Expert Commentary: Irvin M. Wiesman, M.D. 10/26/2009

The liquid face-lift is a general term for the use of many combinations of minimally or non-invasive aesthetic treatments to improve ones appearance without undergoing a major surgical procedure.  Treatments often consist of fillers - in my practice I use Restylane, Radiesse, Sculptra and auto-fat transfer to add volume to the cheeks, peri-oral, lips, and jaw areas. The additional volume leads to a more youthful look. 

Now that volume is corrected, Botox is excellent for softening wrinkles around the eyes, forehead, mouth and neck.  Botox can give a non-surgical brow lift, turn up the corners of the mouth and improve the bands in the neck.

Finally, I use lasers and intense pulse light treatments to improve the texture, color and tone of the skin. The Harmony XL erbium pixel laser allows for resurfacing the skin with only slight redness. Fotofacials remove brown spots and age spots. The Accent, XL, a radio-frequency machine, heats up the deeper tissue of the skin to get some subtle deeper tissue tightening and repositioning.

The benefits of the liquid-face lift are that they are quick procedures with minimally to no down time or risks.  The cost is significantly less than a surgical facelift.  In the appropriately selected patient the results can be excellent. The best patient is someone in the mid to late 40’s and 50’s with early signs of facial aging.

Consumers beware of fancy marketing! These procedures do not replace a surgical facelift! And often times complements one. You cannot pull and reposition skin without surgery.