If a seamless sculpted face wrap appears familiar, it may be because it resembles the compression garments that are often seen worn by patients with postoperative facial plastic surgery.
“Facial wraps have helped reduce swelling after the procedure for decades,” says Dr. Jamie DeRosa, Maryland, who has offices in Boston and Palm Beach, a board-certified facial plastic surgeon. “This clothing looks exactly like what we recommend after facial surgery, especially facelift, neck lift and lower (neck) liposuction, or what we recommend to patients,” she tells Allure. However, she says it is being used more and more recently, as there is little evidence of improvement in outcomes or reducing complications.
The doctor I spoke to hasn’t tested seamless sculpture face wraps, but there’s no reason to believe that you can take the jaw line in a meaningful way.
“While such products may create temporary tension by reducing swelling through mild lymph drainage, Konstantin Vasyukevich, board certified facial plastic surgeon in New York City, says: “The effect disappears when it is removed, but the facelift rearranges deeper facial tissue for structural and long-lasting results,” agrees Dr. Delosa. “Wearing compressed clothing without undergoing previous facial surgery will have little benefit to facial tightening and rejuvenation.”
And there is an understanding curiosity as to whether this face wrap provides some degree of relief for temporomandibular joint dysfunction (also known as TMJ or TMD). St. Louis-based orthodonticist Erin Flandorf, DMD, doesn’t believe it would provide meaningful relief. She says it can actually make the symptoms worse.
“TMJ patients are often treated with oral instruments that gently draw the lower jaw for a long period of time. This helps to open the airways and place the temporomandibular joint in a more relaxed physiological position,” Dr. Fraundorf tells Allure. “In contrast, skim wraps do the opposite, retracting and rising the mandible, appearing to apply posterior and upward pressure. This type of force can increase joint compression by pushing the jaw and tongue backward, reducing airway space.” Possible results: increased joint pain, tension, snoring, or other airway-related symptoms.
