An increasing number of people consider a facelift to counter signs of aging, including wrinkles and sagging skin. BOTOX® Cosmetic, injectable dermal fillers, and laser or pulsed-light skin resurfacing are three of the best facelift alternatives.
BOTOX® Cosmetic
During BOTOX treatments, you receive an injection of purified neurotoxin precisely targeted to relax a specific area of muscles that are causing wrinkles. Also known as Botulinum type A, the neurotoxin blocks the neurotransmitter that this set of muscles requires to contract. The muscles are then forced to relax, allowing the other facial muscles to pull skin smoother over the affected muscle. As a result, the overall appearance of wrinkles and fine lines on your face is greatly reduced.
Dermal Fillers
Injected directly into the area impacted by fine lines, dermal fillers are highly effective at reducing wrinkles on the face because they help compensate for the natural loss of subcutaneous fat that gives younger skin its firmness. These injectable fillers help even out the wrinkled skin to blend smoothly with the surrounding tissue. Collagen, fat transplants, and hyaluronic acid-based fillers are common dermal fillers, but the results and duration of each of these options varies bit. There are no permanent results with dermal fillers, so most patients try out the procedure for a few months and then return for a “refresh” every 2 to 6 months.
Skin Resurfacing
Laser skin resurfacing targets the top layer of skin to gently destroy worn, dead skin cells and stimulate cell regeneration. The major benefit of this procedure is that it forces your body to correct minor aging signs naturally. Depending on the patient and the specific laser options, this technology can improve a very broad range of issues, including:
- Wrinkles and fine lines around or under the eyes, mouth, or forehead
- Liver spots /skin spots resulting from sun exposure
- Scars from acne
- Lines, spots, and tissue thinness resulting from sun damage
- Surface-level age signs for patients who want to maintain their results after a facelift
- Warts and other facial irregularities
- Enlarged oil glands
When the laser gently breaks down the outermost layer of the skin, the heat and stimulation naturally helps to boost growth of new collagen fibers below the surface. As a result, after the skin has fully healed from the procedure, patients typically find their face looks smoother and firmer overall, in addition to showing less wrinkles and thinness than it had before.
Dr. Michele Green is a board-certified dermatologist who makes her patients’ skin health her top priority. In addition to providing a full range of noninvasive and minimally invasive medical and cosmetic procedures, Dr. Green also requires a skin cancer screening at the outset of each treatment, and she remains at the forefront of skin cancer detection and treatment. Because of her commitment to patients’ ongoing skin health beyond aesthetic enhancements alone, Dr. Green also offers her own line of intensive skin care products to help maintain and restore healthy skin.
A Yale graduate who earned her MD from Mount Sinai Medical School in New York City, Dr. Green is highly committed to providing the latest in skin care and anti-aging treatments, and keeps up to date on the latest options in a variety of treatments including a number of different laser skin rejuvenation procedures. As a doctor who worked early in her career with product safety and development for top brands including L’Oreal and Johnson & Johnson, Dr. Green combines a researcher’s perfectionism with a down-to-earth and personal approach that enables her to adapt treatments precisely to meet individual needs.
The most popular procedures at Dr. Green’s New York cosmetic dermatology practice include Fraxel® laser skin rejuvenation, BOTOX® Cosmetic, and specialized procedures to correct a number of skin pigmentation problems. She also provides a full complement of medical procedures to treat acne, rosacea, skin cancers, and a number of other skin conditions including psoriasis, eczema, and hemangiomas.
