Guidelines for Picking Out the Type of Face Lift Best for You

There is a significant emotional difference between accepting that certain areas of the body will reveal one’s actual age and accepting that those same parts can often appear ten and sometimes twenty years beyond our real numerical age. The eyes, the mouth, and the neck are the areas of contingency for so many men and women each year. The face is how each person presents his or her life, and how they represent their wisdom, experience, and mood. Those same individuals are opting for the subtle rewinding effects of face lift procedures. There are men and women still choosing the traditional face lift as well as newer options in the form of short scar mini-lifts, which do not lift the skin too dramatically; therefore they have a shorter down time period.

The face lift typically focuses on one or two sections of a patient’s face per procedure. As the skin naturally loses its regular collagen and elastin production and fat is displaced by gravity, different sections of the face are affected in different ways and in their own time. However, there is the option of the full face lift, which treats all areas of the face as well as the neck within one procedure. This level of procedure delves into the many layers of facial muscles to lift and reposition them to recapture a more elevated as well as toned face and neck, to appear and feel as if a patient has turned back the clock.

All aspects of the face lift procedure affect the facial aging process in various ways. The forehead and upper eyes tend to weight down with deep set wrinkles and folds of fat in the upper eye lids. The mid-face is where the lower lids droop in the form of pockets to disguise the youthful glint of one’s eyes. Further, the crease alongside the nostrils and down to the corners of the mouth typically begins to develop into a permanent fold whether a man or woman is smiling or not. This fold results over time from the natural dissention of the layers of cheek muscles as well as the displacement of the natural fat pockets of the face. The neck also begins to droop in narrow folds or long pockets of flesh, or rings on many men and women.

On one hand, the full face lifts are still being performed with traditionally hidden incisions around the earlobe, beyond the hairline, or they can be completed with small incisions and endoscopic instruments. This level of procedure also requires longer recovery time depending upon the patient’s health. On the other hand, there are mini-face lifts that cut recovery down to as little as five days and minimize the scars to virtually undetectable.

Surgeons continue to research and test ways to ease the aging process while offering reduced down time and reduced return visits to patients who want to move in and out and on with their lives. Whether the decision is to choose a full face lift or a minimally invasive mini lift, both options focus on the skin and major muscles of the face in order to have the greatest impact on the tone and sculpt of the face shape.