If you want all of the anti-aging benefits that come with a facelift without actually undergoing a facelift, you’re in luck. PDO threads provide a non-invasive way to achieve those similar lifting results but without incisions or a surgical procedure. At Aire Med Spa in Sarasota, FL, we are one of the few practices in the area to offer the PDO thread lift, a treatment designed to treat sagging, drooping skin, increase collagen production, and promote total facial rejuvenation.
What Is a PDO Thread?
PDO threads are the surgical threads that are used during a PDO thread lift, which is a cosmetic treatment that uses minimally invasive techniques to lift the skin, improve skin health, and combat aging. While the results will not completely replicate a facelift, they will give you the next best thing without the downtime and the extensive recovery period.
PDO stands for polydioxanone. PDO threads have been used for years in the medical world during heart surgery and other medical procedures for their ability to induce different regenerative properties in the body. When used in the cosmetic world to perform a PDO thread lift, these threads are inserted carefully into specific locations on the face.
What Are the Different Thread Types?
These threads come in different types, including barbed threads, which help fight gravity and aging, and smooth threads, which help improve skin health and texture.
How Do They Work?
Once the PDO threads are anchored below the skin’s surface, they pull the skin upward, creating a lifting effect that will improve over time. The PDO threads also stimulate collagen production in the treatment areas so that you get youthful-looking skin without the need for surgery.
What Areas Can They Treat?
Most patients choose to treat their face during a PDO lift, but this treatment doesn’t stop there. It can lift skin almost anywhere on the body, including the neck, face, and other areas of the body that need tightening and lifting.
What Can I Expect During Treatment?
Your Consultation
The first step in this process is an initial consultation with one of our skincare experts. At this appointment, we’ll examine your problem areas and discuss your concerns to ensure that a PDO thread lift is the best way to treat your particular cosmetic concerns.
We will also review your medical history, your current state of health, the condition of your skin, and any previous cosmetic treatments you have undergone. We’ll also need a list of any medications and supplements that you are currently taking. We’ll then schedule your treatment and provide you with a list of ways to prepare for your appointment.
Preparing for Your Treatment
There are some ways that you can prepare for your thread lift to ensure that the treatment goes well and so that you get the best results. Before your scheduled appointment, you should:
- Up your water intake to maintain optimal hydration
- Avoid topicals that contain Vitamin-A (tretinoin, Retin-A, etc.)
- Avoid blood-thinning supplements, over-the-counter medications, and pharmaceuticals
- Avoid the consumption of alcohol and tobacco a week before your scheduled appointment
The Importance of Hydration
In the days leading up to your appointment, you must be adequately hydrated. When your body has all of the water it needs to function optimally, your skin will glow. You should aim for 32 ounces of water a day, spread out across your day. If you have trouble reaching this goal, add natural flavoring to your water, like lemon, strawberry, mint, or even flavored stevia. Adequate hydration will help your skin respond well both during and after this treatment.
Your Treatment
When you arrive at your appointment, one of our skincare providers will cleanse your skin to remove any dirt, oil, or debris from the surface. Then, a topical numbing cream will be applied to your treatment areas in addition to a local anesthetic if needed. The numbing agent takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes to take effect, and once that happens, it will remain numb for the entirety of your treatment. You may feel some slight pressure, but you won’t feel any pain.
Marking Your Treatment Sites
Once your skin is numb, we will use a skin marker to mark the exact treatment site locations. You can rest assured that we will remove these marks from your skin before you head home.
Inserting the Threads
Once your skin is marked for treatment, we will begin inserting the threads. We will insert a tiny tube called a cannula into your marked treatment sites during this portion of the treatment. This cannula is designed like a straw and creates an entryway for the PDO threads so that we can effectively insert them into the skin. Once the threads make contact with the skin, we will attach them to the subdermal layers.
The threads have tiny hooks that attach to loose skin tissue to lift and reposition it. The threads create an instant tightening and lifted appearance that continues to improve over time. This threading process can take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes based on the number of areas undergoing treatment and the number of threads we insert.
Aftercare Instructions
There isn’t a significant recovery time associated with this treatment, but there are some ways that you must take care of your skin to make sure you get the best results possible. When your appointment is over, we will provide you with a complete list of aftercare instructions. You may be asked to adhere to some of the following directives:
- Avoid touching your face, especially your treatment sites
- Avoid strenuous exercise
- Avoid excessive heat or any situation that could lead to excessive sweating
- Temporarily avoid blood-thinning supplements and medications
- Focus on eating light, healthy meals
- Try to maintain static expressions and avoid excessive facial movements
- Keep your head elevated whenever possible
- Avoid chewing gum
- Continue to avoid tobacco and alcohol consumption
What Should I Expect Post-Treatment?
Most of these aftercare instructions should be followed for 24 to 72 hours post-treatment. However, one of the most important instructions is to keep your head elevated as much as possible in the week following your treatment. Most people experience a full recovery within two weeks of their initial treatment.
If we use a local anesthetic during your treatment, you will need someone to drive you to and from your appointment. We will determine this during your initial consultation so you can plan ahead to ensure you have someone who can give you the needed assistance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Does It Take To Notice a Difference in Your Skin?
Once you undergo this treatment, you will notice an immediate improvement in the appearance of your skin. It will look lifted and tighter. It will also begin to feel thicker and firmer with each day that passes post-treatment. You will also see a dramatic improvement in the appearance of your lines and wrinkles. Full results take approximately four to six weeks to develop since this treatment stimulates collagen production, and collagen production takes time.
How Long Will the Anti-Aging Effects Last?
The aging process cannot be stopped, so while you will get long-lasting anti-aging benefits from this treatment, your results will not last forever. Most patients enjoy results for one to two before they even need to consider a maintenance appointment to help maintain their results.
The total length of your results is affected by many different factors. Factors that affect your results include your skin health, your body’s collagen production, and your commitment to a healthy lifestyle which in turn helps promote youthful skin.
Can I Make My Results Last Longer?
Taking care of your skin post-treatment is the best way to extend the longevity of your results. Investing in a professional skincare line that includes all of the nutrient-rich products that promote youthful skin will go a long way in helping prolong your results. Wearing sunscreen each day regardless of the weather is another way to protect your skin from premature aging.
A healthy diet void of inflammatory foods and sugars helps you achieve and maintain healthy and youthful skin. Combining that healthy diet with regular exercise, adequate hydration, and supplements to help promote skin health will help your skin look as healthy and as young as possible, and it will help extend your results.
Will I Need To Get the Threads Removed?
Not only are these threads invisible once inserted, but they are also fully dissolvable. They are absorbable surgical sutures, and over time, they will dissolve, and your body will metabolize them. You will not need an appointment to have them removed. Once they are inserted, they will promote collagen and elastin production below the skin’s surface and will eventually dissolve and be removed by the body. This typically happens within nine months of your initial treatment.
Will My Results Look Natural?
When you choose a PDO thread lift to address aging in a minimally invasive way, you will get subtle and natural-looking results. While you will notice an immediate improvement in your appearance following your treatment, the most dramatic results take time to appear as the body begins to produce more collagen in the treatment areas.
For that reason, results are gradual, so you will look completely natural, yet your skin will continue to improve from week to week after your initial treatment. Friends and family members may notice an improvement in your appearance, but no one will be able to tell that you underwent this anti-aging treatment.
What Kind of Threads Will I Need?
There are different PDO thread options from which we can choose when we design your treatment plan. We will review the available options during an initial consultation and help determine which thread will help meet your cosmetic needs. One of the benefits of this treatment is that it is fully customizable, and we can design your treatment and tailor it to your exact needs.
Am I a Candidate?
If aging has gotten the best of you, but you’re not ready to commit to a facelift, a PDO thread lift is the next best thing. While it will not give you the exact results of a facelift, it will get you one step closer to tighter and lifted skin without the need for surgery or an extensive recovery period.
If you have experienced sagging or loose skin in the lower or upper half of your face, neck, or body that you want to lift and tighten, you are most likely a good candidate for this treatment.
Lift and Tighten Your Skin in Just One Treatment
A PDO thread lift is the perfect solution for those who want to lift and tighten their skin but don’t want to undergo an involved procedure. There is a solution to aging within your reach, and it will deliver some drastic anti-aging results. Contact the experts at Aire Med Spa in Sarasota, FL, today to learn more about PDO threads and how they can help you reach your cosmetic goals.
