Medically reviewed by Dr Sin Yong · Last reviewed · Doctor-performed, never delegated · Jump to questions
The Bliss Lift is Dr Sin Yong's own technique. For what threads can and cannot do in general, see the thread face lift guide.
Dr Sin Yong · MBBS (NUS) · MRCS (Edin) · MSc Aesthetic Medicine with Distinction (Queen Mary, London) · MSc Practical Dermatology (Cardiff) · Global Key Opinion Leader
The Bliss Lift is Dr Sin Yong’s thread lift protocol in Singapore: absorbable PDO and PCL cog threads placed in the subcutaneous plane to reposition descended tissue of the jowl, midface and brow — under local anaesthetic, with no incision and no general anaesthesia.
Thread lift in Singapore, in Dr Sin Yong's Bliss Lift protocol, places absorbable PDO and PCL cog threads in the subcutaneous plane to reposition descended tissue of the jowl, midface and brow under local anaesthetic. It is a mechanical lift, not a volume treatment, and it suits early to moderate descent rather than heavy laxity.
Also called: PDO/PCL thread lift, 埋线提升, 线雕, 糸リフト
You have noticed your jawline softening or your cheeks sliding, and you have heard that a thread lift can raise them without surgery. You may also have seen HIFU, radiofrequency and filler offered for the same concern. This page explains what threads do and do not do, so you can judge whether your face is a fit before you book.
Most people arrive at a thread lift with the same two questions: will it actually lift, and what happens when the threads go. Both are fair, and both are answered by mechanism rather than by promise. The Bliss Lift is Dr Sin Yong’s thread lift protocol: absorbable PDO (polydioxanone) and PCL (polycaprolactone) threads placed in the subcutaneous fat, above the SMAS, to carry descended tissue back toward a fixed anchor point.
A barbed thread engages the tissue it passes through. Draw it toward its anchor and the tissue moves with it; that is the lift, and it is mechanical. As the polymer hydrolyses, a track of new collagen is laid down along its path. A thread does not heat tissue, add volume or remove skin, which is why it is chosen for some presentations and not for others.
This page covers the Bliss Lift itself: the materials, mono versus cog threads, the plane they sit in, what assessment involves, recovery and risks, and where a different mechanism is needed. For a broader survey of how thread lifting is practised, read our guide to thread lifts in Singapore. Whether threads suit your face is decided at consultation, not from a photograph. How a thread lift differs from focused ultrasound is set out in thread lift vs HIFU.
A mono thread is smooth. It has no barbs, carries no vector, and is placed to leave a line of collagen along its track: support for the surface, not a lift. A cog thread has barbs cut or moulded along its length in one or two directions. Once in the subcutaneous plane the barbs engage fat and fibrous septae, and tension applied toward the anchor point carries that tissue with it. Every lift described on this page is a cog-thread lift. Mono threads are placed for a different purpose and are sometimes combined. How the three polymers differ is compared in PDO vs PCL vs PLLA threads.
The plane matters more than the brand. Lifting threads sit in the subcutaneous fat: beneath the dermis, so they are not seen or felt, and above the SMAS, so they stay superficial to the branches of the facial nerve and the parotid duct that run beneath it. Threads are introduced through a 19–21 G blunt cannula or sharp needle, depending on the thread, from an entry point near the anchor. The SMAS itself is not moved. Moving the SMAS is a surgical manoeuvre, and it is the line between a thread lift and a facelift.
“A thread repositions; it does not tighten skin. Laxity needs energy, not string.”
— Dr Sin Yong
Cog threads run from an anchor in front of the ear along vectors that cross the jowl, carrying the descended fat pad back toward the jawline. This is the zone requested most often, and the one where a mobile fat pad and a firm bony margin give a mechanical lift the most to work with. Where the jowl sits on established skin excess, threads are not the answer; see jowls and lower-face sagging for how that is assessed.
Vectors from a temporal anchor run obliquely across the cheek to engage the descended malar fat pad. Repositioning it restores the curve of the cheek and takes some of the weight off the nasolabial fold. Where the fold is driven by volume loss rather than descent, threads alone do not resolve it, and filler is assessed separately.
Short cog threads placed from within the hairline elevate the lateral tail of the brow. This suits a brow that has descended with the skin above it still reasonably elastic. A heavy brow with true excess of upper-lid skin is a different problem and is assessed toward a different mechanism.
Threads across the submental region address early blunting of the neck-jaw angle where the tissue is mobile and the platysma is not the driver. Platysmal banding, a full submental fat pad or established skin excess in the neck are not thread problems, and are directed toward a different mechanism.
A thread does not tighten skin, does not remove skin, does not add volume and does not change skin quality, pore size or pigmentation. It repositions tissue, and as the polymer resorbs that mechanical hold tapers while the collagen along its track remains. Facial ageing continues regardless of what is inserted. Where the presentation is skin laxity rather than descent, or where the descent is extensive, a different mechanism is discussed — see sagging face treatment in Singapore for how the options are separated.
At the clinic on Orchard Road, Singapore, Dr Sin Yong examines the face upright and in animation, not lying flat, because descended tissue settles differently under gravity. He checks skin thickness and elasticity by pinch and recoil, identifies which fat pads have moved and which have deflated, and looks for the findings that rule threads out: very thin skin, heavy subcutaneous fat, established skin excess. History covers bleeding tendency, previous filler or implants in the plane, and keloid tendency.
With you seated, the anchor points and vectors are drawn on the skin: the direction each thread will run, from where, and how many. Thread material, mono or cog, and gauge are chosen per vector. This map is the plan. The number of threads is only known at this point, which is why cost is set out here and not before.
Entry points are numbed with topical anaesthetic and local anaesthetic is infiltrated along each vector. A 19–21 G blunt cannula or sharp needle carries the thread into the subcutaneous plane along the drawn line, the cannula is withdrawn, and tension is applied toward the anchor so the barbs engage. The thread end is trimmed flush beneath the skin so nothing protrudes.
Threads are often staged with an energy-based treatment when the presentation includes skin laxity as well as descent, or with filler where a deflated fat pad is contributing to the fold. What is combined, and in which order, is decided at consultation rather than added on the day.
Recovery varies. Swelling, bruising at the entry points, tenderness along the vectors and a sensation of tightness or pulling when you open your mouth wide are normal in the early period. Small dimples or puckers where a cog has engaged the tissue usually settle as the swelling resolves; a persistent one can be released. You are asked to avoid wide mouth opening, facial massage, dental work and sleeping face-down early on, and to keep the entry points clean.
What warrants review: pain that increases rather than settles, spreading redness or warmth, a thread end that shows through the skin or can be felt as a hard line, a dimple that does not settle, or an asymmetry that persists once the swelling has gone.
Bruising, swelling, tenderness, temporary dimpling at cog engagement points, and a pulling sensation along each vector. These relate to the traction the thread is applying and to the passage of the cannula.
A thread that is palpable or shows under thin skin, extrusion of a thread end at the entry point, infection, asymmetry, migration of a thread from its planned line, and a lift that is less than planned where the tissue was heavier than the thread could hold.
Injury to a branch of the facial nerve or to the parotid duct, salivary fistula, and granuloma around a thread. These relate to placement deeper than the subcutaneous plane, and they are the reason that plane is respected. A thread cannot be dissolved on demand; an intact thread can sometimes be removed physically in the early period.
| Option | What it does | What it cannot do | What to expect afterwards | Who it tends to suit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bliss Lift cog threads | Absorbable PDO and PCL barbed threads reposition descended jowl, midface and brow tissue. | Does not tighten or remove skin, add volume, or change skin quality. | Swelling, bruising, tenderness and tightness early on; small dimples usually settle. | Early descent of mobile fat pads, with skin that still has elasticity. |
| Mono threads | Smooth threads that leave a line of collagen along their track. | Carry no lifting vector, so they do not reposition tissue. | Discussed at consultation; sometimes combined with cog threads. | Surface support rather than lift. |
| Energy-based treatment | Heats tissue to address skin laxity; sometimes staged alongside threads. | Does not mechanically reposition descended fat pads. | Recovery depends on the device used; discussed at consultation. | Skin laxity rather than descent. |
| Filler | Restores volume where a deflated fat pad contributes to the fold. | Does not reposition descended tissue. | Hyaluronic acid filler can be dissolved with hyaluronidase; discussed at consultation. | Volume loss rather than descent. |
| Surgical facelift | Moves the SMAS, a surgical manoeuvre and the line between a thread lift and a facelift. | Is not a thread lift and sits outside the Bliss Lift. | Surgical recovery, discussed where descent is extensive. | Extensive descent or established skin excess that threads cannot address. |
Threads tend to disappoint people with established skin excess, very thin skin or heavy facial fat, and anyone expecting skin tightening or facelift-level change.
The fee depends on how many threads and vectors your face needs, which zones are treated (jowl, midface, brow or neck), the thread material and gauge chosen for each vector, and whether threads are combined with an energy-based treatment or filler. The number of threads is only known once the vectors are mapped, so a written quote is given at consultation after assessment. The consultation also decides whether threads are advised at all, because some faces are better served by a different approach.
How quotes work at this practice: how we quote.
A thread repositions descended tissue mechanically; it does not tighten, remove or resurface skin, so laxity is assessed for a different mechanism.
Hyaluronidase acts on hyaluronic acid only; threads resorb on their own timeline, although an intact thread can sometimes be removed physically early on.
Threads tend to disappoint people with established skin excess, very thin skin or heavy facial fat, and anyone expecting skin tightening or facelift-level change.
How a thread lift goes wrong: dimpling, visible threads, asymmetry and infection, traced to plane, vector, tension and…
A thread lift repositions mobile tissue along a vector; a filler restores the support beneath it. Sag or deflation, and…
The pulled thread lift look comes from a wrong vector, too much tension, too many threads or the wrong candidate. How a…
Thread lift downtime after the Bliss Lift: swelling, bruising, tightness and dimpling early on, what needs a call, and…
Thread lift aftercare: first 24 hours, first week, mouth opening, sleep, sun, make-up and exercise, what is normal…
Related
Guide: thread face lift Singapore — what PDO, PCL and PLLA threads can and cannot do, and when the VF Lift fits instead.
A thread lift repositions descended tissue mechanically: barbed PDO or PCL threads are placed in the subcutaneous fat, above the SMAS, and drawn toward a fixed anchor. The Bliss Lift is Dr Sin Yong’s thread lift protocol. It suits an early jowl, a midface that has slid or a dropped lateral brow, with skin that still recoils. Threads do not tighten skin or add volume, so laxity is assessed for a different mechanism. Recovery varies, and the thread count is known only once the vectors are mapped.
Beyond facial threads, a nose thread lift in Singapore places PDO threads along the nasal dorsum for definition rather than lift. It is a separate procedure with its own anatomy and its own assessment.
Question not answered here? Ask on WhatsApp, use the enquiry form, or browse 100 questions patients ask.
“I'm invited to share my clinical expertise on a thread system — and I'd still tell you threads are wrong for plenty of faces.”Dr Sin Yong
A Thread-Lift Physician on What Threads Can't Do
Watch on YouTube: Nose Thread Lift: What Threads Actually Do
What does a thread lift actually do? Threads have a real job and an oversold one. Let me draw the line for you. They reposition and add a degree of support. What they don't do is remove tissue or replace what surgery achieves. I am a designated trainer for a thread system, and I still tell you they are wrong for plenty of faces. If threads are being offered as the answer to everything, you are being sold to.
Transcript of Dr Sin Yong's video, lightly edited for reading.
Threads, focused ultrasound, radiofrequency or surgery — the right protocol is the one matched to your anatomy, to descent versus laxity, and to your goals. Consultations by appointment.
Replies within clinic hours: Mon–Fri 10am–8pm, Sat 11am–3pm · How consultations work · Prefer not to use WhatsApp? · Treatment finder
WhatsApp to Book ConsultationRelated: Thread Lift Guide · Nose Thread Lift · Jowls & Lower-Face Sagging · Sagging Face Treatment · HIFU · Ultherapy · VF Lift
Medically reviewed by Dr Sin Yong, MBBS (NUS), MRCS (Edinburgh) · Last updated 5 November 2026 · Editorial policy
Every treatment is performed by Dr Sin Yong personally. Singapore Medical Council registered · invited to share his clinical expertise internationally as a Key Opinion Leader for CLASSYS, DEKA, HIRONIC, FOTONA, ALMA, LUTRONIC and ILOODA · HSA-registered devices · ultrasound-guided correction
Dr Sin Yong's aesthetic clinic in Singapore is on Orchard Road, a short walk from Orchard MRT. More about the aesthetic doctor in Singapore who performs every treatment.
WhatsApp Dr Sin Yong →or use the enquiry form