To enhance and prolong your facelift results, it is highly recommended to maintain a regular regimen of skin rejuvenation therapies and injectables, such as fillers and BOTOX.
Fillers are Valuable for Facelift Patients
A facelift cannot eliminate all lines and creases, nor can it replace fullness where fatty tissue has diminished. It is for this reason that most facelift patients continue to obtain injectable treatment to enhance and maintain the successful results of their surgery.
According to a study in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (the American Society of Plastic Surgeons). Patients who have undergone a facelift rate themselves as looking at an average of 12 years younger after facelift surgery.
Facelift recovery time
You should look and feel normal after 2 – 4 weeks. Keep in mind that facelift surgery cannot stop natural aging, so we encourage patients to continue to take care of their skin and make healthy lifestyle choices.
Why? When the facelift is performed, the skin is tightened and it can flatten out the jowls because the skin is tighter. However, over time as the skin relaxes, the full fatty jowls will restretch out the skin and the jowls will reappear. Weight loss prior to face lift surgery is very important for these people.
AVOID BENDING OVER OR LIFTING heavy things for one week. Besides aggravating swelling, this may raise the blood pressure and start hemorrhage. AVOID HITTING OR BUMPING YOUR FACE, HEAD AND NECK. It is wise not to pick up small children and you should sleep alone for one week after your operation.
Visible scars are glaring signs of plastic surgery. Generally, facelift incisions run from the hairline at the temple and continue in front of and behind the ears and extend to the lower scalp.
In most cases, a facelift works best for people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s when signs of aging begin to become prevalent. Deep lines, wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin are the result of the aging process and can be best corrected through surgical techniques rather than non-surgical ones.
Not surprisingly, the most common age for a facelift is around 58 or 59, with that age increasingly skewing younger.
The most dramatic yet natural-looking results occur with a full SMAS facelift with the incisions on either side of the face beginning at the temple and extending down and around the ear to the lower scalp. These incisions are well hidden within the hairline.
There is no age at which an individual is too old for any cosmetic enhancement, so long as they are healthy enough to undergo the rigors of surgery, anesthesia and recovery from the procedure.
1 Week Post-Op
During the first week after your facelift, you can expect swelling and bruising around your lower face, ears and neck. Swelling may be uneven, so don't be alarmed if your results don't look perfectly symmetrical at this stage.
For most patients, results from a facelift will last about 10 years. The skin on your face will continue to age after you have a facelift, which is why the results aren't permanent.
A Facelift Does Not Address Your Smile
For some people, teeth whitening can help with this, but for others more extensive treatments, such as veneers or crowns, are necessary. But it's not just the color of your teeth that can make you look older, it is the length.
Many patients develop aging after a facelift in the same way and areas that they developed facial aging initially. Lines will develop around the nose and mouth, the cheeks will lose some of their fullness, and the jawline will eventually soften.
It's the most effective way to address significant sagging and smooth deep wrinkles and folds, with results that last a decade or more. “A facelift is the singular cornerstone for facial rejuvenation,” says Dr. Stephen Prendiville, a facial plastic surgeon in Fort Myers, Florida.
Technically, there is no limit or “magic number” when it comes to how many facelifts can be performed. But as we mentioned, we want to make sure your results remain as natural as possible. Too many surgeries can make your face appear “pulled” or “worked on,” which is not always desirable.
When a face lift looks unnatural, it's usually because the patient's skin actually looks like it's been pulled up or to the side, almost as if their skin is being blown back by a heavy wind. The reason this looks odd is because our underlying facial structure itself changes with age.
A facelift, however, will not change the shape or appearance of your eyes. It is true that in the initial few weeks of healing, swelling may cause the area around your eyes to be fuller and the skin under your eyes to have less wrinkles.
It is important to give your face enough time to heal and recover after a facelift before undergoing any additional treatments. You should obtain clearance from your doctor before resuming BOTOX injections after a facelift, which can usually be done around 4 –6 weeks following surgery.
The corner of the mouth/lower lip is pulled down by the depressor anguli oris muscle, which is innervated by the marginal mandibular nerve. This nerve is one of the branches most commonly weakened after a facelift. Usually movement will recover in 6 to 12 weeks, although complete recovery may take longer.
(b) Don't TURN THE HEAD without turning the neck and shoulders as one unit, when you must turn, do so as if you had a “crick” in the neck, for 4-6 weeks.