A beautiful oval: Tensor threads or surgery
A sign of youth and beauty, the oval is often the focus of patients’ expectations and demands. A personalised ageing analysis enables us to offer an optimal treatment plan combining tensor threads and hyaluronic acid with MD Codes.
We can classify face shapes into 8 categories: elongated, rectangular, hexagonal, heart-shaped, square, round, triangular and oval. The oval face has always been considered the most attractive. We find it in ancient sculptures (Praxiteles, etc.) and Renaissance paintings (Botticelli and many others).
Nowadays, the oval has also been given pride of place since the early days of Hollywood, with the most glamorous actresses. Make-up contouring, which is increasingly popular on social networks, aims to create the illusion of a more oval face. We can see that by superimposing all the face shapes we end up with an oval, balanced and harmonious face.
In a three-quarter view, the mandibular line is gently rounded, with no break between light and shadow. The contours are discreetly elongated with a well-defined chin and a marked angle of the mandible. The face’s centre of gravity rests on the upper part of the cheekbones.
Step 1 of the treatment: restoring deep facial support. Why? We progressively lose deep fat and bone, particularly in the central area of the face: the periorbital region.
There is also a loss of support for the chin and the angle of the mandible. Deep injections of cohesive hyaluronic acid restore these “load-bearing walls”. The face regains its balance with harmonised contours. Patients feel they have found themselves again. Muscular function is respected because the hyaluronic acid is placed under the elevator muscles, which regain their leverage (positive myomodulation).
If there is still a little residual sagging after the hyaluronic acid support injections, you will need to use another tool. The synergy between the treatments means that the face remains natural. In the case of moderate sagging, the use of tensor threads is particularly interesting. For more significant sagging, a cervico-facial lift remains the best option.
The “ideal patient” for absorbable tensor threads is usually aged between 35 and 50. Most often it is a female patient, or a male patient (20% of men), presenting with the onset of oval sagging. Tensor threads can then be used to achieve satisfaction for around 18 months.
After the age of 50, patients are usually candidates for surgery. However, some patients may wish to postpone their cervico-facial lifting plans and may benefit from absorbable threads. A second session can then be considered earlier, at around 12 to 18 months.
The progressive resorption of the first thread placement will lead to collagen synthesis by the fibroblasts, which will reinforce the skin structure. This improves skin quality and firmness.
The second application will provide a more significant and longer-lasting result, particularly on the jowls, bitterness folds and neck.