Currently available options for non-invasive or minimally invasive facial rejuvenation

Some people cannot afford downtime, some want to minimize invasiveness (cutting, needles), some people don't want to experience pain.
​Here are all your options in 2021. 
From everything listed below -- 
* Laser is the most invasive;
* LED light therapy, no-needle bio-revitalization, and micro current are completely non-invasive, no-downtime.

Non-surgical minimally invasive and completely non-invasive treatments and procedures to rejuvenate the face or address specific aging issues

Many people who are interested in rejuvenation procedures, are concerned with or deterred by injecting into their body what they perceive as a synthetic substance or undergoing an invasive treatment that requires cutting, long downtime, or potential side effects.

So what options minimally invasive rejuvenation options are available and what can those treatments do?
Keep in mind that the less invasive the treatment, the more treatments are required for visible results.

Here is the list of the available options, starting with the least invasive - 
No downtime treatments:
- Topical cosmecuitical treatments such as retinoids, vitamin C, serums with peptides;
- LED (Light Emitting Diodes) lamp therapy, for example by Celluma;  
- Micro current treatments/micro current facial;
- no-needle bio-revitalization (peels that do not peel)
- IPL aka photofacial, photo rejuvenation/BBL (even at very aggressive settings, only some redness for several hours);
​- at home derma roller with up to 1.0 mm needles;
​- mild (superficial) chemical peels.

Some downtime:
- microneedling with a pen or micro needling with a derma roller with more than 1.0 mm needles; 
- PRP/PRFM injections or PRP/PRFM combined with the microneedling; 
- RF - radiofrequency (e.g., Thermage),
- Ultrasound (e.g., Ultherapy), 
- microdermabrasion,
- stronger chemical peels;
- Hybrid (minimally invasive) laser: Halo by Sciton,.
​
Fillers are considered invasive by some people and non-invasive by others. Fillers are a great option for those who want quick results that last between 6 months and 2 years and are not deterred by needles or the long-term cumulative price tag. You can read more about fillers on this page. 

There are several things to keep in mind - 
- Majority of the non-invasive and/or natural treatments will only affect the outer anatomical layers of the face: the skin and, in case with the microcurrent treatment - the muscles. See the anatomical layers of the face here;
- Most non-invasive and/or minimally invasive treatments will require multiple treatments to see the results;
- At advanced stages of aging, especially when facial sagging results from both the volume loss and gravitational sagging, non-invasive treatments may be insufficient to produce satisfactory results. ​

References

Farber SE,  Epps MT,  Brown E,  Krochonis J,  McConville R,  Codner MA. A review of nonsurgical facial rejuvenation. Plast Aesthet Res 2020;7:72. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2347-9264.2020.152
https://parjournal.net/article/view/3813 

Panda A.K., Chowdhary A. (2021) Non-surgical Modalities of Facial Rejuvenation and Aesthetics. In: Bonanthaya K., Panneerselvam E., Manuel S., Kumar V.V., Rai A. (eds) Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for the Clinician. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1346-6_32
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-1346-6_32