This article was published in Anti Age Magazine Volume #48. We would like to thank Dr. Bernard Mole and Anti Age Magazine for sharing it with the international community.

Fillers restore lost volume, fill in prominent folds and erase superficial wrinkles. Threads are used to reposition structures that appear to sag over time.

The constant improvements made to fillers (primarily hyaluronic acid) and tensor threads (either resorbable or permanent, for which the insertion techniques and indications are the same) go hand in hand with an ever-increasing demand for these techniques, which provide support or correct the shape of the face and neck, whether on their own or combined.

Though they cannot achieve the same quality or results as a lift, they nevertheless have some advantages over surgery: absence of scars, carried out under local anaesthetic, short-lived side effects, can be adapted to the natural evolution of the patient’s aging.

Until now, it was considered that most reasonable requests were made by patients in their fifties, but in recent years we have seen the indications spread in both directions: new “Millennial” clients who are keen on virtual transformations often undergo these treatments, which are both legal and reversible; and after age sixty, many patients who are reticent about having surgery focus their requests on areas that can be treated locally (drooping eyebrows, cheeks, oval, fatty hump at the back of the neck).

Fillers restore any lost volumes (temples, cheeks, mandibular angles), fill any marked wrinkles (crow’s feet, nasolabial folds, marionette lines) and erase any superficial lines. Threads aim to reposition the facial structures that have started to sag over time (eyebrows, cheeks, jowls, oval, angle of the neck). Depending on the case, restoring the facial volumes will come before, or even delay, the restructuring work done by threads. In other cases, we work in reverse order (repositioning the volumes with threads then, a few weeks later, adding a final touch with fillers). We can even carry out these two procedures at the same time, but it is best not to do it on the same area.

Today, we have the option of managing aging in a straightforward and effective way, to cater for the ever-increasing number of patients that favour less risky procedures and seek natural-looking results. During an “anti-aging” appointment, it is important to mention botulinum toxin, peels, mesotherapy, etc. at the same time as extolling the virtues of fillers and tensor threads.

The success of aesthetic medicine relies on the careful combination and regular upkeep of these procedures, which are adapted to each patient.