FUTURE FACE
Apparently, it’s a slippery slope for faces after the age of 35, but thanks to new treatments involving little more than needles and heat, we can opt for a lift that’s gentle and natural. No knife required
The cutting-edge treatments that can turn back the years
I’m aiming for my clients to look refreshed, like a better version of themselves, rather than dramatically changed,” says cosmetic dermatologist Dr Tapan Patel from across a gleaming designer desk at his state-of-the-art cosmetic clinic, Phi. This is the new face, and message, of Harley Street: the address once synonymous with over-privileged, over-done women of a certain age has recently witnessed a move towards understated, noninvasive substitutions for surgery. “There are so many options now to rejuvenate the skin without requiring a facelift,” says Dr Patel, speaking of the lasers, radiofrequency, intense pulsed light, ultrasound and injectables (Botox and fillers) that comprise the contemporary arsenal of alternatives.
These treatments and techniques are infinitely gentler than a scalpel – none require more than a few days’ ‘down time’ at most and, with the exception of ultherapy, they are almost pain free. The lexicon used by Patel and his contemporaries is of “age management” rather than “age reversal”, and contrary to claiming that these procedures are an equivalent to a surgical facelift, the top doctors are open about the fact that results are less extreme. As Gabrielle Chanel said: “Nothing makes a woman look so old as trying desperately hard to look so young.”
THE EXPERTS AND TREATMENTS TO BOOK
“The techniques themselves are relatively easy to administer, compared to the skill required to accurately evaluate which areas of an individual’s face would most benefit from treatment and determine a sensible protocol,” says Dr Patel. Since ageing goes hand in hand with less volume and more lines, a touch of filler and Botox are usual at some stage in the process. Alongside that, these are the techniques with the most promising lifting results.
ULTRASOUND
Employing ultrasound to trigger the regeneration of collagen, ultherapy has had clearance by the FDA for the claim that it lifts and firms the skin. It’s a one-off treatment (you don’t need a course, in other words, though you can repeat it), and the current consensus is that it doesn’t work for everyone, but when it does, the results are game-changing. The best candidates have slightly chubbier/jowlier faces and are looking to tighten around the jaw. The downside: it is notoriously painful. For a relatively painless alternative, Ultralift has convincing, albeit slightly less pronounced, results. Those in the know combine it with Botox for a naturallooking brow lift that sidesteps the frozen look. Ultherapy, from £650 with Dr Maryam Zamani at the Cadogan Clinic, 120 Sloane Street, London SW1. Ultralift Face and Body Treatment, from £600 with Dr Diana Piana-mariton at Dr Sebagh’s Clinic, 25 Wimpole Street, London W1, from £700 for the face and £800 for the face and décolleté
RADIOFREQUENCY
Controlled fractionated radiofrequency delivers energy deep into the dermis to shorten and tighten collagen fibres. It’s more comfortable than ultherapy, but you need a few sessions (three to five treatments about a month apart are required to lift sagging skin) and it works more superficially. There is also radiofrequency combined with microneedling, where the effects of the latter are enhanced by the radiowave heating of the tissue via the needles. Unlike radiofrequency alone, there’s a bit of down time – extreme redness that takes a couple of hours to disappear – and you may get tiny needle marks that take about a week to go (though they can easily be covered with make-up), but the feeling is the results are more profound. Explore/scarlet radiofrequency with microneedling, from £500 at Dr Sebagh's Clinic, 25 Wimpole Street, London W1. Radiofrequency, from £280 with Teresa Tarmay at 57 Holland Road, London, W14
THREAD LIFT
Literally hoisting up the cheeks and jowls with fine threads under the skin (that gradually dissolve), this procedure can have a natural-looking rejuvenating effect that lasts 18 months to two years in the right hands, thanks to the collagen production stimulation. Many doctors offer thread lifts, but as it’s complex and invasive, we recommend the expertise of these trained cosmetic surgeons below.
(And see overleaf to find out how it really feels.) From £1,900 with Dr Geoffrey Mullan at Medicetics, 37 Connaught Street, London W2. From £1,600 with Dr Terry Loong at the Dr Terry Clinic, 37 North Audley Street, London, W1
“I’M AIMING FOR MY CLIENTS TO LOOK REFRESHED”