Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
Minimalist facelift helps restore youthful look
Park Seong-joon, the dermatologist at Beauty M Clinic / Courtesy of Beauty M Clinic
By Kwak Yeon-soo
By Kwak Yeon-soo
As more men and women opt for cosmetic enhancements, the perception of plastic surgery in Korea has improved in recent years. With the ongoing trend, conservative, or minimally invasive, facelifts are becoming more prevalent for those who want a more subtle anti-aging procedure.
“Nowadays, patients don't want to look like they've had surgery,” said Park Seong-joon, a dermatologist. “They want a more natural-looking change.”
He said that although patients want a smooth and youthful appearances, they fear that their faces will look too tight or too flat.
“The procedure is open to patients of all ages, ranging from their 20s to 70s. But most of my patients are between their 30s and 50s, who are concerned about volume loss or wrinkles,” Park said.
Conservative facelifts prevent deep creases in the skin by using surgical thread or high-intensity focused ultrasound treatments to lift sagging skin in specific areas of the face, such as the jawline, forehead and around the eyes.
Noninvasive surgery is the latest facelift trend, as patients seek safer and quicker operations, according to Park.
For this reason, young Korean women undergo facelift operations using HIFU devices to improve wrinkles, skin elasticity and a V-line effect all at once.
“In contrast to surgical facelifts that had scary potential side effects, such as scarring and infections under the skin, non-surgical facelifts have smaller risks, which include temporary soreness and swelling,” he said.
When asked how long the effects last, he said that it depends on the person.
“The effect varies per person, regarding his or her skin quality. For instance patients with very thin skin, and little underlying fat may not be well-suited for the operation,” he said. “The surgeon's technical skills are vitally important, too.”
As for the average effect, Park estimated that results from the HIFU procedure can last for at least six months.
For longer-lasting results, he recommended a thread lift to stimulate collagen and smooth out wrinkles.
“These facelift procedures can help delay the aging process and bring back a youthful look,” he said.