Our guide to the most advanced and in-demand facial aesthetic treatments for the coming year.
Advancements in technologies have revolutionised the non-surgical aesthetics industry, creating a wave of innovative low-downtime treatments and procedures. Whether you’re looking to reduce fine lines, add volume, improve scarring or tighten crepey skin, there’s a wide variety of options available – all offering minimal downtime and maximal results.
It goes without saying that with cosmetic treatments seemingly becoming so ubiquitous, it’s incredibly important – from both a safety and an aesthetic perspective – that your provider is accredited and experienced in the treatments they perform. These are medical procedures that require a physical examination and medical history-taking for a complete consultation. Be aware that cheapest is not always best, so don’t make your decision on price alone. After all, it’s your face, and your safety, we’re talking about.
Fillers
Fillers are a minimally invasive treatment option to help restore volume, smooth wrinkles and enhance facial features. They consist of an injectable gel-like substance called hyaluronic acid, which is a naturally occurring substance in your skin. When strategically injected into certain areas of your face, they can provide instant and long-lasting results.
Fillers can be used to address a variety of concerns, including: smoothing out lines and wrinkles; filling in deep furrows or scars; adding volume to cheeks, midface, chin or temples; enhancing the size and shape of lips; reducing under-eye circles and tear trough hollows; reshaping facial features or contours; and creating a more chiselled jawline.
There are several different HA filler products available in Australia – including Restylane, Juvederm, Belotero, Croma and Art Filler – and each brand offers different filler types within their range depending on the indication and area to be treated. For example, many brands have a filler specifically for lip augmentation.
The type of filler (composition and viscosity), where it’s used and the depth of injection all influence the final result and how long they last. Superficial injections for lips using ‘lighter’ textures may last up to 6 months, while firmer filler designed for building structural volume and contouring and injected deep on the bone can last 12-18 months.
Before a filler treatment, a numbing cream is applied to the area to be treated to help minimise discomfort. Your practitioner uses a small needle or cannula to inject tiny amounts of HA filler to specific areas of your face. Depending on the area/s treated, the procedure typically takes 15-60 minutes and you’ll be able to see results immediately.
After your appointment, you may experience some mild swelling or redness, but most people can return to their normal activities with minimal downtime. As the filler settles over the following 2-4 weeks, final results will become evident.
Injectable biostimulators
Biostimulators are injectable treatments that work by stimulating your body’s natural production of collagen, elastin and other essential components of healthy, youthful skin. As a result, these treatments have the potential to deliver natural-looking, long-lasting results for a range of cosmetic concerns.
One of the differences between biostimulators and fillers is that biostimulator injections stimulate your body’s ability to make collagen, whereas dermal fillers replace lost volume.
Biostimulators, such as Sculptra (which uses poly-L-lactic acid) or Radiesse (which uses calcium hydroxylapatite and is a hybrid collagen stimulator and filler), gradually improve the texture and tone of your skin as new collagen is formed. It may take a few months to see the full effects, but the results are long-lasting, typically about two years.
Profhilo is a new type of injectable biostimulator that contains one of the highest concentrations of hyaluronic acid on the market. Unlike traditional dermal fillers, the product flows easily and evenly throughout the different compartments of the face (and neck), acting like an internal moisturiser. It works by nourishing and hydrating dermal cells, stimulating collagen and elastin and remodelling the skin, rather than adding volume like fillers.
Biostimulators are injected into the target areas of your skin, typically using a fine needle or micro-cannula. Numbing cream can be applied beforehand to minimise discomfort.
On average, a series of two to three sessions over the course of a few months are required for optimal results.
Anti-wrinkle injections
Anti-wrinkle injections continue to be the most popular non-surgical cosmetic procedure and have become a modern-day staple in beauty regimens throughout the world. Anti-wrinkle injections use a substance called botulinum toxin, which is a protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. In cosmetic procedures, botulinum toxin works by blocking nerve stimulation to wrinkle-causing muscles, which prevents the muscle from contracting and significantly reduces wrinkles and fine lines.
It is commonly used to treat crow’s feet around the eyes, the frown lines between the eyebrows (glabellar lines, or the “11’s”) and horizontal lines across the forehead.
Off-label, marionette lines, which run from the corner of the mouth to the chin, and vertical “smokers’ lines” above the top lip can also be treated. Anti-wrinkle injections can also be used for jawline slimming and to produce the effect of a brow lift by relaxing the muscles that drag down the brow.
In Australia, botulinum toxin is available for cosmetic use under the brand names Botox, Dysport, Xeomin and Letybo.
During the procedure, your practitioner injects small amounts of botulinum toxin into specific facial muscles. The injections themselves are done with a very fine needle, which helps to minimise any discomfort. The entire procedure usually takes between 10 and 20 minutes.
After the treatment, you may see some redness, swelling or bruising, but these side effects generally fade quickly. You’ll start to notice the effects of the treatment within 3-4 days, reaching peak effectiveness around 10-14 days post-treatment. The effects can last anywhere from 3-6 months.
Microneedling
Microneedling is a non-surgical face treatment that involves using a device with tiny needles to create micro-injuries on your skin. These tiny punctures stimulate your skin’s natural healing process, promoting collagen and elastin production for a smoother, firmer, and more youthful complexion. It is relatively painless and minimally invasive, and it’s suitable for all skin types.
Radiofrequency (RF) microneedling is similar to traditional microneedling, but it includes the use of radiofrequency energy. This energy is transmitted through the needles, heating your skin tissue to tighten and rejuvenate the targeted area further. Devices include Endymed, Exion, Morpheus8, Profound Matrix, Secret RF, Voluderm and to name just a few.
Microneedling is excellent for addressing a variety of skin concerns. It can help improve skin texture, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, minimise the appearance of scars (particularly acne scars), shrink enlarged pores, even out skin tone, and tighten skin.
Before treatment, your skin will be cleansed and prepped with a numbing cream. The microneedling device will then be guided across your skin, creating microscopic punctures. After the procedure, your skin might feel tight and slightly swollen, but these feelings will typically subside within a few hours. You may experience redness in the treated area for a few days, resembling a sunburn.
Laser skin resurfacing
Laser skin resurfacing involves the use of laser energy to remove damaged skin cells and stimulate the growth of new, healthy cells.
The procedure is often used to improve tone, texture and overall appearance by reducing common skin concerns like fine lines and wrinkles, skin texture and tone, acne scars and other scarring, pigmentation and sun damage.
The principle behind lasers is light absorption. The same as a black car will be hotter than a white car because it absorbs more wavelengths of light, certain target tissues will absorb certain wavelengths of light more effectively. As the laser light is monochromatic, the target tissue will take on maximum absorption while the surrounding tissues won’t. This allows the target to be isolated and treated.
The target tissue is all-important when treating skin problems with a laser. For pigmentation it is melanin; for spider veins and other vascular conditions it is haemoglobin (blood); and for wrinkles it is water. Each of these target tissues absorbs a different wavelength of light, meaning a different laser is needed for each specific problem.
Advances in laser technology mean that laser skin resurfacing – once reserved for the treatment of severe conditions due to the extensive downtime involved – has become
an effective option for many people seeking reduction of lines and wrinkles and uneven skin colour, tone and texture.
Most resurfacing lasers work by removing microscopic quantities of skin and stimulating the production of new collagen. Non-ablative lasers uses wavelengths which do not burn away skin and are suitable for the treatment of melasma, scarring, fine lines and wrinkles and typically do not require any downtime.
Ablative lasers include carbon dioxide (CO2) and Erbium: YAG lasers. These use a process where the upper layers of aged or damaged
skin are vaporised by the controlled laser. It is this damage that stimulates the healing and restructuring of the skin, resulting in a more even complexion and a significant reduction in lines and wrinkles.
Carbon dioxide lasers can dramatically reduce wrinkles but downtime and side effects such as redness and peeling are extended, usually taking many weeks to heal. Erbium lasers have a great accuracy with fewer side effects but cannot treat deep wrinkles as successfully.
The advent of fractional laser, where microscopic columns of skin are treated while surrounding skin is left intact, has made it possible to achieve results comparable results to traditional CO2 laser resurfacing with fewer side effects and significantly less downtime.
Fractional skin resurfacing can utilise both non-ablative and ablative lasers – the breakthrough difference of this technology is the fractionated delivery system of light.
Fractional lasers work by creating tiny holes, or ‘dots’, in the skin’s surface, penetrating deep into the dermis. It leaves the skin around each dot intact, enabling the surrounding tissue to heal these microscopic thermal injuries by stimulating the production of new collagen.
The anti-ageing benefits of fractional laser technology include improving evenness of skin tone and texture, reducing pore size and the appearance of lines and wrinkles, and helping to reverse the effects of sun damage. A milder treatment may take several sessions, while one procedure is usually sufficient for a more aggressive treatment.
Because laser treatments use heat, a mild to moderate burning sensation is experienced during treatment and slight swelling, redness and bronzing afterwards. This normally subsides after a few days, however full healing can take several weeks, depending on the intensity of treatment and the areas targeted.
Skin tightening
Non-surgical skin tightening treatments are becoming increasingly popular for those who want to combat the signs of ageing without going under the knife.
For suitable candidates presenting with a small to moderate degree of skin laxity, non-surgical skin tightening modalities can offer an effective, natural- looking improvement and postpone or even negate the need for surgical procedures.
Skin tightening devices use energy-based technology to target the skin’s deeper dermis and subcutaneous layers, tightening the underlying tissue structure and stimulating collagen production without damaging the outer layers of skin.
Skin tightening technologies in Australia include (but are not limited to) Thermage (which uses radiofrequency energy), Ultherapy (which uses microfocused ultrasound), Sofwave (which uses synchronous ultrasound parallel beam technology) and Ultraformer MPT (which uses high intensity focused ultrasound).
These types of procedures are associated with some discomfort. Many people report feeling warm pulses under the skin, but this varies between patients and the type of device used.
There may be some swelling and redness that gradually subside over the next few days but generally you should experience little downtime, if any. Results are usually gradual, as the new collagen forms over the next couple of months, and are typically long lasting – up to two years.
For the right candidate, non-surgical skin tightening can offer impressive results – from improving skin texture to tightening sagging skin on the face, neck and jawline.
Facial muscle stimulation
Facial muscle stimulation is a new non-surgical face treatment that helps tone, lift and tighten your facial muscles and regenerate collagen and elastin. This is a new category of treatment that offers an innovative solution
to smoothing and lifting the face without injections, downtime or discomfort.
Launched in 2022, Emface by BTL Aesthetics is a pioneer of facial muscle stimulation. The patented technology simultaneously emits synchronised radiofrequency and HIFES (high-intensity facial electrical stimulation) energy to help remodel the face and address facial contour changes. Emface’s HIFES energy induces thousands of powerful muscle contractions that strengthen and tone the facial elevator muscles, while the RF energy encourages renewed collagen and elastin production for more youthful-looking skin. Together, they promote a slimmer and more defined jawline, fuller and higher cheeks, an elevated brow and improvement in wrinkles.
Another treatment turning heads in this space is TriLift by Lumenis. This is a first-of-its-kind facial stimulation device that targets structure, contour and texture by treating the three tissue layers – muscles, dermal layer and epidermal layer. This ground-breaking technology is the first in the market to use Dynamic Muscle Stimulation (DMSt) in sequence with two other modalities, TriPollar RF (radiofrequency) and triFX RF microneedling, to activate facial muscles, increase natural volume and regenerate collagen and elastin.
During a facial muscle stimulation treatment, your practitioner applies small electrodes to your face. These electrodes deliver gentle electrical currents that stimulate and contract facial muscles, helping to tone and lift your skin. You might feel a slight tingling sensation, but the treatment is generally considered to be painless.
For best results, a series of treatments is needed, spaced a week apart. The results offer improvement in wrinkles, improved muscle tone and a noticeable yet natural-looking lifting effect of the facial muscles. [A]A
