Have you considered plastic surgery?
The good old fashioned face lift may be going out of style.
More and more people tend to opt for face shaping these days, which involves patients getting facial implants to help give volume and contour to the face where inserted.
“Plastic surgery, like everything else, is constantly evolving,” world renowned surgeon Dr. Laurence Kirwan says. “Face lift is seen as a bit of an old-fashioned term nowadays. People think of their grandmothers and mothers going for face lifts. They want something more modern that reflects a newer way of thinking.”
That’s where face shaping comes in, the surgeon notes. Face shaping takes less of a toll on the patient with shorter recovery time and less anesthesia.
It also doesn’t carry any of the negative connotations of a facelift, Kirwan notes.
“We all know that one person who has gotten one too many face lifts and has ended up looking a bit stretched and in some cases not even looking like themselves anymore,” Kirwan says. “With face shaping, there is no danger with that because it doesn’t involve taking anything away from the face, like skin, it involves adding to the face, which gives it contour. Having said that, though, many people get face reshaping done at the same time as a face lift and end up with the best of both worlds.”
Facial implants are available in a variety of sizes and styles for the chin, jaw, nose and cheeks.
Surgery involves making a small incision near where the implant will be placed, either in a facial crease or inside the mouth near where the gums and lips meet.
The surgeon then makes a pocket in the facial tissue and inserts the implant and stitches the incision closed.
The entire process takes about one or two hours and is usually performed under general anesthesia.
“Compared to the long recovery time of a face lift, face reshaping will have people back to their regular routines much quicker,” Kirwan notes. “The procedures can be performed in the surgeon’s office or at the outpatient surgical centre because it’s so uncomplicated.”
And results of shaping are essentially permanent, meaning there’s no need to keep getting procedures done every few years.
People generally associate facelifts with trying to fight aging, Kirwan says, but face shaping goes beyond that. Some people lack a really discernible chin, the surgeon says, or they’re unhappy with their cheekbone structure and they can be any age. If people feel like their face could benefit from having a slightly fuller jawline or a more filled out nose, face shaping is a good way to go.
And, as with all procedures, he adds, the main thing is how it makes people feel about themselves.
“I talk often about the boost of confidence people receive after they get a procedure and face shaping is no different in that regard,” Kirwan says. “It doesn’t just change people’s appearance, it changes the way they feel about themselves and how they present themselves to the outside world.”
Femalefirst Taryn Davies
Tagged in Cosmetic Surgery Skin