Choosing the Best Facelift

Patients (and physicians!) can be confused when trying to determine which facelift is the best. Various terms are used to describe a plastic surgery facelift: by body area (lower facelift, neck lift), by material (thread lift, liquid lift), etc. Many of the named lifts, however, are marketing terms or may not be an actual surgical lift. Below are just some of the confusing facelift terms:

• Vampire Face lift
• Biltmore Face Lift
• A Lifestyle Face Lift
• A Quick Face Lift
• A Ponytail Face Lift
• Thread Lift
• Liquid Lift

Excluding the marketing names and brands, there are still several technical types of surgical facelifts to choose from, including a lower facelift, neck lift, deep plane facelift, SMAS lift, s lift, and mini lift. When choosing the facelift that is right for you, it is important to take into account several factors such as skin and laxity, degree of facial aging, specific areas of concern, fat volume and position, bone structure, and recovery time. Read more about being a candidate for a facelift.

Younger patients that don’t have much excess skin and are looking to reduce a double chin or for a maintenance treatment to keep their skin lifted and tightened, neck liposuction with or without chin augmentation is good option to lift the neck and jawline. Devices that apply heat, laser, ultrasound, or radiofrequency are other potential options that some patients consider who don’t want surgery. Read more about a neck lift with chin liposuction.

For patients that have minimal sagging skin, a mini lift might be sufficient to achieve a desirable result. A mini lift is less invasive with faster recovery for most individuals. For patients with a significant amount of excessive skin and tissue laxity, then a full facelift may be more appropriate. Read more about a mini lift type of facelift under local anesthesia.

A neck lift can be done as a standalone procedure, however, many patients see the best results when it is combined with a facelift to tighten the jawline, mid face, and cheeks. Surgeons typically perform these procedures simultaneously because the face and neck change uniformly and patients desiring a neck lift frequently benefit from a facelift as well. An isolated neck lift will only address the neck, without really changing smile lines around their mouth, sunken cheeks, or sagging jowls. In some cases, results can seem unbalanced if a patient only addresses wrinkles in just one region, instead of looking at the face and neck as a whole. Read more about neck lift vs. facelift.

An appropriate lift for each person can be determined by consulting with Dr. Chaboki, a board certified facial plastic surgeon, who can review several facelift options. The patient and physician determine together the best facelift.