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Name decoder · Procedure

Thread lift: what the threads are, and how long the lift lasts

실리프팅 · 민트실

Checked 2026-10-22. Prepared with AI assistance from the sources listed below; not reviewed by a doctor. Not medical advice.

실리프팅 (thread lift) means placing threads with barbs or cones under the skin of the face to hold tissue in a lifted position. Products differ in material and anchoring design; MINT (민트실) is one example, an absorbable barbed PDO thread made by HansBiomed and sold by thread count on Korean menus.[1][2][3] MINT MONO, a smooth thread from the same maker, is a separate product whose US clearance excludes aesthetic lifting.[4]

A 2018 systematic review found at best very limited durability in most included studies.[5] A 2021 meta-analysis reported satisfaction of 98% just after treatment and 88% at six months; that measures satisfaction, not how much lift remains.[6]

At a glance

Korean names
실리프팅 (thread lift), 민트실 (MINT thread).[3]
Materials
PDO (polydioxanone) for MINT;[1] PLGA sutures and cones for Silhouette InstaLift, according to its maker.[7]
US clearances
MINT: mid-face suspension “to temporarily fixate the cheek subcutaneous fat layer and SMAS layer in an elevated position” for moderate to severe nasolabial folds.[1] Silhouette InstaLift: mid-face suspension of the cheek.[8]
Korea
MINT Lift is approved as 안면조직고정용실 (thread for fixing facial tissue), according to its maker.[2] Industry guidance warns that ordinary sutures sold for facial lifting are not approved for it.[9]
How it is sold
By number of threads, often several per side.[3]
Examples
민트실 (a thread brand)

In Korean searches

Among the 33 treatments we track on Naver, Thread lift ranks #19 by Korean search interest (index 9; the most-searched = 100). The question people add most often: “How much?” (14% of its searches). Google searches in Korea for its main Korean name: -13% in Jul 2026–Sep 2026 compared with Oct 2025–Dec 2025.

From the Korea Treatment Radar, October 2026. Search interest, not treatments performed.

What the reviews found

A 2018 systematic review of 12 studies found little substantial evidence on efficacy or safety; all but two showed at best very limited durability, and the two positive studies were funded by thread makers.[5]

A 2021 meta-analysis of 26 studies pooled complication rates: swelling 35%, dimpling 10%, tingling or numbness 6%, a visible or palpable thread 4%, infection 2% and a thread poking out 2%. People over 50 had more dimpling. Absorbable threads were associated with lower rates of altered sensation and thread extrusion than non-absorbable ones.[6]

Not the same as

  • MINT MONO: a smooth thread whose US clearance excludes aesthetic lifting and filling.[4]
  • HIFU or RF lifting (Ultherapy, Shurink, Thermage): energy devices, no threads left in the skin.
  • Collagen stimulators (Sculptra, Juvelook): injected, not threads.

Questions to ask the clinic

  1. Which brand and material is the thread, and is it approved in Korea as 안면조직고정용실?
  2. Is it a barbed lifting thread or a smooth mono thread?
  3. How many threads, where, and who inserts them?
  4. Which complications have you seen (dimpling, a thread poking out, infection), and how would you handle one after I leave Korea?
  5. How long do your patients usually see a lift?

Sources

  1. US FDA 510(k) K192423: MINT Product Family (HansBiomed), September 9, 2020↩1↩2↩3
  2. HansBiomed: MINT Lift product page (Korean approval category), checked October 22, 2026↩1↩2
  3. Seoul clinic page: MINT thread lift sold by thread count (usage)↩1↩2↩3
  4. US FDA 510(k) K254238: MINT MONO, September 18, 2026 (“not intended for lifting or filling aesthetic uses”)↩1↩2
  5. Plast Reconstr Surg 2018: systematic review of barbed suture thread lifts (12 studies)↩1↩2
  6. Aesthetic Plast Surg 2021: meta-analysis of thread lift complications and satisfaction (26 studies)↩1↩2
  7. Tiger BioSciences: Silhouette InstaLift product page (materials), checked October 22, 2026↩
  8. US FDA 510(k) K142061: Silhouette InstaLift, April 24, 2015↩
  9. Korea Health Industry Development Institute board, August 3, 2016: notice (citing MFDS) on ordinary sutures sold for unapproved facial lifting↩

Manufacturer pages establish what a product is, not that it works. Regulatory filings describe what a regulator cleared or approved in that country. Glow in Seoul editorial; no clinic paid for or reviewed this page. See our transparency page.