What Is A Facelift?

Table of contents:

Introduction

Who doesn’t like to look younger and maintain a young look forever? It’s irresistible! Especially if it was a skin-related issue. A young, radiant, firm complexion is every girl’s fantasy. Some people get that perfect complexion and maintain it using only natural methods and ingredients, others tend to use the clinical solution. Which is exactly our topic for today. What is a facelift and why all the fuss about it? Let’s find out!

What Is A Facelift?

It’s a cosmetic surgical procedure that creates a younger look and appearance on your face and neck. Also known as rhytidectomy, this procedure improves signs of aging by repositioning and/or removing the skin, fat, and/or muscles. The signs of aging that this procedure can restore includes facial fat that is lacking or has fallen, loose skin and extra fat that looks like a double chin in your neck, the drooping skin on your jaw and/or cheeks that is also known as jowls, relaxed sagging skin on your face, and more. This procedure cannot radically change your appearance for good or stop the aging process, it’s purely cosmetic and restorative and will only change your appearance for a certain period of time. This procedure also cannot treat superficial wrinkles, sun damage, or skin color irregularities. In general, each person gets a different experience based on their problems and what they’re expecting out of the procedure. So does this thing have any types or what? Well of course it does!

What Are The Types Of Facelift And How Are They Done?

Let’s count through the main facelift procedures:

Traditional facelift:

This type of facelift includes incisions around the ears, below the chin, and around the hairline. What the surgeon does is that he separate the skin from the underlying tissues and tighten the muscles along with other supporting structures of the face and neck. The surgeon also gets rid of excess fat in the jowls and neck for as much as needed. Finally, the surgeon repositions the skin over the face in a natural-looking way then removes any excess skin left.

Deep plane facelift:

In this type of procedure, the surgeon lifts the muscular layer of the face along with the fat and skin as one single unit. This procedure mainly addresses multiple areas of the face at the same time.

SMAS Facelift:

This type of facelift focuses on the lower two-thirds of the muscular layer of the face. In this procedure, the surgeon tightens your muscles and trims the excess fat and/or skin in the cheeks and lower face. It’s a slight variation of a traditional facelift.

Mini-facelift:

This type of facelift procedure focuses on lifting the lower face and neck area. This type is recommended for younger people who aren’t facing a lot of signs of aging but want to keep a perfect look.

Mid-facelift:

This one specializes in treating the cheek area in the face. The surgeon repositions the fat in the cheeks area while tightening skin in the same area.

Different kinds of facelift procedures are available in clinics but these are the main ones to ask for before getting into anything more specific and specialized. Now let’s get to the ultimate question that sometimes determines whether to do a cosmetic procedure or not. How long does it last?

How Long Does Facelift Last?

As I’ve mentioned before, this procedure only fights aging but it doesn’t stop it. Nothing can. With enough natural and effective skincare, the results of a facelift can last up to 20 years or so. If you want to make the best out of it, I’d suggest you start taking good care of your complexion to make the facelift results last as long as they can and complement them. And don’t forget, always have realistic expectations in mind so you won’t get disappointed. In the end, it’s not magic.

Now let’s get you ready for your facelift.

What To Expect And How To Prepare?

Before you do a facelift you should:

Avoid eating:

You have to avoid eating a night before the procedure to avoid any complications. All you can do is drink water and take medications that were approved by your surgeon.

Follow the medication directions:

Before the procedure, your surgeon will provide you with a list of what medications you’re allowed to take and what medications you’re not allowed to take. For instance, you’re most likely to be asked to stop taking any blood-thinning medications.

Wash your hair and face:

The surgeon will most likely ask you to wash your hair and face with germicidal soap the morning of your procedure.

So what happens afterward?

The incisions will most likely be covered with bandages that provide gentle pressure to prevent major swelling and bruising and a small tube will be placed under the skin behind your ears or behind just one of them to drain excess fluid or blood. You’ll face a couple of side effects of course and they include the following:

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

However, if you face any of the following side effects you should contact your surgeon immediately.

Severe pain in one side of your face or neck.
Chest pain.
Shortness of breath.
Irregular heartbeat.

And that would be pretty much everything you need to know about facelift surgery. It’s nothing to be worried about and it’s for sure a very efficient procedure to make if you want to restore your youthful appearance. As I’ve mentioned earlier in the blog, if you want to make the best of this procedure and make the results last for as much as possible, you have to have a good and effective skincare routine ready and waiting for you after doing the procedure. Or else, you’d just be wasting your time and money. Take care of your complexion and as always, stay gorgeous.