaches work for a limited time and with minimal effect—unless they are overdone, as is sometimes seen in aging Hollywood stars.
But now, a new, non-invasive technique based on the time-tested SMAS approach is evolving — no needles required.
EMFACE
Do not use fillers, needles or surgical techniques to tone facial muscles, lift the face and reduce wrinkles, EMFACE devices — available from October 2022 — are causing a stir in medical spas and dermatologists’ offices.
“This is the first device that does two things at once,” says Dee.
EMFACE’s manufacturer, BTL Aesthetics, has been refining the devices for five years, including testing the techniques on 3,000 real people and conducting clinical studies. “In the world of aesthetics, it can be hard to know how much to believe,” says Dee. But rigorous testing and research helped reassure Dee, a self-proclaimed “scientist.”
Almost 93% of patients reported an improvement in volume – which translates into fuller, more youthful faces. Significant numbers also noted more muscle tone and lift, fewer wrinkles and increased skin collagen and elastin.
Research also helps Dee reassure patients about cutting-edge technology. “Someone else has already become the guinea pig,” he says. “It’s very safe technology.”
The device builds on approaches already in use, albeit in combination. Radio frequency technology heats the outer layer of skin, which increases facial elastin and collagen — factors that give skin a fresh look. At the same time, EMFACE uses HIFES to selectively contract individual facial muscle nerves — which helps lift, restore and increase the muscle density we enjoyed in our youth. It’s like a mini workout for your face.
“By strengthening the muscles, the resting tone of the lifting muscles is improved,” says Dee.
Treatment details
Each EMFACE treatment lasts only 20 minutes and four treatments are usually recommended — but can vary depending on the face being refined. Those who are older may need more treatments. Almost everyone can benefit, except those with scar tissue or electronic or metal implants.
With no holidays, it is possible to go out for treatment on the lunch break, returning to work the same day. Specialists place three large patches on the cheeks and forehead. Patients lie down and relax. the process resembles a massage with heat sensations in heated areas.
“It doesn’t hurt, it just feels a little weird when your muscles contract,” says Dee — who recently tried the device on her face. “You feel it on your forehead and cheeks because it stimulates the same muscles that help you smile.”
For example, the patch applied to the forehead muscle replicates the effect of Botox on the eyebrow without needles. “It lifts the brows and fills in the volume in the forehead,” she says, also noting that EMFACE lifts the eyelids without surgery and tones weakened facial muscles — which improves the jawline, an often difficult area to get right .
“The coolest thing about this new device is that we can capture everything in a way that we never could before – without surgery.”
In the Glow Medispa, we are guided by science and everything we do is informed by the latest information and data available. We do a personalized assessment for each patient and try to bring out your natural beauty.
