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Face lifts are one of the most serious surgeries you can have when it comes to cosmetic surgery. Not only are they costly, but they involve a long healing process, and the results can be very unnatural looking and "plastic".

It is certainly not anyone's wish to come out looking like they've had their face pulled back, but rather that they have turned the clock back ten years, gracefully. Unfortunately, the "good" facelifts are few and far between. Are there really any effective alernatives, a "non surgical facelift", if you will?

Well, thanks to the ever-growing market for this type of beauty and youth restoration, there are actually some less drastic measures you can take that will literally take years off you face, without surgery, or with minimally invasive surgery performed by a professional. Let's take a look at the non surgical alternatives to facelifts. The first, and increasingly popular and less invasive option is what you call a "mini facelift".

The mini facelift involves small incisions made in key areas around the lower part of the jawline, rather than a complete sweep of the skin surrounding the face, and pinpointed areas where the face can be gently pulled to look more taught and erase wrinkles.

The mini facelift gives you a younger looking face and neck, with less cost, less recovery time, and a more natural outcome that leaves the lower part of your face refreshed and rejuvenated looking. It also pulls any jowl-like appearance and loose skin around the neck back up to where it should be.

Another non surgical alternative to a full-on facelift is a subdermally injected filling of the problem areas which usually goes away after a few months, and needs to be re-done after it is absorbed into the body. This method of facial rejuvenation can actually tighten the skin, pull it back up, and make it looked toned and youthful again, while erasing fine lines and wrinkles by physically filling them in.

Facial rejuvenation can be a combination of fillers used to fill in wrinkles and lines. The different fillers that may be used are injected locally to the areas that need it, and include colllagen, restylane, hyaluronic acid and even fat injections that are either human derived or come right from you.

There are also 100% non invasive options that can be used by a professional to help smooth away the lines that have come with age. One of those, which requires quite a bit of healing time and also some pain is laser resurfacing.

A laser is used over the surface area of the facial skin, and it actually helps to take away layers of skin as well as to help rejuvenate collagen production. It is pretty expensive and your skin will be extremely red and raw for weeks if not months after this is performed. The results, however are fairly extraordinary.

A less painful alternative to full-on laser resurfacing is the Fraxel Laser, which actually does the same thing as a normal laser does, but it doesn't penetrate all of the skin's layers, rather it allows the user to penetrate and treat only the specific areas that need it.

This makes for less raw skin and quicker recovery. This is not cheap either though, it will run you anywhere from $1,000.00 to $1,500.00 per treatment, and at least five treatments are needed to see a dramatic improvement. I've seen the before and afters though, and they are nothing short of impressive.

Chemical peels are another option for facial rejuvenation, and they can vary in strength and severity as well. A chemical peel is performed by a professional, and they can make the chemicals either strong or weak, depending on the depth of skin damage they would like to remove.

This is primarily used for clients with a lot of photodamage, or discoloration, and it is especially known for restoring a healthful glow to the skin as well as an even color and texture, which often comes with youthful skin. The recovery time depends on how deep the peel goes.

Of course another non surgical alternative to a face lift is Botox, but I look at Botox as more of a local and preventive measure against further wrinkles, not really a "lift" since what it does is freeze the area it's injected to, it doesn't actually lift or pull the skin back to its rightful place.

Botox is probably a good option for some, but I tend to dislike the appearance it gives to some people, as it doesn't allow them to fully express themselves, and that is what makes our faces beautiful, the fact that we can use expressions to show our emotions.

As far as "do it yourself" alternatives to facelifts, there are some pretty decent products out there on the market that you can use on a daily basis to help keep the skin fresh and also to help keep it lifted, toned and youthful looking. There are now hand held soft light lasers available for purchase online.

They emulate the soft light lasers that are often used in dermatologists offices to help stimulate collagen and rejuvenate the skin, helping to soften wrinkles and even acne scarring. I bought one of these myself and had some very good results, but I just couldn't keep up with the nightly use, and so I must admit I let the results go away.

There are also some excellent home microdermabrasion kits that can be purchased for home use. They allow you to gently take dead skin cells and damaged layers of skin off, and often leave you with a glow and a softer, more youthful look. Another home kit that can be purchased are light acid peels for the face.

These are probably not nearly the strength of a chemical peel you would receive under professional care, but they can certainly offer a benefit that you can use any time you feel your face needs a nice little extra "lift".

And there you have it, what I think are the most effective alternatives to the drastic face lift. They range in cost considerably, as well as the recovery time and healing process, but they all can have some astounding results in your campaign against aging skin.