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.
Recovery Time for a Mini Facelift
The majority of your healing occurs in the first 2-4 weeks after surgery. During that time, it's essential to take it easy, keep your head elevated, and be especially gentle with your face, hair, and skin, as these areas will be tender for a few weeks.
Your face likely will be bruised and swollen. The swelling may get worse before it gets better, but it will probably go away in 1 to 2 weeks. After a few days you may get some bruises on your neck and chest.
Since the swelling and bruising of the mini facelift is minimal compared to other procedures, just a few days of recovery are required. You can be back to work and resume normal activities within a matter of days. The bruising will lighten up and barely be seen in just a few days.
You can look literally a decade younger than before the mini-facelift, with useful definition restored to your chin, jaw, and lower facial area, and previously sagging skin tightened up. You'll simply see a much better version of you in the mirror each morning.
In general, good candidates for mini facelifts are men and women in their mid to late 40s up to 60s or 70s. There is not a cut-off age, per se, but instead we look at one's overall health, mobility, and treatment goals.
The mini facelift is performed mostly to tighten the lower half of the face (the jawline and jowls), and is not typically used to address sagging skin of the neck. In fact, with a mini facelift in Palo Alto, the facial skin is pulled only very slightly. The result is a very natural-looking appearance.
You must wear the chin strap continuously for the first two weeks after surgery except while eating and showering/cleaning incisions. The strap helps fight the forces of gravity immediately after surgery and helps improve any swelling.
Fat and excess skin may be removed or redistributed from the face. The underlying muscle and connective tissue are redistributed and tightened. If there's minimal skin sagging, a “mini” facelift may be done. This involves shorter incisions.
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.
Beginning on day 2 or 3, light walking is recommended to help promote blood flow which speeds healing. Short, easy walks is the only form of exercise that should be undertaken. Many patients start to feel less discomfort over the first few weeks as bruising and swelling subsides.
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.
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.
RealSelf members give mini facelifts a 92% Worth It Rating, with many saying the procedure made them feel more like themselves again. That's similar to the Worth It Rating for full facelifts, which cost about $5,000 more on average.
With a mini facelift, the skin can be easily adjusted to make your jowls and neck smoother and wrinkle-free. Jowling and general aging of the lower face occurs along the jawline, at the sides of the chin, and below your chin. The skin of the neck can become loose and lack a youthful appearance.
The posterior mini facelift
This surgery is the second part of the mini facelift and is done to tighten sagging cheeks and jowls. The doctor will start the incision near the ears and will move the incision downwards towards the jowls. The loose tissues will be resected and the sagging skin tightened.
Mini facelift scars are minimal
Traditionally, an incision is made in the hairline near the temples on each side. The incision goes in front of the ear, down the front of and hugging the earlobe area, then back to the lower scalp behind the ears.
A mini facelift may help the appearance of your undereyes, but no skin will be removed from this area during a mini facelift. This procedure is designed to remove excess skin, fat, and muscle from your jaws and cheeks to produce a more toned and younger appearance.
A mini neck lift is a surgical procedure that tightens and removes sagging skin in the neck and under the chin. The goal is to reposition the soft tissues in the neck and redefine the jawline and create a smoother contour and a more youthful appearance.
Scarves, hats, and glasses can help hide facial plastic surgery. Sunglasses may hide bruises and swelling after eyelid surgery or brow lift. A loose fitting hat can help conceal a face lift, and help protect from the sun too. A turtle neck, collared shirt, or scarf are good options after neck lift procedures.
(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.
Generally speaking, most patients will need to sleep on their back with their upper body slightly elevated for about 2 – 3 weeks after facelift surgery. For patients who undergo a less extensive procedure, such as a mini facelift, it may be possible to return to side-sleeping sooner.
Unlike having a nose job or a breast enlargement, a facelift can be subtle enough that even your close friends and family members won't know you've had surgical intervention. The goal isn't to restructure your face, but to lift your appearance. Since Dr.
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.
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.