Whether it is fear of surgery or the stigma of having surgery, almost everyone who comes in to my plastic surgery office tells me they want to look younger but they do not want a face lift.

Recent technological advances resulted in new light based skin tightening devices which are being marketed as the non-surgical face lift. While skin tightening technology is impressive, and does work, the results of skin tightening to date hardly qualify as a face lift, non-surgical or otherwise. Skin is tightened but best results are about 20% to 30 % of what a traditional surgical facelift can achieve.

The new skin tightening is called non-ablative to distinguish the new skin tightening technology form the old CO2 laser resurfacing, the Gold Standard for Wrinkle Removal.

To ablate means to surgically remove, and the CO2 laser resurfacing ablated or removed old damaged skin and new skin grew to replace the old. In the process of Laser Resurfacing, heat generated by the laser injured the deeper skin layers and when they healed, with new collagen, the skin was contracted or tightened.

The newer skin tightening technology uses radiofrequency energy or infrared energy to heat the deep layers of the skin to cause contraction and tightening but first cools the skin before the energy is applied to prevent injury and ablation of the superficial skin by the heat energy. Thus the skin is tightened but the surface is not ablated, thus non-ablative skin tightening. There is no down time following non-ablative skin tightening unlike the older CO2 laser resurfacing skin tightening.

Several new skin tightening machines are available. The LuxIR Deep by Palomar, and the Titan by Cutera utilize infrared energy for skin tightening. The Aluma by Lumenis and Thermage utilize infrared energy for skin tightening. Refirme by Syneron uses a combination of light energies with radiofrequency for skin tightening.

All of the machines achieve about similar results when used properly. Generally there is less discomfort with the Infrared skin tightening machines. Complications have been minimal although some serious complications occurred with Thermage skin tightening early on.

In my practice I find that non-ablative skin tightening is most helpful for younger patients who do not have severe aging changes and significant sun damage, people in their 30’s and 40’s who want to correct or tighten early skin sagging along the jaw line or jowl area, neck and cheeks. I use the LuxIR Deep on these larger areas. For skin tightening around the eyelids I use the Aluma which has a smaller treatment head and a suction device that will pull the delicate peri ocular skin into the treatment chamber for skin tightening.

The field of non-ablative skin tightening is in its infancy and will definitely become more effective in the years ahead. The companies are improving their products frequently. For now however the people who benefit most from the skin tightening machines today are younger people who still have thick healthy skin with early aging changes.

The use of the term non-surgical facelift to describe non-ablative skin tightening is an overstatement with technology available for skin tightening today. At best a 30% result is possible when compared to a traditional face lift.

To learn more read Save Your Face or contact me.

Dr Seckel

Boston, Massachusetts

Concord, Massachusetts

The procedures are best for younger patients who see early facial skin laxity, especially on the neck, cheek, jowls and jaw line. At the end of a series of LuxIR treatments, improvement is seen in the nasal labial fold and marionette lines as well as the jowls, neck and cheek.

Two methodologies are used. Radiofrequency was the first, with Thermage® the prototype, and more recently Lumenis® has released a radiofrequency machine called Aluma® with FACES®. Radiofrequency works, but it is painful and some complications have occurred with Thermage®, most noticeably depressions from fat necrosis in some areas of the face.

Cutera® with it’s Titan® machine was the first Infrared machine and has shown excellent results. More recently Palomar® released it’s LuxIR Fractional® machine which also uses Infrared energy.

LuxIR is less painful than Thermage and treatments are quicker than with the Titan. Operator technique is very operator dependant-if the hand piece is pulled away during treatment, the skin can be burned.

The Palomar® LuxIR Fractional, uses Infrared energy but the beam is broken up into several beams and as a result is less painful. The LuxIR treatment head is larger thus the procedure is much quicker-about 25 minutes.

These technologies will continue to improve. I have had all 4 machines used on my face and have seen results. I have purchased the LuxIR by Palomar for my practice and impressed with how little discomfort there is for my patients when I use a topical anesthetic.

The key is for patients to understand they need 4-5 LuxIR treatments and need to wait 6 months for the final result.

Contact me or read Save Your Face or follow the link for further information on the LuxIR, skin tightening and non-surgical facial rejuvenation.

Dr Seckel

Boston, Massachusetts