There is no injectable that lifts a face the way surgery does. What a combination plan can do is restore support, and that is a different and more honest claim.
The phrase is used loosely across the industry, so it is worth being precise. No injectable lifts tissue in the way a surgical facelift does. Surgery repositions and removes tissue. Injectables restore support beneath tissue that has descended, and improve the quality of the skin over it.
That can produce a genuine improvement in how lifted a face looks, and for many patients it is the right answer. It is not the same operation performed differently, and any clinic implying otherwise is overselling.
At Dr Ellie Sateei’s London clinic a non-surgical facelift means a sequenced combination plan: structural support first, then movement, then skin quality. It is priced as a single professional fee of £1,885 rather than itemised. Results vary between individuals.
Assessment uses the Arthur Swift SEL principles, reading Structure, Expression and Line as one unit rather than as separate complaints.
Structure comes first, because restoring support in the midface, temples, chin and jaw lifts the tissue beneath and frequently softens folds that would otherwise be treated directly. Filler or a collagen stimulator does this work depending on whether volume or firmness is the issue.
Expression is addressed around it, with conservative anti-wrinkle treatment where repeated movement is etching lines. Skin quality comes last, using skin boosters, polynucleotides or a peel and skincare plan, because skin sitting over restored support behaves differently.
The sequence is the treatment. The same products applied in a different order, or all at once, produce a heavier result using more product. This is also why the full effect takes two to three months: collagen-based elements build gradually.
Where laxity is significant enough that no amount of restored support will address it, Dr Sateei will say so and discuss a surgical opinion. That conversation happens at consultation rather than after £1,885 has been spent.
It may suit you if you are:
It is not the right treatment where laxity is advanced, where the expectation is a surgical result, or where you need visible improvement within a few weeks. It is not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Appointments take 45 to 90 minutes depending on how many elements the plan includes, and a plan may be staged across more than one visit. Discomfort is generally minimal, with numbing available.
Most patients have little to no downtime, though mild swelling or bruising can occur and settles within a few days.
Results arrive on different timelines. Filler is visible once swelling settles. Collagen stimulators and skin boosters build over weeks and months. The full result of a combination plan is typically not apparent for two to three months, which is by design rather than a delay.
Depending on the combination, results may last nine to twenty-four months, with some collagen-building effects lasting longer.
“I am careful with this phrase because it promises something injectables cannot deliver. I cannot lift your face the way a surgeon can. What I can do is rebuild the support underneath it and improve the skin over it, and for a great many patients that reads as lifted and looks entirely like them. But if you have come to me expecting a surgical result, I would rather send you to a surgeon than take your money and disappoint you.”
Dr Ellie Sateei has over two decades of experience in dermatology and aesthetics.
£1,885 as a flat professional fee rather than itemised per syringe. Your consultation is £195, deducted from treatment on the day.
No. Surgery repositions and removes tissue. Injectables restore support beneath tissue and improve the skin over it, which can read as lifted without being the same operation.
Nine to twenty-four months depending on the combination, with some collagen-building effects lasting longer.
Typically two to three months. Filler shows once swelling settles, while collagen stimulators and skin boosters build gradually.
Little to none. Mild swelling or bruising can occur and usually settles within a few days.
Dr Sateei will tell you at consultation rather than afterwards, and will discuss a surgical opinion where advanced laxity means no amount of restored support will address it.
Non-surgical facelifts are often planned alongside these.
A non-surgical facelift restores support rather than lifting tissue, and for many patients that is enough. If you would like to know whether it is enough for you, an assessment will tell you honestly, including if the answer is a surgical opinion. Dr Ellie Sateei sees patients at her London clinic.
Our London clinic is located at 91a New Cavendish Street, London, W1W 6XF
We serve patients from London, Kent and the home counties as well as from all over the world. Our London clinic sits in the heart of Marylebone, within easy reach of the West End by tube, while our Sevenoaks clinic in Ightham is moments from the M25 and M26 for patients across Kent.
