Thread Lift in Korea: What Hyaluronic-Acid APTOS Threads Change

I'm Dr. Jong Hoon Lee, a doctor at Gangnam HERA in Seoul. I co-authored LIFTINGOLOGY, a textbook on lifting, and in 2026 I completed the official APTOS Professional Course in Georgia, where APTOS threads are made. Patients searching for a thread lift in Korea now see "APTOS" everywhere, often with the word "premium" attached and very little explanation. In this video my colleague Dr. Jong Seon Kim and I sat down to explain what is actually new about these threads — and what is not.

My short answer: the newest APTOS NAMICA threads lift like a thread, but they are also coated with hyaluronic acid and made of a slowly absorbed material, so the result lasts longer than a typical PDO thread lift and the skin around the threads becomes brighter.

Are APTOS threads new?

The brand is not new, but the NAMICA threads are. APTOS threads were first developed in Georgia by a plastic surgeon who shaped a thread specifically for lifting — the company describes it as the first barbed lifting thread. Over the years the threads have been refined many times. The NAMICA 19 thread we discuss in this video had only reached Korea a few months before we filmed it, at the end of 2025.

I mention this because "new" and "better" are not the same thing. What matters is what the thread is made of, how long it stays, and what it does to the skin while it is there.

What makes a NAMICA thread different?

It is coated with hyaluronic acid (HA), the same substance used in hydrating "water-glow" skin booster injections. Until now, a thread's job was to lift: it held tissue in a higher position. With NAMICA, the manufacturer has bonded HA to the thread in particles of several sizes, from micro to nano.

Those particles release their HA at different speeds. According to the manufacturer, the larger particles release quickly, while the smallest ones keep releasing for up to about 6 months. That is why APTOS calls this a "biothread": it is not only pulling, it is slowly hydrating the skin around it. A typical hydrating injection shows its glow for a month or two, so a thread that keeps releasing HA for several months is a genuinely different idea.

Three effects from one thread

The thread itself is made of P(LA/CL), a combination of PLLA and PCL. Both are materials used in collagen-stimulating injectables, and both are absorbed slowly while the skin builds new collagen around them. Put together, one NAMICA thread offers three things:

• Lift — the barbs reposition sagging tissue straight away.
• Collagen — as P(LA/CL) absorbs, the surrounding skin forms new collagen, which helps the lift last and fills small hollows slightly.
• Brightness — the gradually released HA hydrates the skin from underneath.

What did it feel like for someone who had it?

One of our own staff members had a NAMICA thread lift a week before filming, and walked past the camera to tell us. She said it hurt much less than she had expected and was not uncomfortable afterwards. Her face looked smaller, and the comment she kept hearing from people around her was that her skin had become brighter.

That matches what I see in patients: the lift is visible early, but the change in skin tone is what many people notice first. One person's experience is not a promise, of course — pain, bruising and swelling vary — but it gives you a sense of what the first week can feel like.

How long does an APTOS thread lift last compared with PDO?

Much longer. PDO threads begin to dissolve at around 3–4 months and are largely gone by about 6 months; P(LA/CL) threads absorb far more slowly. PDO is the thread most clinics use, and it has one weakness: when water reaches it, it breaks down relatively quickly. With PDO alone, holding a lift for even a year was often a struggle.

With APTOS, the P(LA/CL) thread stays for much longer. In my experience the lift holds for at least around 18 months, and the manufacturer cites up to about 24 months. Roughly speaking, the thread stays around three times as long as a PDO thread. It is still not permanent, and your face keeps aging, so I always talk about maintenance at the first visit. If you want the wider picture first — thread types, timing and costs for travelers — read our complete guide to thread lifts in Korea. If you are comparing with a PDO option, who a PDO thread lift suits covers that side.

What is Light Lift 50, and when is it used?

It is a long thread, about 50 cm, used to lift a double chin and the neck — and also the brow. NAMICA threads are mainly for lifting the face. Light Lift 50 does a different job: because it is long, it can run from one side under the chin to the other and sling loose tissue upward, similar in principle to a hammock.

I used PDO threads for neck lifting for years. Light Lift 50 holds longer, and that matters most under the chin, where the tissue moves every time you swallow, speak or turn your head. You can see a full case using both NAMICA and Light Lift 50 in my APTOS thread lift case for a patient in her sixties.

Who should consider APTOS NAMICA threads?

People who want one thread lift to last longer, and who would like their skin to look brighter as well as lifted. In my practice these are usually patients who:

• have early to moderate sagging along the jaw, jowls or nasolabial folds;
• have had PDO thread lifts before and felt the result faded too quickly;
• want a lift and a skin-quality change from one procedure, instead of booking a separate skin booster;
• are traveling to Korea and prefer fewer repeat visits.

APTOS is one of the most premium threads currently available, and I recommend it often. But it is not the answer for everyone. If the main problem is heavy skin excess, threads of any brand have limits, and surgery may be the more realistic option. If you mainly want hydration without a lift, a skin booster on its own may be enough.

The honest limits

A thread lift repositions tissue and stimulates collagen; it does not remove skin, and it does not stop aging. Bruising, swelling, temporary puckering and a feeling of tightness are possible after any thread lift, and results vary from person to person. The figures for HA release and thread absorption come from the manufacturer and our clinic experience, not from a guarantee for every face.

What I value about APTOS is that it lets me do more with fewer compromises: a natural, soft lift that lasts longer, with the skin quality improving at the same time. HERA is one of the clinics whose doctors trained at the APTOS headquarters — you can read about that course in HERA's 2026 APTOS training, and see the thread itself on our APTOS thread lift page.