Dr Leah will see you now: The Apprentice winner and "London Lift Queen" offers her expert opinion on solutions for facial sagging

Dr Leah reveals the difference between the procedures that have proved so popular during 2015
Dr. Leah8 October 2015

Contrary to what people may think, it is not very common that people see a cosmetic doctor because they wish to completely banish their lines or wrinkles. Often my patients tell me that they are actually “quite ok with their laughter lines” or don’t want to completely remove their "frown furrow".

Yet I have never met a cosmetic patient who wishes to preserve their facial sagging.

Each cosmetic doctor will have their own passion for some aspect of aesthetics, some love lip enhancements, some specialise in laser work.

Whilst I perform all aesthetic treatments and enjoy all, my specialism is in treating face and neck sagging. It’s well known that I have been spending the majority of 2015 treating facial sagging, to the extent that I am now referred to as “Dr Leah the London Lift Queen” and have to profess it is my passion.

Sagging skin can be a result of multiple factors and is seen on both the face and body. When it comes to facial sagging this is most commonly associated with ageing, which is a natural part of life and happens to us all. Over time as gravity and collagen loss take their toll, the skin's underlying structure breaks down leaving dropping undesired jowls, a saggy neck and a less tight appearance.

There are various ways to lift the face and neck and improve sagging and loose skin, often a combination of treatments gives the best result. I would advise consulting a cosmetic doctor who offers a range of treatments who can advise which you will get most benefit from.

Here are the treatments I would recommend, most of which are availabe at the Dr Leah Skin Clinic and I personally think give fantastic results;

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Radio Frequency - FACE

Radio frequency treatment uses electrical current to heat the deep layers of the skin, to a constant 40°.

This creates thermal trauma or inflammation and an immediate contraction of the fibres. This will then lead to a regeneration of your collagen and elastin, which gives the skin its support structure and a tightening effect on areas such as jowls and neck on the face and tummy, inner thigh and arms on the body.

A course of 6 treatments is usually recommended for the face and a minimum of 8 for the body.

There are many different types of machines out there that use radio frequency to tighten the skin. I would recommend looking out for one that is using the latest Tripolar such as the 3D-Skinmed machine from 3D Lipo.

Two treatments I would suggest are the Radio Frequency Facial, which will leave your skin looking and feeling tighter and more firm. This treatment gives immediate results and should be built upon over a course of 6 to give longer lasting results.

Another option is the Skin Tightening Treatment for the body, which is our most popular treatment at the clinic especially for mum’s who notice they have some excess skin after pregnancy. It is a safe and pain free way to tighten up tummy, thighs, or arms and is therefore extremely popular amought those who have sagging skin after weight loss.

3D-Skinmed HIFU - FACE

3D-Skinmed HIFU “non surgial face and neck lift” is the latest addition to the Dr Leah clinic offering and we are extrememly excited to be able to offer this revolutionary non-surgical facelit treatment.

The treatment uses focused ultrasound energy to stimulate the deep support layers of the skin, lifting and tightening the face and neck.

This HIFU treatment is sometimes referred to as “ulthera” or “ultherapy”. The 90 minute long treatment works by stimulating growth of new collagen resulting in a lifted, firmer and more toned appearance. It addresses any area on the face or neck with skin laxity issues and this highly effective treatment can bring definition to the face.

The results will develop over the course of 2-3 months with continued improvement for up to 6 months and lasting approximately 2-3 years.

This one off treatment with no downtime, is suitable for anyone who wishes to tighten or lift the face and neck and with no downtime, no cuts to the skin and no potential for scarring it is easy to see why this is fast becoming many celebrities facelift of choice.

I really enjoyed attending the star studded UK launch for the treatment in September and I am delighted to be one of the first UK clinics to offer 3D- Skinmed.

Silhouette Soft - FACE

Silhouette Soft is at the forefront for more natural looking anti-ageing treatments, also known as the ‘thread lift’, “one stitch lift” or ‘puppet lift’.

Treatment recommendations at the Dr Leah Skin Clinic

  • Radio Frequency Facial £60 per treatment
  • Skin Tightening Treatment for body £150 per treatment
  • 3D-Skinmed HIFU for face and neck £1200 per treatment
  • Silhouette Soft mid/lower face £1520 for 4 threads 
  • Silhouette Soft neck £800 2 threads 
  • Liquid Facelift £700 per treatment

As one of the UK experts in this treatment I have performed more thread lift treatments than most UK doctors this year and was delighted to present at the national conference for Silhouette Soft in June and attend the international World Expert meeting for silhouette soft thread lift in Barcelona in October. I have had fantastic results in treating sagging or lax skin on the face, with particularly good results on jowls.

The treatment takes approximately 1 hour to perform, with local anaesthetic and gives minimal downtime and subtle but impressive lifting results.

Treatment is also suitable to lift brows and neck, with excellent results lasting 18 months. This is the treatment I perform most commonly in the clinic and I suspect its popularity will continue to grow in the coming months and years.

Dermaroller and RF – FACE

This next treatment is useful if you also need skin resurfacing alongside skin tightening.

This new and exciting treatment combines two innovate technologies - Dermaroller and Radio Frequency. Dermaroller is a cosmetic treatment that uses tiny needles to stimulate your collagen production to regenerate the skin. Skin needling causes thousands of channels in the skin allowing better penetration of products and thickens the epidermis, helping with scaring stretch marks and anti-aging.

This treatment leads to brighter, healthier and a younger appearance to the skin. 3D-Skinmed has now combined the Dermaroller with RF to boost additional tightening to the skin.

Clear Lift – FACE

Clearlift is the latest non-ablative approach to achieving a virtually pain free skin resurfacing.

Working on fine lines and wrinkles on the face, neck and decollate, fast and effective results can be achieved with the 1064 Q-Switched laser technology delivering firmer, plumper and more rejuvenated skin.

What’s more is this innovative treatment requires no down time and can be carried out in as little as 20 minutes with some patients seeing instant results after one treatment. A patch test is usually required prior to treatment and a course of 6 is usually recommended.

Liquid facelift - FACE

Dermal filler can also be used to improve tightness of the skin and improve the appearance of sagging – this is in the form of a liquid facelift where dermal filler is used to lift and support the tissues to improve the appearance of tissue descent in the mid face and jowling.

This is a quick and pretty pain free treatment with minimal downtime. The effectiveness of this treatment can vary depending on the skill of your injector and treatment cost varies depending on number of syringes of filler used.

Facelift Surgery - FACE

At the Dr Leah clinic we believe in offering alternatives to cosmetic surgery, with no scarring, downtime or general anaesthetic risk, however I think its important to acknowledge that depending on the level of descent or sagging or skin laxity a surgical facelift may be the best or only option.

Although we don’t offer surgery I would suggest that if patients are planning to go down this route then they thoroughly research their cosmetic surgeon. This can be done by checking that they are a UK registered doctor via the GMC website and reading online review forums as well as asking to see patient testimonials before and after results.

Combination approach

Having now seen hundreds of patients who seek treatment for sagging of the face via a non-surgical facelift, I have learnt that the best results are often when lift treatments are used in combination.

Often I will combine the approaches to lift and tighten the face &neck which we have named “The Dr Leah Lift”.

It can be difficult for patients to make a treatment choice when multiple treatments are available, so always I would suggest a face to face consultation with an experienced cosmetic doctor who should be able to examine your face and devise a suggested treatment plan tailored to your needs, expectations and budget.

For more details on Dr Leah Clinics and full price list of treatments, visit drleah.co.uk

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