SINGAPORE (Mar 11): Time has the uncanny ability to fly by us faster than we can navigate it. Before we know it, so much has happened — and how much we’ve aged.

It is not uncommon to get buried under so much work, family and social commitments, and fail to notice how pronounced you’re wearing the burdens of age, and the fact that you really need to do something about it.

Facelifts have been widely known to be the natural choice for anyone who wants to give the sag the sack. With its aim being to provide a more youthful appearance to the face, facelifts have been a much-lauded surgical choice, backed by celebrities such as Kris Jenner, Michael Douglas and Jennifer Aniston.

As much as facelifts have enjoyed their time in the sun as the go-to fix for a more youthful disposition, the advent of aesthetic technology is swiftly throwing a spanner in the works of this seasoned procedure.

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Dr Lee: Threadlifts are designed to bridge the gap between the traditional facelift and machine-based skin tightening and lifting devices, by way of ultra-fine, biocompatible and bio-absorbable threads, put in place by microinjections you will barely feel

What goes up must come down

For a surgical enhancement with almost 118 years of history, facelifts must have done something right to stand the test of time. An invasive procedure that reshapes the lower half of the face by removing excess or stretching hanging skin, a facelift “irons” out all the fi ne lines, wrinkles and facial sag in the process. The trimming and tucking process also adds a sculpting effect to the jawline, jowls and neck, giving it definition and a coveted facial structure.

As with all procedures involving the scalpel, however, there is usually an added price to be paid on top of the monetary cost. Facelifts have been known to come with side effects, some of which can even be permanent.

Besides the pain and discomfort, some of the probable repercussions associated with facelifts are infections, skin necrosis, nerve injuries and hair loss.

It is well known that beauty requires a certain amount of sacrifi ce to attain, but some of these unseemly post-operative scenarios might just be too much for the faint of heart to take.

Putting the knife away

While the braver ones proceed to recapture youth by going under the knife, the worriers just cannot find it in themselves to take these risks. Doctors and scientists in the beauty and aesthetics industry are fully aware of this disparity and have over time introduced various lower-risk ways of rolling back the years sans scalpel. One of the most well-received, non-invasive facelift options is known as the threadlift.

To get a better idea of what a threadlift is and how it compares with the facelift, we spoke to Dr Kenneth Lee, co-founder and medical director of SW1 Clinic and accomplished practitioner of threadlifts, ablative lasers and fillers.

Dr Lee says: “Threadlifts are designed to bridge the gap between the traditional facelift and machine-based skin tightening and lifting devices by way of ultra-fi ne, biocompatible and bio-absorbable threads, put in place by microinjections you will barely feel. These threads not only sculpt your face and tighten your skin, but also stimulate the production of collagen, which enhances the longevity of this procedure.”

The threadlift has proven popular with patients who have reservations about surgery, and also comes at a fraction of the cost of a facelift. Another non-surgical alternative to the facelift is a procedure known as Ultherapy. Tackling deep-rooted ageing issues from the inside, this process performs facial firming, skin tightening and lifting by using ultrasound energy — without harming the outer layers of the skin.

Dr Low Chai Ling, founder and medical director of SW1 Clinic, explains: “A key feature of Ultherapy is how specifi c it can be in its areas of treatment. The use of an applicator makes it easy to work on hard-to-reach, easy-to-age areas such as the eyelids and eye area. This process eliminates the use of needles and or anaesthetics, and clocks in at 60 minutes with zero downtime.”

Dr Low: A key feature of Ultherapy is how specific it can be in its areas of treatment. The use of an applicator makes it easy to work on hard-toreach, easy-to-age areas such as the eyelids and eye area.

As we move further away from the invasive nature of the facelift, we turn to another option at our disposal — the 24K Uplift. This anti-aging treatment has been deemed comfortable enough to be offered at the SW1 Spa, a subsidiary of aesthetic stalwart SW1 Clinic that offers therapeutic and non-invasive beauty treatments. Essentially a hybrid facial that combines ultrasound skin-lifting technology and cold lasers for skin toning, the 24K Uplift offers the additional benefit of skin-exfoliating aqua-dermabrasion and vitaminised skin infusion, adding a sheen of radiance on top of newly firm and smooth skin.

These proven anti-ageing treatments that provide an alternative to the traditional facelift shed light on a very encouraging fact — there is much to be gained on the path to rediscovering one’s youth, even without the pain.

SW1 Clinic is located at
290 Orchard Road
#13-01 to #13-06 Paragon
OUE Downtown Gallery
6A Shenton Way #02-19/20
OUE Downtown Gallery Tower 2

For more information, call 6817 8888 or visit www.sw1clinic.com