For years, we depended on Radiofrequency (Thermage) and Ultrasound (Ulthera) technology for lifting. While these work well for the lower face and jowls, they did little to lift sagging cheeks: which any woman above 30 will suffer from.

Fillers are excellent for restoring lost volume in the face. However, there are limitations: our facial fat sags downwards as we age (even more so in Asians), pooling at the bottom to give lower cheeks and jowls. Hence, over enthusiastic injection of fillers will add excess volume to the already heavy, aged face: resulting in overly inflated and unnatural looking cheeks, popularly dubbed the “pillow face”, which affects so many Hollywood celebrities.

Silhouette Soft and Silhouette Lift: Skin Lifting with Threads

The key to successful lifting is bringing the skin and surrounding fat back to its original position. This can be done with surgery, but most men and women are reluctant to take time off work. The thread lift offers a good balance. In the minor surgical procedure, threads are inserted under the skin through a small incision in the temple, and pulled to tighten the skin. They are then anchored in the temple via a mesh, and a stitch. Threads gradually evolved, with additions such as barbs and cones to hook the skin better. The threads remain in the skin and are not removed. The Silhouette Lift such is a threadlift, with cones for better anchorage.

Silhouette Soft: A Minimally Invasive Threadlift

Today, there is an even higher demand for non-invasive procedures – even the traditional threadlift is deemed too much. Silhouette Soft provides this answer: it is a non-invasive threadlift – inserted via needles, without the need for any incision or stitching.

The innovative treatment leverages on a specially designed absorbable (meaning it is completely dissolved in the body after a period of time) thread made up of Polylactic acid, together with cones which are positioned in 2 directions to anchor the skin. Once inserted, the thread gives an immediate lift. The cones and thread dissolve in 6 months, but the skin tissues are fixed in the new position, continuing the lifting results for another year or more.

Silhouette Soft is unique, because the polylactic acid thread continues to stimulate collagen in the skin for months after the procedure, giving a gradual lifting effect. The simplicity of the procedure, and the absorbable nature of the thread means that there is minimal downtime, minimal risk of complications such as infection or delayed foreign body reactions.

Silhouette Soft Threadlift: The Procedure

The Silhouette Soft procedure takes less than one hour. After the areas to be lifted are marked out, a local anesthetic is injected to minimize discomfort. The skin is cleaned, then the threads are inserted via a needle under the skin. Once the threads are in position, your doctor will gently pull on the threads to allow the cones to anchor onto and lift the skin. The exposed portions of the threads are cut, and its done! Immediate lifting is seen, and the results will continue to improve over the next few weeks.

Common side effects include mild bruising, some swelling, and some mild skin surface irregularities, all which will resolve in a few days. The results of a treatment last more than a year.

The Response So Far

Silhouette Soft has opened entirely new doors in the world of non-invasive skin lifting. My patients are naturally thrilled by the results – never have they seen such dramatic lifting, so quickly. The procedure lifts sagging jowls, cheeks, eyebrows, and even reduces the double chin effectively in selected patients. Before Silhouette Soft, lifting the cheeks was a big problem: Ulthera and Thermage could not do it effectively. Today, Silhouette Soft is my treatment of choice for this purpose.

While multiple threads can be inserted at once, many of my patients op to try out 1 pair first, see the response, then consider a repeat procedure. However, most are so happy they end up coming back for more.

Not everyone is suitable for the treatment, of course. Silhouette soft is best used for mild to moderate cases of skin sagging. For severe cases, surgery will still be needed (by a qualified plastic surgeon). Some skin types (e.g. faces with more fat pads) will also not respond well to the treatment. Before you decide to undergo the treatment, have a consultation with a doctor who is experienced in the procedure, who can advice you further.

Read everything you need to know, about Silhouette Soft here.