I Tried a Thread Lift Instead of Botox - Here’s What Happened
This blog is inspired by a patient’s experience, with details adjusted for editorial and privacy purposes.
I remember turning 43. That was the age for me when I thought, I need to find a Botox doctor. It was time. And for the next five years, Botox was part of my routine.
By my late forties, I started noticing a new challenge when I looked in the mirror. My forehead was smooth, my eyes fantastic, but my jawline looked softer, and my cheeks had dropped a little. Overall, the lower half of my face just looked heavy.
Naturally, my first thought was: maybe I just need more Botox? But when I really looked at my face, it wasn’t wrinkles that were bothering me. It felt like my face was being pulled down by gravity.
Around that time I started hearing about thread lifts. I’ll admit, the name made me pause. Threads? In your face? It sounded a little intense. Curious to learn more, I eventually found myself at Dr. Mark Godley’s clinic in Vancouver.
Walking into the clinic felt different from the Botox appointments I had been going to. It was clearly a medical practice, but the space felt calm and thoughtfully designed. Beautiful art hung on deep navy walls, and if you visit, make sure you check the bathroom. There’s a gorgeous piece in there that glows under black light. The whole place felt like it belonged to someone creative.
The Thread Lift Consultation
Dr. Godley asked what had brought me in. I told him Botox had been part of my routine for years, but lately it felt like I was asking it to fix something it couldn’t. He nodded, like this was something he hears often, and explained that treatments like Botox work well for wrinkles caused by muscle movement, but not every change in the face comes from muscles. Sometimes it’s simply the way the tissue shifts over time.
That’s when he mentioned thread lifts.
He described them as a way to give the face a bit of support without surgery. The threads are placed under the skin, and over time your body builds collagen around them, which helps everything hold its position.
Did you know: The same type of dissolvable threads used in thread lifts have been used in heart and orthopedic surgery?
The Thread Lift Procedure
When we started, the first thing I noticed was how numb everything felt. Dr. Godley used a strong local anesthetic so I couldn’t feel much at all. He told me that after years working as an anesthesiologist, he takes pain control seriously. Making sure patients are comfortable is just part of how he practices.
At one point I asked him what it was like going from anesthesia to aesthetic medicine. He joked that the best part is he actually gets to talk to his patients, instead of keeping them asleep.
Did you know: Anesthesiologists don’t just put people to sleep? They’re responsible for pain control, monitoring breathing, heart rate, and keeping the whole body stable during surgery.
He started placing the threads, and I could feel some pressure here and there, but nothing painful. Mostly it just felt weird, but it didn’t take him long to put the threads in.
When I looked in the mirror afterward, I could see the difference right away. My jawline looked sharper, my cheeks sat higher, and my face looked like it had gone back a few years. Nothing looked pulled, you know that wind-blown look you sometimes see? It wasn't that at all.
Dr. Godley reminded me that what I was seeing wasn’t the final result. There would be some swelling at first, and over the next few weeks everything would settle. He said the lift can relax a bit as the threads adjust, and it can even look like things have dropped again. Then the collagen starts to build, the skin tightens, and the result comes back in a more natural way.
Of course I had to ask the question: Did this mean I was done with Botox?
Dr. Godley said not really. Botox, threads, fillers, and regenerative treatments all work on different parts of the aging process, and sometimes the best results come from using different treatments together.
I think part of me just didn’t want to try something different. Botox was familiar, and it worked for a long time. I hadn’t really thought about how my game plan needed to change as my skin and face changed.
Did you know: Botox is used for medical treatments too. One common medical use is the treatment of excessive sweating, where small injections help block the signals that trigger sweat production.
If you’re starting to feel like your usual treatments aren’t giving you the same result they used to, it might be worth having a conversation with Dr. Godley. Book a consultation with Dr. Mark Godley at Godley Clinic in Vancouver or Abbotsford to learn more about thread lifts and other regenerative treatments.
