Combining Facial Cosmetic Surgery Procedures

Non surgical facial cosmetic surgery includes any type of minor procedure that can be done without having to put you under general anesthesia. Examples of such procedures include Botox, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, thermage, laser skin resurfacing treatments and dermal fillers such as collagen or restylane injections.

One of the main advantages of non surgical cosmetic procedures is that they are relatively inexpensive when compared to full-blown surgical procedures such as breast augmentation or rhinoplasty.

Non surgical cosmetic procedures can also be done much quicker and have a faster and less painful recovery period, although unfortunately, the results that they produce will usually only last for a matter of months which means that repeated treatments are necessary in order to maintain results.

Combining Facial Cosmetic Surgery Procedures

The time it takes to have any cosmetic procedure done, and the associated recovery time after it, are the worst parts of enhancing the way that you look because it means having to take some time out of your normal everyday routine.

As a result, rather than having one procedure done at a time, some people choose to have multiple non surgical procedures done together or even combine non surgical procedures with proper cosmetic surgery.

The obvious advantage in doing this is the amount of time that you could potentially save, as you will be able to have treatments done together which means only having one recovery period.

In addition, some cosmetic surgery centers offer discounts if you have multiple procedures done at the same time, and although this will mean needing a larger amount of money upfront to pay for two or more procedures, the discount that you get can make it an effective way to save money if you were planning on having those procedures done in the future anyway.

There is however, another advantage of combining cosmetic surgeries, which interestingly, tends to be quite easily overlooked, especially by those who have never had cosmetic surgery before.

All cosmetic surgeries or non surgical procedures are designed to produce a certain type of effect or benefit. This means that they may be good at doing one thing, but not so good at doing another. For example, a surgical face lift is very effective at helping to tighten sagging skin on the face, but it does little to reduce the appearance of deep wrinkles.

In order to get the maximum anti-aging effects from cosmetic surgery, it may therefore be necessary to sometimes combine multiple treatments or procedures so that you can get the result you were intending for.

This is what we shall be looking at in the rest of this article, by going over some examples of facial cosmetic surgery procedures that are often carried out together, and why you might want to have both procedures done rather than only one.

Botox & Dermal Fillers

By far the most common combination of non surgical facial procedures is having Botox done alongside a dermal filler. Botox can be injected into specific regions of the face in order to paralyze the muscles underneath the skin.

This can have the effect of lifting areas of the face, such as the forehead or around the eyes, which can then help to improve the contour of the face and its overall appearance by giving it a more youthful and “awake” look.

Botox however, is not very effective at removing very deep expression lines, scars or wrinkles, as it tends to work best for fine lines, wrinkles of a moderate depth and sagging skin. So if one wishes to reduce the appearance of deep lines, then a dermal filler is usually needed to achieve this effect.

The most common types of dermal fillers are collagen or restylane (hyaluronic acid) injections, but you can also get poly-l-lactic acid or calcium hydroxyapatite skin fillers if you prefer.

These facial fillers can be very effective at lifting up skin depressions and filling in skin folds such as the nasolabial folds, which means that they can nicely complement and enhance the results you get from your Botox treatment.

Furthermore, because muscle activity in the face can speed up the rate at which dermal fillers break down, if you do have Botox, then your paralyzed facial muscles will mean that your dermal filler will last for longer. So by getting both treatments done together you not only get better results, but you also get better value for your money because you won’t need to get your dermal filler reinjected so often.

Botox & Skin Peels/Microdermabrasion

Although Botox is very good at reducing the visibility of fine lines such as crow’s-feet around the eyes or smile lines around the mouth, it does nothing for any irregularities or damage that you may have on the surface of your skin.

For example, sun damaged skin, hyperpigmentation, dry/rough skin patches, large pores or a poor complexion are not suitable skin conditions to treat with Botox as such conditions are better treated with a skin peel or microdermabrasion treatment.

A skin peel, also known as a chemical peel, involves applying a substance on the face which causes the uppermost layers of the skin to peel off either immediately or a few days after treatment. Depending on the type of skin damage that you are trying to reverse, there are different strengths of chemical peels that you can have such as alpha hydroxy acid, Jessner peel, trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and croton oil.

The stronger the chemical peel that you have applied to your face the more change you will notice in the appearance and condition of your skin, but the longer your recovery time will be.

With peels such as TCA peels for example, your face may remain red, tender and sensitive for a few days post treatment, and if you had a croton oil peel, these symptoms may remain for up to two weeks. Due to these side effects, Botox is not normally applied at the same time as a skin peel is, especially if you are having a very strong chemical peel done.

For those who don’t fancy having a chemical peel, an equally effective alternative is microdermabrasion treatment. This is similar to a chemical peel in the sense that it removes the uppermost layers of the epidermis, although instead of using chemicals, a device is used to mechanically exfoliate the skin almost like how sandpaper is used to rub the surface of wood.

A chemical peel or microdermabrasion can work very well with Botox, because either treatment can help to get rid of wrinkles and then Botox will reduce the chance of those wrinkles reappearing later on.

Combining Procedures With Plastic Surgery

Although non surgical cosmetic procedures can work well to reverse the signs of aging, they are limited in how much facial aging they can reverse and only provide short-term results.

Botox for example, isn’t very effective if you have significant amounts of sagging skin on your face such as droopy upper eyelids, heavy bags underneath your eyes, saggy jowls or a saggy neck. The only way that you can deal with such problem areas is by having cosmetic surgery, or as it is sometimes incorrectly called, plastic surgery.

A face lift, eyelid lift or brow lift can very effectively tighten the skin and reduce sagging, but are not that effective at getting rid of wrinkles, especially deep wrinkles.

As a result, some people choose to have Botox or dermal filler injections after having such procedures to get rid of any fine lines or wrinkles, and if necessary, followed by a chemical peel, laser skin resurfacing or microdermabrasion to improve the surface appearance and texture of the skin. Results can be further enhanced with facial liposuction to deal with small deposits of fat that a face lifting procedure was unable to successfully address.

More drastic changes to the face can be achieved by combining two cosmetic surgery procedures together, such as a face lift with rhinoplasty. However, be aware that not all cosmetic surgeons will be willing to perform such major procedures at once because the risk of complications occurring both during and after the surgery are increased.

In addition, because having two major cosmetic surgery operations can be quite costly, even with a discount, some people choose to have their cosmetic surgery done abroad as doing so can offer significant savings and thus make multiple procedures an affordable option for them.

What You Are Likely To Need

In general, younger adults, such as those aged under 40, will most likely only require a combination of non surgical procedures, as the effect of aging on the face by this stage will probably not warrant having a surgical procedure done.

One exception to this is face lift surgery, as some younger women choose to address minor sagging of the skin by having a mini-facelift done, as this only tightens the skin in certain problem areas rather than lifting the whole of the face.

Older adults aged 40 and above, will probably require a combination of non surgical and surgical procedures in order to get the best results possible.

This will usually involve having a full face lift to reverse sagging of the skin, possibly with a neck lift, upper or lower eyelid lift or even cheek implants, and then a dermal filler to help lift depressed areas of the skin and fill in deep wrinkles. If the skin also suffers from hyperpigmentation due to sun damage, then a chemical peel or microdermabrasion may also be needed.