Thread Lifting And Other Weirdly Popular Cosmetic Trends For 2015

Thread Lifting was the most popular cosmetic procedure of 2014!

According to What Clinic, demands for non-surgical thread lifting increased by an incredible 1165 per cent in the last year.

But what is it?

Well, it's a non-surgical alternative to the "mini-facelift."

But.... what is so mini about a facelift, you might ask?

Facelifts

A mini facelift is usually performed under general anaesthetic and takes around two hours.

The surgeon makes a number of very fine cuts either in front or behind your ears (and occasionally near your hair line), then pulls the skin more taught across your face and sews you up using little stitches.

It diverges from a proper facelift, as it concentrates on lifting from around the ears, to tighten mainly the jawline.

A more comprehensive facelift includes more extensive incisions around the face and in the hairline. The surgeon will cut under the deeper layer of tough tissue, pulling more of your face taught.

A mini facelift, though less extreme than the regular facelift, still carries a degree of risk.

These can include nerve damage, slow healing scars, numbness and hairloss.

Thread Lifting

Thread lifting has a non-surgical option, meaning the risks are vastly reduced.

The idea is this: losing protein and fats from your cheeks and face (it happens with age, sadly) can leave you with a sallow, saggier look.

Thread lifting places anchoring sutures (tiny little stitched threads) inside your face without any need for large incisions or even any sedation - they use a teeny needle to get them in there.

We assume it's a bit like having an accupuncture facial.

The suture gently lifts tissue from inside, helping to reposition the saggier areas of the cheeks and chin.

With minimal downtime, anaesthesia or chance of infection, it seems like quite a good option, for anyone seriously considering getting a lift.

What are the drawbacks?

As with any procedure, there are of course drawbacks.

If it's dramatic results you're hoping to see, a non-invasive procedure like this isn't likely to give you what you're seeking.

Reviews on Real Self give thread lifting only a 37 per cent "worth it" rating, with many customers claiming that they didn't see any significant results and that the effect was not as long term as they had hoped.

Other Weird Cosmetic Trends

Fat Reduction Injections - a non-invasive alternative to traditional liposuction saw a 518% increase in the last 12 months.

Vein stripping - the get rid of those horrid purple varicose lines - up 400%.

The non-surgical nose-job - yep, these exist-  which involves injecting dermal fillers into the face to create a smoother line (so it won't exactly make your nose smaller, just straighter), is up 170%.

Carboxytherapy - a cosmetic therapy to improve the collagen in your skin, to improve stretch marks, cellulite, dark circles and other dermatological conditions - is up 124%.

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Are you thinking about undergoing any cosmetic procedures this year? If so, tell us what you're having and why in the comments!