How Long Does a Thread Lift Last?

Author

Dr. Stephen Cosentino

A thread lift is a cost-effective alternative to traditional plastic surgery. If you’d like to lift and tighten sagging skin on your face, neck or abdomen, it’s worth looking into.

You’ll have questions as you do. The first will probably be, “am I a good candidate for a thread lift?” Another common question is, “how long does a thread lift last?”

There’s good news and bad news here. Medical grade thread doesn’t persist in the body forever, but you can expect long-lasting results relative to alternatives like dermal fillers and Botox.

How Long Does a Thread Lift Last?

Expect your thread lift’s results to last between one and three years. Most patients report some regression by 18 to 24 months, but it can take considerably longer for results to fade entirely.

How Long Until a Thread Lift Works?

Thread lift results appear soon after the procedure. Full results may take a few days to a few weeks to appear, mostly because post-procedure swelling is common around the treatment area. Once that fades, the effect should be obvious.

Factors That May Affect Thread Lift Results

Several factors can affect how noticeable thread lift results are and how long they last:

Thread type: Aesthetic medicine professionals generally recommend barbed thread lifts for cosmetic procedures. Barbed threads grip and lift the skin better than smooth threads, prolonging results.

Treatment area: Different parts of the body respond differently to thread lifts — a thread lift on the abdomen presents differently than a thread lift on the loose skin of the neck or the taut skin of the eyebrows.

Complementary procedures: Aesthetic medicine providers often pair thread lifts with other minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, especially dermal filler injections. The threads generally outlast the filler, but the combination may sharpen the results during the first six to 12 months.

The body’s response to the threads: Every body is different too. Overall, we see the best results in patients from about age 35 to about age 55, after which stimulating collagen production becomes less efficient. But that doesn’t mean older and younger patients won’t respond favorably.

Lifestyle and behaviors: The same lifestyle and behavioral factors that cause early signs of aging, such as sagging or finely wrinkled skin, may curtail thread lift results.

How to Stretch Your Thread Lift Results Longer

Unlike surgical facelifts and tummy tucks, thread lifts have an expiration date. To maintain results, the procedure must be repeated every year or two.

Still, you can buy some time by living a skin-healthy lifestyle:

Avoiding smoking and other forms of tobacco
Avoiding excessive alcohol and other dehydrating foods and drinks
Drinking plenty of water
Using an SPF moisturizer daily
Wearing sunscreen during periods of prolonged sun exposure
Eating healthy
Using high-quality skincare products in the morning and evening (in addition to SPF moisturizer and sunscreen

What If You’re Not Satisfied With Your Thread Lift?

Thread lift side effects are mostly mild and temporary. They rarely outlast the procedure’s recovery time.

However, even when the procedure is performed by someone with extensive thread lift training, results don’t always meet expectations. The good news is that if you don’t want to wait until the threads dissolve, you can have them removed to restore the pretreatment status quo. After waiting for the swelling to dissipate, you can attempt the procedure again — although you might want to use another provider.