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A Facelift Alternative: Facial Fat Grafting and Laser Skin Resurfacing

woman-mirror-considering-facial-fat-grafting

“Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.” – Coco Chanel (1983-1971)

Truer words were never spoken. Coco Chanel, French designer and founder of the Chanel fashion label, knew that there was more than one key to unlock the door to success and a pleasing face and persona was one of the most important.

Modern advances in cosmetic procedures, both non-invasive and surgical, have created the opportunity to relax into the wisdom that age gifts you while maintaining the youthful and vibrant features that are uniquely yours.

Facial fat grafting and laser skin resurfacing can help you embrace the face you have at fifty, sixty and beyond.

Cosmetic anti-aging procedures are as much an art as a science. Talented plastic surgeons use a range of techniques–including facial fat grafting and laser skin resurfacing–to replace or augment more traditional procedures such as facelifts.

In fact, these two procedures are a powerful combination and can be used to substitute facelifts, augment them, or extend the period of time until a patient needs a facelift.

Together, they can literally reverse the signs of aging.

How Does Facial Fat Grafting Erase the Signs of Aging?

The aging process happens at the physiologic level. One of the most typical signs of aging is the loss of subdermal padding, comprised of fat cells, which provide structure and support to the skin.

This leads to hollows around the eyes, cheeks and chin as well as a sharp effect where remaining skin drapes over the brow, cheek, jaw and chin bones.

This loss of facial volume, combined with decreased skin elasticity, causes exterior skin layers to fold, resulting in lines, wrinkles, and folds. This entire process can be reversed by restoring of the diminishing subdermal layers via fat grafting.

Fat grafting removes excess fat from donor sites, typically the hips, thighs, or abdomen, and carefully injects it to restore the soft, smooth three-dimensional features that create your unique and signature look.

Fat injections are used to:

  • Restore fullness to atrophied facial features and hands
  • Artistically shape the facial features intrinsic to your natural beauty
  • Restore tissue lost in previous cosmetic and/or surgical procedures

One of the most remarkable things about this procedure, when performed by a surgeon who is well-versed in the procedure, is that transferred fat cells are integrated into your vascular system, becoming a permanent part of your facial landscape.

In many cases, patients don’t need touch-up work for up to a decade or more. For patients in their 30s, 40s and even 50s, fat grafting may be the only procedure needed to restore the gently curved and softer contours and features that are the signature of a youthful face.

Laser Skin Resurfacing Will Add the Final Touches to Fat Transfer Procedures

Once the hollows of your face have been filled and the more dramatic lines around the brow line, eyes, lips and along the chin have been diminished, eCO2 Laser Skin Resurfacingwill do the rest.

This FDA-approved technique uses lasers to erase fine lines, even out skin tone and diminish or eliminate residual scarring from acne or previous surgeries.

Modern lasers are so powerful that they penetrate the subdermal layers, stimulating collagen production and producing more permanent results.

Am I a Good Candidate for Facial Fat Injections and Laser Skin Resurfacing?

Ask yourself the following questions to determine if you are a good candidate for these procedures:

  • Have you noticed the appearance of wrinkles around your eyes? Fat injections are ideal for adults desiring to erase wrinkles and fine lines around the eyes or to augment eyelid surgery.
  • Are you on the fence about a facelift? If you aren’t quite ready for a facelift, but notice wrinkled or “deflated” skin is causing a crone-like affect, fat grafting and laser skin resurfacing are an optimal solution.
  • Is a facelift the next step for you? If so, speak to your surgeon about how fat grafting and laser skin resurfacing can be used to create softer and more natural facelift results, preventing that overly-angular or stretched appearance.

Coco Chanel was a woman ahead of her time. Heed her words and seek a consultation with a facial plastic surgeon who is adept at utilizing less-invasive procedures, such as facial fat grafting and laser skin resurfacing, to restore the vibrant and naturally beautiful features that express your inner-being to the world.