The Decision to Trust a Procedure That Scared Me
There are moments in life when you find yourself in your car, driving toward something that makes you nervous—not because you don't want it, but because you've heard so many conflicting stories that your mind is a whirlwind of hope and hesitation. That morning, I was heading to a treatment called PDO threads, and I'll be honest: my stomach was a knot of excitement and fear.
I had done my research. I knew the online reviews were a battlefield. Some people swore by threads; others, including doctors, made bold declarations: don't do this procedure. Those hard "no's" scare everyone. But as I dug deeper, I realized something crucial: the technology has evolved dramatically in the last five to ten years. The materials are more sophisticated, the techniques are safer, and the studies are more robust. The real secret, I learned, lies in four variables: choosing the right candidate, having impeccable technique, using the correct planes of the skin, and selecting the right type of threads. If any one of those is off, the result will not be good.
That's why I found myself in the downtown Los Angeles office of a registered nurse named Vanessa Lee. She runs a few med-spas called "The Things We Do," and from everything I had gathered, she had perfected the technique. I was ready to ask her a thousand questions, but more importantly, I was ready to listen.
What Threads Actually Are and Who They're For
Vanessa explained that threads are excellent for lifting and, surprisingly, for skin thickening. If you've had children, gone through weight fluctuations, or simply noticed a loss of elasticity—especially in the jawline and neck area—threads can offer a subtle, natural boost. But she was crystal clear about the limitations: if you look in the mirror and lift your skin and think, I want that much lift, then surgery might be the better option. For someone who needs just a couple of millimeters of lift, who has appropriate skin laxity and needs a little thickening, threads are ideal. I knew I was in that sweet spot—not a candidate for a neck lift, but someone who could benefit from a gentle upgrade.
The threads we used are called poly-dioxanone threads, or PDO threads. They're made from a complex, dissolvable sugar compound—the same material used in internal soft tissue surgery. They dissolve easily into the tissues and are perfect for a younger demographic. Other threads are made from stronger materials that last longer and provide more lift for mature skin, but for people like me who want a manageable boost, PDOs are the favorite.
The Procedure: What I Felt and What I Learned
The area that bothered me most was under my chin and along my jawline—not fat, but loose skin from gaining and losing weight during pregnancy and the natural process of aging. Vanessa numbed me thoroughly. She injected lidocaine behind my ear and along the track where the threads would go. I felt a few pinches, but after that, it was just some movement and pressure.
She explained the technique as she worked. The thread enters just below the earlobe and anchors in the submental area. The goal is to place it in the subcutaneous deep dermal plane—not too superficial, not too deep. The thread has tiny cogs or barbs that hold onto the tissue, and as Vanessa pulled and tightened, I could hear a clicking sensation. That sound, she told me, was my skin latching onto the barbs, fastening one by one. She tested the engagement by pulling the thread and releasing: if the skin stays exactly where you want it, that's great engagement. If it slides back, the threads weren't meant for that area or the technique was off. Mine held beautifully.
We also placed skin-thickening threads in the submental area. These are the same PDO material but formulated differently—smaller, twisted along a cannula. They are placed in a more superficial plane to stimulate collagen and boost elastin fibers. Vanessa didn't use dozens of them; she placed just enough to create a scaffold, and then the body's own healing response would do the rest. Less is more when the technique is precise.
Throughout the entire session, I felt no real pain—just a little poking, an achy pressure near a nerve bundle, and then it was done. I remember thinking, This is dangerous dangerous, because it was so easy that I would be back next week if I weren't careful.
The First Week: Soreness and the Beginning of Change
Immediately after, my neck felt tight, but Vanessa warned me that the final improvement would take three to four weeks. And she was right. The first two days, I felt like someone had clocked me on both sides of my face—a dull, sore sensation that made me tender to the touch. But I've had two babies; I can handle a lot. By day seven, the soreness had faded, and I could already see a difference in the mirror. The bands under my chin looked tighter, more defined. There was a tiny scab at the insertion site, and a small bump where the thread entered, but it was barely visible. The chin area where the smooth threads were placed felt completely normal—no pain, no sensitivity.
The swelling was minimal from the start, and as the days passed, I watched my jawline emerge as if my skin had been quietly knitting itself back together.
Four Weeks Later: The Results That Exceeded My Hopes
A month after the procedure, I am genuinely thrilled. My jawline is snatched—I can see the line of my mandible clearly, and the little pocket of loose skin that used to gather when I turned my head is gone. It wasn't fat, so liposuction or injectables wouldn't have solved it. It was simply loose skin that needed a bit of tightening, and the threads delivered exactly that.
There is still a tiny bump if I really move my neck in a certain way—I'm not sure if it will fully disappear, but it's so minor that I don't care. The improvement is dramatic. And I know that lighting can make a huge difference: what looks like a miracle in one light might seem subtle in another. But when I replicate the motion I used to do in Vanessa's office, turning my head to see the area that used to bother me, that loose blob of skin is gone. My jawline is tight, smooth, and defined.
Setting Realistic Expectations and the Price Tag
I cannot overstate how important it is to find the right practitioner. A good provider will be honest with you. Vanessa told me upfront: if I had more laxity, she would recommend surgery. That realism is what you should look for—someone who sets expectations correctly, not someone who promises a facelift with a thread.
The cost is significant. A PDO thread lift for the neck and jawline can range from $1,500 to $5,000, depending on where you are and who performs it. Smooth threads for skin thickening cost about $500 per area. You cannot get a facelift for that in Los Angeles, but for an in-between treatment that buys you a few years, it's a worthwhile investment. If this lasts a year or two, I will be more than happy.
One thing I learned: the three-to-four-week mark is when the body has absorbed the threads and built new collagen and scar tissue that actually holds the lift. That's why patience is key. The immediate tightness is from the threads themselves, but the real lift comes from your own tissue remodeling.
The Story Behind the Needle
Looking back, I understand why people are scared. The videos show big needles going into delicate areas, and the bad reviews often come from people who had poor technique or the wrong type of threads. But when the candidate is right, the technique is precise, and the material is modern, threads are a gentle, effective solution for someone who just wants a little boost—not a transformation, but a restoration of what used to be.
I feel like I've bought myself a few years. My skin is back to needing only good skincare, and I'm excited about that. The procedure was simple, comfortable, and the results speak for themselves. I highly recommend it—provided you do your homework and find the person who has truly perfected the art.