Even after all of these years, people are continuing to look for the fountain of youth, a magical solution to their aging concerns. The interest in a quick fix to the signs of aging might go a long way towards explaining why so many myths about anti-aging treatments persist.

Facial plastic surgery and minimally invasive treatments might not transform you into a 21 year old again. But knowing what you can get out of treatments and what you can’t can help you manage your expectations and get results you’re really happy with.

You’ll Get the Same Results From a Bottle

Some skincare products are designed to help slow down the aging process. These products help protect your skin from sun exposure or contain ingredients, such as retinoids, which help fight wrinkles. While you do want to use certain skincare products, particularly those recommended by your facial plastic surgeon, it’s worth understanding that those products won’t give you the same results as certain treatments, even if they contain the same or similar ingredients.

For example, the product you use to give yourself an at-home peel won’t contain ingredients that are as strong as the ingredients found in a chemical peel performed at a doctor’s office. Using a moisturizer that contains hyaluronic acid won’t plump your skin or fill in lines the way that having a surgeon inject a filler such as Juvederm will.

Fillers Will Give You the Same Results as Surgery

Just as you can’t expect the same results from a skincare product that you’d get from an injection or other in-office treatment, you can’t expect the same results from fillers that you’d get from a surgical procedure. Take a liquid facelift, for example. The treatment involves having a surgeon administer a number of injections, such as Botox and fillers. A liquid facelift can make you look younger, as it smooths wrinkles and restores lost volume to the face.

But, it is not the same treatment as a surgical facelift, for several reasons. For one thing, facelift surgery not only  helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles. It also helps tighten the skin, reducing any sagginess in the lower face and neck area. Another way that a liquid facelift differs from a surgical facelift is in terms of how long the results last. You might see results from a liquid facelift that last for a few months or up to two years, depending on the type of fillers used. With a surgical facelift, your results can last for as long as 10 years, depending on the degree of aging you had and how well you take care of yourself.

Non-surgical options tend to be more limited in terms of what they can do, too. For example, a non-surgical rhinoplasty can help straighten a crooked or asymmetrical nose or it can help fill in a dip or smooth down a hump on the nose. But, it can’t make a big nose smaller or correct functional issues on the inside of the nose.

Only Women Need to Worry About Anti-Aging

While female patients have long been the main demographic of plastic surgery and minimally invasive procedures, they aren’t  the only candidates for the treatments, and they aren’t the only people who worry about the aging process. The proof is in the pudding — more and more male patients have been seeking out facelifts, Botox and other treatments in recent years.

If You’re Unhappy With Your Results, Too Bad

One worry people might have before surgery or an injection is that if the procedure doesn’t turn out the way they’d hoped, then they are stuck with it. That’s not necessarily the case. What you can do about results you’re less than thrilled about depends on the treatment.

In the case of Botox, for example, you can simply wait a few months for the results to wear off. The same is true of fillers, which will usually wear off after six months to two years. If the filler is made from hyaluronic acid, you can ask your surgeon to inject a substance that will dissolve the substance and reverse the results, if you just can’t wait.

Your options are a bit different if you aren’t happy with the results from surgery. A surgeon can’t reverse the procedure and put your face back the way it was. But, he can perform a revision procedure, such as a revision rhinoplasty or facelift, to try to correct any issues that arose after the first surgery.

Once You Have Surgery, You No Longer Have to Worry About Aging

Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to do anything else, ever again, once you had a facelift or other anti-aging procedure? Since facial plastic surgery is a commitment, both in terms of time and money, you’ll want to take steps to make sure you prolong your results for as long as possible. Avoiding excessive sun exposure, sticking to a healthy diet, and not smoking are just a few of the ways you can get the most from your surgery and avoid having to repeat the procedure after just a few years.

Have you heard a few more rumors about plastic surgery or anti-aging treatments and you’re not sure what’s fact or fiction? Dr. Kyle Choe, a board certified facial plastic surgeon near Virginia Beach, is happy to set the record straight. To learn more about a particular procedure or to schedule a consultation with Dr. Choe, call 757.389.5850 today.