Written and medically reviewed by Dr. Kamen Ng. Last reviewed 2026-08-02.
An honest starting position
Thread lifts are a normal item on our menu rather than a signature of this practice, and I would rather be plain about that than oversell them. Used in the right patient they are elegant. Used in the wrong one they produce a short-lived result, visible irregularity, and an understandable sense of having wasted money.
What the material changes
PDO threads are the most widely used and the shortest lived, typically dissolving over six to eight months while stimulating a modest collagen response. PLLA and PCL threads persist longer and stimulate more collagen as they degrade, which is why their effect often outlasts the thread itself.
Barb geometry matters as much as material. The way a thread grips tissue determines how much lift it can hold and how evenly that lift distributes. This is precisely the specification a price-led clinic has the least incentive to discuss.
Who should not have threads
Threads reposition tissue. They do not create volume, they do not tighten skin, and they cannot carry weight indefinitely. In a patient with heavy jowls or substantially lax skin, the thread is being asked to do a job that belongs to surgery, and the result will be brief and possibly uneven.
The best candidates have mild to moderate descent with reasonable skin quality, ideally in their thirties to fifties. When someone falls clearly outside that range, I say so during the consultation rather than after the procedure.
Where threads genuinely shine
As part of a combination plan. Bio-stimulators rebuild the underlying tissue over months while threads provide immediate repositioning. Neither achieves alone what the pairing achieves together, and the sequencing matters: I usually prefer to establish tissue quality first so the threads have better material to hold.
Realistic expectations
Twelve to eighteen months of benefit, immediate but subtle repositioning, a few days of tenderness and occasional dimpling that settles. Anyone promising a permanent facelift result from an injectable thread is describing a different procedure than the one they are performing.
This article is educational and does not replace a medical consultation. Suitability for any treatment is determined by a doctor at consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Around twelve to eighteen months for most patients, with the collagen laid down along the thread path outlasting the mechanical lift itself. It is not a permanent result and anyone describing it as one is overselling. The threads themselves absorb; what remains is the tissue response to them.
Polydioxanone absorbs over roughly six to eight months, polycaprolactone considerably more slowly with a longer collagen response. The material changes both how long the effect holds and the kind of lift achievable, which is why the thread chosen matters more than the price quoted.
Heavy or markedly lax tissue. Threads reposition tissue; they do not carry weight. Where descent is significant, a thread lift produces a short-lived and sometimes uneven result, and the honest answer is either a different approach or a surgical opinion. We would rather say that at consultation.
No, and expecting it to is the most common source of disappointment. Threads reposition. They do not restore lost volume and they do not improve skin quality. Where all three are needed, they are staged rather than substituted for one another.
Expect three to five days of tightness, mild swelling and occasional bruising, with a pulling sensation on wide smiling for a week or two. Most patients are socially presentable within a few days. We advise scheduling at least two weeks before any significant event.