Who Can Benefit From Facelift Surgery?

Non-invasive treatments can work wonders for younger skin, but more severe signs of aging can only be corrected with surgery. A facelift tightens the skin, smoothes away lines and wrinkles, and gets rid of jowls. Only your surgeon can determine if you will benefit from facelift surgery, but if you have significant skin laxity and sagging, you might be a good candidate.

What is a Facelift?

As you age, your skin loses the collagen and elastin that give it support and resilience. Gravity takes control, and skin begins to sag, causing lines, wrinkles, and creases. A facelift tightens the skin and underlying structures to achieve dramatic but natural-looking results. This surgical procedure leaves almost no visible scars and helps you look youthful and rejuvenated. 94% of people who have the surgery report that it was worth it.

How is Facelift Surgery Performed?

Depending on the type of facelift, your surgery may last between two and five hours. Your surgeon performs your facelift most commonly under general anesthesia. In select circumstances, this procedure can be performed under local anesthesia. Incisions are hidden around and behind both ears and hairline. When healed, scars are almost impossible to see. The surgery lifts loose skin, repositions sagging fat, and raises skin around the jaw to remove the appearance of jowls. If you have other concerns not addressed by the facelift, your surgeon may perform other procedures such as a neck lift.

Who Can Benefit From Facelift Surgery?

You will benefit most from facelift surgery if your lines, wrinkles, and skin laxity have become too severe for non-surgical methods to work. A typical facelift patient who sees good results is between their 40s and early 70s with concerns about sagging skin, jowls, and deep lines. Ideal candidates have no health problems that would affect anesthesia or healing, have reasonable expectations about their results, and do not smoke.

To benefit fully from your procedure, we strongly recommend good skincare to maintain your results. We can recommend a skin care regimen to keep your skin smooth and firm, and we will also recommend a quality SPF so you can keep UV rays from undoing your results.

What Can a Facelift Treat?

At Specialty Aesthetic Surgery, we perform standard facelifts and lower and mid-face lifts to target specific areas of concern. A facelift might make a good choice for you if you want to correct:

Skin laxity
Sagging jowls
Lines and wrinkles
Deep creases around the nose and mouth
Loose skin and fat around the neck and jaw
Loss of volume due to sagging fat

If you have milder signs of aging, treatments such as skin resurfacing, dermal fillers, and Botox® and Xeomin® can keep you looking younger for many years. People experience the greatest benefit from their facelifts if they have significant signs of aging to correct.

What Other Procedures Can I Have With Facelift Surgery?

You can add other procedures to a facelift to achieve your desired results. Your surgeon may recommend a neck lift if you have excess skin and fat around the neck. This helps you achieve a slimmer, tighter neck, chin, and jawline. Your surgeon may include a brow lift for the upper face, raising the brows to smooth the forehead and make the eyes more visible. You may also have an upper or lower eyelid lift, especially if you have drooping upper eyelids or dark undereye bags and hollows.

How Much Does a Facelift Cost?

The overall cost of your facelift will depend on your location, your provider’s experience and reputation, and other fees and expenses such as anesthesia. Your surgeon will develop a treatment plan to give you a detailed estimate during your consultation.

What is Recovery Like From a Facelift?

You will need someone to take you home after your surgery. You may be able to do basic tasks within about 24 hours. We will prescribe pain medication for the first few days, and at this point, swelling and pain will start to improve. You will need at least a week or two to recover before returning to work. If your job involves physical activity, you may need more time before you can resume your usual duties.

What Results Will I See With Facelift Surgery?

Many people report that a facelift makes them look ten years younger. It will take several weeks for swelling to resolve so you can see your final results. You may continue to see small improvements for several months as residual swelling goes away. Your skin will look smoother and more lifted without looking tight and overdone, and you will have a defined jawline and fuller, more youthful cheeks.

Take the Next Step – Request a Consultation

Want to learn more about facelifts? Schedule your consultation or by calling Specialty Aesthetic Surgery at (212) 737-8700. We look forward to working with you!

Specialty Aesthetic Surgery serves the greater NYC metro area.

About our Surgeons

Bruce Moskowitz is an experienced and board-certified oculoplastic surgeon. His practice encompasses all areas of oculoplastic cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. He has a well-known reputation for revision surgery, and a large portion of his practice comes from other colleagues to revise sub-optimal outcomes.

Grigoriy Mashkevich is an experienced and double-board certified facial plastic surgeon. He belongs to a highly select group of surgeons with a focused specialization in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of the nose, face, and neck.