With Labor Day firmly in the rear-view mirror, it is time to start thinking about getting ready for the holidays. The period between Thanksgiving and Hanukah/Christmas/New Year’s Eve is typically a busy one. You are probably going to see more of your family and friends (even if only over a screen), and hopefully even indulge in a celebration or two. While it can be a time full of joyful fun, seeing people that you haven’t seen in a while can also be stressful. Feeling comfortable in your skin is a great way to boost your self-confidence, and give you the momentum to fully enjoy your holiday season. This is one of the many things that I love about my job. An aesthetic procedure can be as rejuvenating for your inside as it is for your outside. Here are the best non-surgical options to get you holiday ready.
Non-Surgical Body Contouring: SculpSure® & CoolSculpting®
For many of us, the pandemic was not kind to the waistline. You may find that you are still struggling to restore the smooth body contour that you desire. The first step, always, is to make sure that you are eating a healthful diet and embracing an appropriate exercise regime. However, many of my otherwise fit patients can still have stubborn pockets of fat that adversely affect their body contour.
*Each patient is unique and individual results may vary
This is where non-surgical body contouring can be helpful. Procedures such as:
They are a fast, relatively simple way to eliminate excess fat with less of the:
- Incisions
- Anesthesia
- Downtime for recovery
That are necessary with more significant surgical procedures. SculpSure®, which is one of my specialities, is a laser-based energy device that uses heat to injure the fat cells in the treatment area. Requiring only 25 minutes per area, each treatment can eliminate up to 24% of the fat cells in the target zone.
CoolSculpting® works in the opposite way, lowering the temperature of your fat cells. These cells are injured by the cold, and the end result is the same — a reduction in fat. Both procedures typically require a series of treatments in order to achieve your ideal result. And this result is permanent assuming that you do not gain a significant amount of weight.
Renuvion® & Kybella®
One of the downsides of eliminating excess fat is that you may be left with skin that sags or droops. This is especially true in older patients as the skin begins to lose collagen and elastin, the two pillars of youth, with each passing birthday starting around 25. Renuvion® is a non-surgical skin tightening procedure that is proving to be quite effective. While it can eliminate a certain degree of fat, making it a nice stand-alone option for thermitight Boston patients with only a mild degree of contour irregularities, I typically combine Renuvion® with liposuction in order to deliver a truly exemplary result. It works by using cold plasma energy to heat the tissues in the treatment area, causing them to contract and tighten without harming the surrounding tissues. This procedure is more invasive than SculpSure® and CoolSculpting®, and requires the post treatment use of compression garments.
Kybella® is an injectable that was specifically designed to address the submental fat under the chin. This is a problem area for both men and women, and is often genetic. For men, properly placed Kybella® can be an effective means for creating the more defined, crisp jawline that is a hallmark of the masculine face. As with any injectable, it will take a series of treatments, spaced about a month apart, in order to achieve your end result. Each treatment also has a recovery period of swelling for a few days. Once the fat cells are eliminated, they are gone for good assuming that your weight stays stable.
Injectables: Botox® & Fillers
An injectable procedure with Botox® and/or filler is probably the easiest option for getting holiday ready. Injectables can quickly and safely address:
- Crow’s feet
- Forehead grooves
- Smile lines
- Vertical lines above the lips
- Loss of fullness in the cheeks
- Jowling
- Under eye troughs
The key to an excellent experience, however, is seeing a really skilled injector. Since these popular procedures can be performed by anyone with a medical license, patients often forget that a great deal of artistry, concern for safety and skill go into creating a natural looking result. This is why it is so important to see a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon, such as myself, or a board-certified core aesthetic physician as you want someone with guaranteed expertise. A properly placed neurotoxin or filler injection can be truly transformative. However, in the hands of someone without the proper training and experience, the results may be problematic. A quick trip through social media proves this point.
*Each patient is unique and individual results may vary
PDO Thread Lift
Last, but not least of the best non-surgical options to get you holiday ready, is the PDO thread lift. While technically a minimally invasive procedure, the incisions used are so tiny that they do not even require stitches. I like to refer to the thread lift as an in-between procedure. It’s for the patient who has developed a moderate degree of sagging in the lower face that cannot fully be addressed with a filler, yet is not quite ready for or does not want a surgical facelift.
During your thread lift procedure, I will place specifically designed non-permanent surgical threads through a couple of very small incisions in front of your ear and hairline in order to lift your skin and tissues back to their proper position. The “injury” of the thread causes your body to produce more healing collagen and elastin — both integral components of rejuvenated skin. With time, the thread itself dissolves, and you are left with a tighter, brighter facial contour. The upside of a thread lift is that it does not require anesthesia or significant time for recovery. The downside is that the results are not permanent and only last about a year. However, most of my patients find the benefit to be well worth it, especially around the holidays.
To find out more about SculpSure®, CoolSculpting®, Renuvion®, Kybella®, Injectables, PDO Thread Lift, or any other surgical or non-surgical procedure with Dr. Sean Doherty at his Boston or Brookline office, contact us today or call (617) 450.0070 to schedule a consultation.