When you are struggling with several signs of aging on your face, a facelift also known as Rhytidectomy helps eliminate them and tighten your skin giving you a rejuvenated and youthful appearance. Although most people understand what a facelift procedure is, it may get difficult to choose between a full traditional facelift and a mini facelift. It is important, first of all, to understand the salient features of the procedure, what it can help you achieve, and what a facelift cannot do for you.
A natural appearance
When you consult an experienced surgeon, your facelift procedure can give you a dramatic improvement overall. In addition to excising the extra skin, the surgeon also repositions the deep structure of your face to give you long lasting results. The jowls and jawline will be tightened, the loose skin at the neck will be lifted and tightened, the angle of the neck will be sharpened, and the cheek area is lifted as well.
Only the lower face is targeted
You must know that a facelift works better on the lower face than the mid-levelor upper facial features. This means it will enhance your jawline, neck,and jowls rather than the eyes or forehead. If you wish to enhance these areas, you will have to get additional procedures like an eyelid lift or brow lift.
Dynamic wrinkles, volume loss, and age spots are not addressed
Although a facelift can smooth the skin in the lower face, dynamic wrinkles, facial volume loss, and brown spots are not addressed during the procedure. You can combine non-surgical procedures like Botox, fillers, or skin resurfacing to address these skin issues for complete rejuvenation. Chemical peels will reduce sun damage, Botox can help with wrinkles and lines, while fillers will add volume to your lips and cheeks.
Mini or full facelift?
Now that you know what is achievable with a facelift procedure, you need to decide whether you require the full traditional facelift procedure, or a mini weekend facelift to help you achieve your desired results. This decision is made depending on the kind of aging signs you are facing. The full facelift is most beneficial when you want to tighten up the loose tissue and skin on the neck and jaw and lift any sagging skin in the midface area. It will also help with the deep folds that show up with age around your nose and mouth.
The full facelift is recommended by your surgeon when you are past the middle age with facial lines and sagging skin and are also a smoker. It is performed under local or general anesthesia and the incisions for your procedure are made above the hairline and go around your ears, along the lower scalp area. These areas are chosen to allow the surgeon to hide your incisions within the natural contours. After the incisions are made, the skin, muscle, and tissue of the neck and face are separated. This allows tightening of the deep muscles and tissue as well as contouring of the fat. Excess skin is then either excised or lifted before the incisions are closed. This facelift surgery will enhance your cheek volume and give you a youthful and smooth jawline.
You must know though that this full facelift procedure is more costly and also requires a longer recovery period. Most patients need at least 2 weeks of downtime before returning to their normal activities but the results achieved last long.
A mini facelift is most beneficial when you face early signs of aging like sagging in the jowls and laxity in the neck area. Your surgeon will recommend a mini facelift when your needs are not very extensive. Your surgery will be performed under local anesthesia and the incisions made during this procedure go around your ears, meaning the scars are different and smaller. During the mini facelift, some of the tissue is tightened and skin lifted before the excessive skin is excised and the incisions closed.
The recovery from a mini facelift is just about 7 days and the results are visible sooner than the full facelift. The results from this procedure can last about 3 to 5 years. Even though the bruising and swelling are common with both these procedures, it goes away sooner with the mini facelift.
To learn more about facelift techniques and which one you are a candidate for, contact Reflections Center and schedule your consultation. One of our expert plastic surgeons can meet with you to begin customizing your treatment plan.
