As you age, it’s normal for your face to develop wrinkles and fine lines. Loss of collagen, elasticity, and environmental factors like sun damage can result in unwanted sagging. All of these elements combine to age your appearance, no matter how young you feel on the inside.
A complete or mini facelift can combat these concerns and restore a younger appearance. Full facelift surgery is appropriate for individuals with significant signs of aging, while a mini facelift benefits people with fewer aging concerns.
At Sule Plastic Surgery in Plano, TX, we offer full facelifts and mini facelifts.
What Is a Facelift?
Facelift surgery is the gold standard for correcting deep wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging. While the surgery is fully customizable, most facelifts involve tightening the tissues and muscles while removing excess saggy skin.
Patients who choose a facelift want to correct specific problems, like:
Sagging Cheeks
Sagging cheeks are one of the more noticeable concerns associated with aging. Patients who experience sagging cheeks notice a loss of volume in the cheek area and loose skin below the jaw. The cheeks may also have a “sunken” appearance.
Jowls
Jowls consist of sagging skin that appears below the chin and along the jawline. Usually, jowls develop when collagen production declines, resulting in diminished skin elasticity and less firmness.
Mouth Lines
Lines around the mouth are common signs of aging and typically begin to appear in your early 40s. Lines may appear as nasolabial folds, extending from your nose to the corners of your mouth. Or you may develop marionette lines, which extend from your mouth to your jawline.
Creases Along the Eyes
Lines that appear around the eyes, like crow’s feet, can improve with facelift surgery. A facelift gently tightens the skin on the sides of the eyes and in the area below the cheeks. The result is a more youthful appearance.
What Is a Mini Facelift?
A mini facelift takes care of aging concerns in the lower half of the face. Patients with moderate signs of aging, like early wrinkles and sagging, benefit the most from a mini facelift.
Mini facelift surgery is less invasive than a complete facelift. Individuals seeking to tighten their skin, reduce sagging, and improve elasticity see the most benefits from a mini facelift.
Benefits of a mini facelift include:
A Tighter Jawline
Jowls form along the jawline when your skin loses elasticity, and the sagging can result in a less-defined profile. A mini facelift tightens the skin at the jawline.
Smoothed Out Wrinkles
A mini facelift can smooth out wrinkles in the lower half of your face, including nasolabial folds and marionette lines. However, a mini facelift can’t address wrinkles in the upper half of your face, like forehead and eye wrinkles.
If you have wrinkles and fine lines in the top half of your face, a complete facelift or other procedures may be more suitable.
A Quick Procedure
A mini facelift is a relatively quick procedure. Most patients only need local anesthesia, which decreases recovery time. Recovery may take up to a week before you can return to normal daily activities.
Which Is Right for Me: A Full Facelift or a Mini Facelift?
A full facelift is best for those with significant signs of aging all over their face, including the cheeks and eye area. A complete facelift often results in a visual transformation. Patients can expect a smoother, tighter face with a defined jawline.
Mini facelifts are less invasive and require little recovery time. However, a mini facelift can’t correct wrinkling and sagging in the upper half of the face. Patients often select the mini facelift as a preventive measure or when they first notice signs of aging.
When you schedule a consultation in our Plano, TX, office, we’ll discuss your skin concerns and determine which procedure is right for you.
What to Expect During Facelift Surgery
Before undergoing facelift surgery, you’ll have a consultation with us to discuss the concerns you’d like to address with your surgery.
During your consultation, we’ll ask for your medical history and a list of prescriptions you are taking. We’ll examine your skin to evaluate where laxity is occurring and determine the appropriate surgical solution.
If we decide you’re a good candidate for a facelift or mini facelift, we’ll schedule you for the surgery.
On the day of your procedure, we’ll begin by administering anesthesia. A complete facelift will require general anesthesia, whereas you’ll need local anesthesia for a mini facelift.
Both procedures require incisions. The location of the incisions will depend on the type of surgery you have. A complete facelift may include incisions along the hairline, temple, behind the ears, and into the area behind the neck.
A mini facelift typically requires incisions behind the ears and along the lower part of the hairline.
You can anticipate a one-week recovery period for a mini facelift, while a complete facelift may require up to two weeks to heal.
Results from a full facelift will last 15 years or longer before an additional procedure is necessary. A mini facelift lasts less than ten years before signs of aging become visible again.
We’ll advise you of the steps to take before and after surgery to ensure that you get optimal results.
Consider Facelift Surgery in Plano, TX
Sule Plastic Surgery in Plano, TX, offers facelift surgery to patients seeking long-term results for their aging concerns. Contact us today to learn more about the facelift and mini facelift and discover which surgery is right for you.