Facelift

Why it’s done

The look and shape of the face changes with age. The skin becomes looser and doesn’t snap back as easily. Fat deposits decrease in some areas of the face and increase in others.

A face-lift can address these age-related changes:

• Sagging appearance of the cheeks
• Excess skin at the lower jawline
• Deep skin folds from the sides of the nose to the corner of the mouth
• Sagging skin and excess fat in the neck (if the procedure includes a neck lift)

A face-lift isn’t a treatment for fine wrinkles, sun damage, creases around the nose and upper lip, or uneven skin color.

What you can expect

A face-lift can be done in a hospital or an outpatient surgical facility.

Before the procedure

Sometimes the procedure is done with sedation and local anesthesia, which numbs only part of your body. In other cases, general anesthesia — which puts you in a sleep-like state — is recommended.

During the procedure

In general, a face-lift involves elevating the skin and tightening the tissues and muscles. Fat in the face and neck may be sculpted, removed or moved. Facial skin is then re-draped over the newly repositioned contours of the face. Excess skin is removed, and the wound is stitched or taped closed.

The incisions for the procedure depend on the techniques that will be used and the patient’s preferences. Options include:

• A traditional face-lift incision starts at your temples in the hairline. It continues down and around the front of the ears. It ends behind the ears in the lower scalp. An incision might be made under the chin to improve the appearance of your neck.
• A limited incision is shorter and begins in the hairline just above the ear. It wraps around the front of the ear but doesn’t extend all the way into the lower scalp.
• Neck lift incision starts in front of the earlobe. It continues around the ear into the lower scalp. A small incision also is made under the chin.

A face-lift generally takes 3 to 6 hours. But it might take longer if other cosmetic procedures are done at the same time.

After the procedure

After a face-lift, you may experience:

• Mild to moderate pain
• Drainage from the incisions
• Swelling
• Bruising
• Numbness

Contact your doctor immediately if you have:

• Severe pain on one side of the face or neck within 24 hours of surgery
• Chest pain
• Irregular heartbeats

The incisions will likely be covered with bandages. Bandages provide gentle pressure to minimize swelling and bruising. A small tube might be placed under the skin behind one or both ears to drain excess blood or fluid.

In the first few days after surgery:

• Rest with your head elevated
• Take pain medication as recommended by your doctor
• Apply cool packs to the face to ease pain and reduce swelling

Botox

• To understand how Botox can work for men, it’s important to first understand how these injections work. Botox, or botulinum toxin, is a chemical that is highly effective at relaxing muscles. It is injected into targeted areas of the face specifically to prevent wrinkles that are caused by facial expressions; like crow’s feet and forehead wrinkles.
• The injections are virtually painless and take just a few minutes to complete. After the Botox treatment, the muscles become gradually more relaxed over the course of a few days, reaching full effect within a few weeks. As the targeted muscles become relaxed, they no longer create strong creases in facial skin, thus reducing the appearance of wrinkles.
• Most men respond similarly to women when it comes to numerous minimally-invasive treatments and may be surprised to see how great they look after addressing some of the most common signs of aging on their skin. In particular, check out the various benefits that Botox for men stands to provide.
• A single treatment can take as little as minutes out of a man’s day. The treatment only includes injections into the superficial muscles of the face. After the treatment, men can immediately head back to their tasks without having to worry that they will have side effects

Fillers

“Aging is a deflationary process,”. That means that as people get older, they tend to lose fat in their faces. Dermal fillers are used to help restore the look of fullness that’s common in youth.

Enter dermal fillers such as Juvederm® and Restylane®, which can temporarily mimic the return of the facial structure of your youth by adding volume. (There are other varieties of fillers, too. The product your doctor chooses is largely dependent on the area they’ll be treating.)

Fillers are commonly used in the depressions around the corners of the mouth and cheekbones. One of the most popular uses of dermal fillers is lip fillers, which use synthetic hyaluronic acid to increase the volume of your lips. Juvederm is also approved for infraorbital hollows and the chin/lower face area.

Results

A face-lift can give your face and neck a more youthful look. But face-lift results are not permanent. With age, the skin on the face may begin to droop again. In general, a face-lift can be expected to last 10 years.