Media Still Buzzing About "Liquid Facelifts"

Harper’s Bazaar just published an article about the so-called liquid face lift in their September 2009 issue, and other media outlets have picked up the topic as well.  Dr. Hess discussed it last April: The Liquid Facelift – What a Marketing Pitch!

There’s no harm in revisiting the topic if we can help clear up some confusion about the application of dermal fillers and how those procedures compare to surgery.

While the liquid facelift is basically soft tissue augmentation with Botox and injectable fillers, people say the goal is to achieve results that are similar to surgery. Yet the results are said to be “typically more subtle than surgery.”  As Dr. Hess pointed out, “a facelift tightens the deeper tissues of the face including the neck muscles and removes excess skin – things that a “liquid facelift” will never achieve.

Despite the subtle inconsistencies or perhaps, the misuse of terms, the topic is getting lots of media attention: Harper’s Bazaar is the latest to pick it up and interview some of the physicians that say they’re doing it.  The Best Beauty section of their September ’09 issue includes before and after pictures and a discussion of professional techniques for administering injectables.  The magazine’s website also has a decent article with some facts and figures about soft tissue augmentation with wrinkle fillers.

Apparently, the liquid facelift isn’t exactly a “touch up” here and there, but a relatively extensive  series of injections.  According to the authors, you can expect to pay at least $3,000 – $5,000 for a full liquid facelift.  A Florida dermatologist by the name of Dr. Fredric Brandt explains, “I re-suspend the face with Botox, lifting up the brows, neck, jawline, and tip of the nose and then fill in and replace volume around the eyes and cheeks.”

The liquid facelift has also been featured on The Doctors (NBC), Rachel Ray Show, New Beauty Magazine, Dr. 90210, FOX News, Cosmetic Surgery Times, and more exposure is said to be in the works.