The New Facelift: The Noninvasive Thread Lift

There’s a new (or newish) option for lifting and tightening sagging facial skin without going under the knife. Late last year, the FDA approved a new variation of a once-popular procedure, called a thread lift, making the use of temporary, absorbable sutures a viable option for those who want to achieve similar results of a traditional facelift without the surgery or downtime.

In what just might be the actual "non-surgical facelift" many have claimed face threading involves using tiny threads underneath the surface of your skin to lift and tighten specific areas, with results that last up to a year and a half or more. It's natural, you can basically get an instant lift, there's no risk, and barely any downtime.

The process involves inserting a clear thread with barbed hooks beneath your dermis layer, but above the subcutaneous tissue. Because the thread is made from the same material as surgical sutures (polydioxanone, to get specific), it dissolves within 6 months, and actually helps to stimulate collagen production in the skin.

The original thread lift came out in the late ’90s and was performed up until the mid 2000s. The procedure fell out of favor about 10 years ago, but two recent options utilizing new technology, Nova Threads and the Silhouette Instalift, are bringing the thread lift back into the spotlight. While the sudden resurgence of the thread lift (sometimes referred to as a “lunchtime lift”) may be perplexing for some, doctors who are performing this noninvasive procedure say that the newer technology and the fact that it can be done in an hour are two big reasons that procedure is coming back into popularity as a facelift alternative.