3 Factors to consider when doing a Liquid Facelift.

The Liquid Facelift is a popular procedure in aesthetic clinics across Singapore. It is termed ‘liquid” because it involves using only B*tox (a liquid) and hyaluronic acid fillers (a gel) to create a lifting effect on the lower parts of the face. It is a non-surgical and involves very little recovery time. In fact, as a “facelift” achieved through injections only, it has also been popularly called a “non-surgical facelift” or “lunchtime makeover”.

Over the years, many experts have also described other variations of the Liquid Facelift, and they are all very good.

The are 3 important factors to consider when performing The Liquid Facelift.

1. The first is where to inject. Great masters of filler injections have proposed various depths of injection. Some for reasons of safety (deeply just above the periosteum), while others have target the “retaining ligaments” to build “struts”and “supports” for the sagging. Dr David Loh proposes that fillers be placed into fat compartments to mimic the state they were in before they underwent atrophy with age.
2. The second is when to inject. Understanding that fat pads will sequentially atrophy in the process of aging, might one not be able to pre-emptively inflate the fat pads to prevent sagging altogether? Hence the question about when to inject becomes quite important as we can prevent, rather than chase, signs of aging.
3. And the last consideration is how to inject. This is a cannula vs needle question that many expert injectors of dermal fillers have weighed in on. And the aesthetic medicine community is actually quite divided on which technique is better. Dr David Loh’s technique uses a cannula to accurately deliver fillers into the fat pads.

With there 3 considerations in mind, Dr David Loh popularized and has been teaching a particular form of the Liquid Facelift since 2015, and the technique has been named The DL Lift by many in his industry; DL being the initials for Dr David Loh who described it.

What is the underlying philosophy of The DL Lift?

In 2018, Dr David Loh and Dr Phoon Yi Shan, the partners the David Loh Surgery, described and published The DL Lift in The Prime International Journal of Aesthetic and Anti-Ageing Medicine, a medical industry journal, detailing the technique for other doctors.

One of the fundamental reasons why we sag when we age is because of sequential and progressive fat compartment shrinkage. Yes, fats in the face are compartmentalized and they are adjacent to each other. When one compartment shrinks, the tension in the whole structure we call the SMAS is weakened, and sagging happens.

However, the fat compartments shrink sequentially, some like the under-eye fat pads shrink as early as when we are in our late twenties. Hence hollowness and tired looking eyes can be seen in commonly in the thirties. Then the temple fat compartments shrink in the thirties, and the lateral cheek fat compartments shrink in the forties. This leads to the formation of the jowls in the fifties. This is a well-documented phenomenon that has been published in medical literature.

Doctors at David Loh Surgery have shown that by selectively restoring volume in certain fat compartments that have begun to atrophy, we can restore tension in that layer under the skin that supports the face.

“More importantly, if we already know when which fat compartment will atrophy in each stage of our lives, we can preemptively add volume to that compartment, so that facial sagging can be slowed down or even prevented altogether.”

This preventive anti-sagging proposition is a novel concept, because in real life most people would not approach a doctor to reverse aging until aging has occurred.

The DL Lift technique involves using cannulas to accurately deliver fillers (or autologous fat) into the specific fat pads that have either atrophied or are predicted to atrophy. This restores the tension within the SMAS and gives a mild facelift type effect. The whole procedure takes less than an hour and the results are instant.

There is usually little recovery time, only the occasional bruises and some swelling that might take a week to subside. The procedure can be used in conjunction with other treatment like Ultherapy, Thermage and Thread Lifts.

About David Loh Surgery

Dr David Loh founded David Loh Surgery in 2002 with the aim of helping his patients improve their appearance and self-image, and in the process enhance their confidence. The clinic only uses treatments that are scientifically proven to be safe and effective. The medical jargon for this is “evidence based”, and has remained a cornerstone of all treatments provided at David Loh Surgery.

Furthermore, these treatments usually involve little or no recovery-time. Treatments like b*tox and fillers, fat transfers and ultherapy are what Dr David Loh is better known for.

Dr David Loh and Dr Phoon Yi Shan have left their mark in the medical aesthetics industry through publications like the one above in The Prime Journal, as well as on matters relating to filler complications management. One of their papers was awarded a Best Paper (Gold) by the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journal in September 2019.

Dr David Loh is the President of The Society of Aesthetic Medicine in Singapore, which actively promotes safety, efficacy and standards of care among its members through regular teaching sessions, workshops and conferences.

David Loh Surgery (main clinic)
501 Orchard Road, #05-16 Wheelock Place, Singapore 238880

David Loh Surgery (branch clinic)
10 Sinaran Drive, #08-35 Novena Medical Center, Singapore 307506