When performed correctly by the hands of a skilled surgeon, facelift results can be some of the most natural looking of any cosmetic procedure and can leave you with a rejuvenated and more youthful facial appearance.
Once the swelling wanes, that tightness feeling should dissipate in time. Your skin will also start to slightly stretch as it adapts to the new shape. You can expect the face to feel tight for a few months following the facelift surgery. The tightness can last for about 2 – 3 months.
Two weeks after a facelift
Although you may still have some bruising and/or swelling, these should be more minimal. You likely can cover any bruising with makeup, if desired, and many patients go out in public without issue at this point in the facelift recovery process.
Bruising and swelling usually reach their height around day 3 and 4, but both will likely be present for several additional weeks. Continue to take medication if you experience discomfort. Days 4-6.
There is usually very little actual pain following a facelift, but you may experience a deep bruised sensation as a result of the swelling, and your face may seem heavy. The bandage you will wear the first night may seem quite snug under your chin. Rather than make you feel restricted, we hope it makes you feel secure.
A facelift often will enhance the appearance of your cheek, jaw line and neck region but is considered major surgery. You should think carefully about your specific expectations and communicate your goals to your plastic surgeon.
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.
While facelift results can be different for every patient, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons found that, on average, patients felt they looked about 12 years younger after their facelift surgeries.
Injectable treatments will reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, but they will not remove excess skin, improve skin laxity, or eliminate skin sagging. The only way to effectively treat these issues is through surgery. A facelift will provide much more long-lasting results than non-surgical options.
General Facelift Recovery
In general, the results from your facelift will look very good after about 1-month and you'll look your best at 6 months. A facelift can produce long-lasting results for years to come.
Is a mini facelift painful? Whenever you have a mini or full facelift, there is some pain and discomfort that follows the procedure. With the mini facelift, there is less pain because only certain parts of the face were tightened. This pain is much less significant than those who undergo a full facelift experience.
Because the procedure lifts and pulls back loose facial and neck skin, as well as connective tissue, it causes bruising and swelling, which subsides significantly by the end of week two. It will take more than two weeks for incisions to fully heal and all post-operative swelling to completely resolve.
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.
The SMAS facelift is targeted towards the correction of the internal structure of the facial skin, thus yielding more natural-looking results as compared to the conventional facelift. The results last longer (as long as ten years or more) than those of the traditional facelift.
Pulled-down earlobes may happen at the time of the original procedure, or can develop with time. The most dramatic distortion has been called “the pixie ear.” Natural contour can usually be restored, but this is often difficult. The earlobe is often not distorted, but simply pulled forward — a tip-off to a facelift.
The answer is, “No,” since many patients do not have the loose skin or sagging fat/muscles that a facelift corrects. Younger patients often find that injectables such as Juvederm or Botox provide the filling or wrinkle reduction that they desire and with a shorter recovery.
Not surprisingly, the most common age for a facelift is around 58 or 59, with that age increasingly skewing younger.
- Patients who have undergone a facelift rate themselves as looking an average of 12 years younger after surgery, according to a study in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
How much does a facelift cost? The average cost of a facelift is $8,005, according to 2020 statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. This average cost is only part of the total price – it does not include anesthesia, operating room facilities or other related expenses.
Generally, a ponytail lift involves incisions made high up on the face – above the front of the ear or beyond the hairline. The facial cosmetic surgeon then pulls the ligaments below the skin to adjust and reduce sagging.
Can I have multiple facelifts? 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.
Poor wound healing and skin loss. Prolonged swelling. Skin irregularities and discoloration. Sutures may spontaneously surface through the skin, become visible or produce irritation that require removal.
Facelift fails are most likely to occur when a surgeon doesn't have the level of training and experience required to do a good job with the procedure you want. This is why you should be sure to look for a facial plastic surgeon for any facial surgery, not simply a plastic surgeon.
A mini facelift involves the placement of incisions in front of the ears which extend from the hairline to the bottom of the earlobe. The surgeon will then gently pull the skin and tissues up and outward the ear. Excess skin and tissue are removed to tighten the appearance of the skin.