If you’ve tried every lotion and spa treatment but you feel like nothing is making a difference, it may be time for a facelift. A facelift is the only cosmetic surgery procedure that reshapes the lower half of your face by removing excess skin. Modern facelifts aren’t as invasive as they once were, and you can get just what you need in a quick outpatient procedure. A skilled, experienced surgeon is key to a successful outcome for any procedure. When discussing your options, it’s best to honestly answer their questions about what you want addressed, and consider the doctor’s opinion about the state of your skin.
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5 Signs That it Might Be Time for a Facelift
You’ve Already Addressed Sun Damage
Rejuvenation treatments can’t achieve the dramatic results of a facelift, but they can address any wrinkles or sun damage you have. Dermabrasion, peels and laser treatments improve the quality and texture of your skin, and have shorter recovery times and less scarring. Patients recover faster and easier from less invasive procedures. A facelift can only be performed surgically; it reshapes the lower half of your face to provide a smoother, younger looking appearance.
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You Don’t Want to Alter the Contours of Your Face
Facial implants like cheek, chin, or lower jaw implants are used to change the way you look subtly. These sculpted pieces of silicone help correct facial flaws and provide symmetry to your features. They’re often placed through the lip in an outpatient procedure that lasts less than two hours. Creases around the nose and lips are better tackled with rejuvenation therapies which cause less trauma to tissues. A facelift reshapes your face by removing excess skin, but won’t reconstruct your cheeks or add contours if they don’t already exist.
You Don’t Want to Remove Fat Deposits
If you’re struggling with fat deposits in your cheeks or want to get rid of a double chin, liposuction or laser neck and jaw liposculpture can remove stubborn fat deposits. With a simple one-inch incision under local anesthetic, a laser melts the fat under the chin and helps tighten the skin slightly. Unfortunately, the only way to remove loose, hanging skin around the jawline is through a surgical procedure. A facelift is a better choice if your skin has lost elasticity and won’t spring back after the fat removal is performed in less invasive treatments.
You’ve Ruled Out Less Invasive Procedures
Because a facelift generally lasts only ten years, consider other options which may allow you to postpone the facelift by prioritizing minor surgeries first. The results of procedures like a forehead lift or eyelid surgery can help delay a traditional facelift, which has a longer recovery time. Your surgeon can fix sagging and drooping forehead skin through small incisions in your hairline, or tighten the skin under the neck through a small cut under the chin. A mini-facelift lifts wrinkles and sagging skin with smaller incisions around the ear, but it cannot address neck sagging or excess skin.
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Your Skin is Sagging Loosely
If you have excess skin hanging loosely, giving you jowls, a facelift will tighten the skin around your jawline, eliminating the unsightly pouches. Doctors will also tighten the underlying tissues to enhance the effects on your forehead, cheeks, brows, and eyelids. Traditional facelifts have significant incisions in front of and behind the ears and extend up to the hairline. It’s worth traveling, to minimize recovery and scarring, to the best facelift surgery in Utah.
The surgeons here lift the skin away from the facial muscles and fat and gently stretches it before reattaching it to underlying structures. Any excess skin is removed. The surgery can take as long as 2-5 hours as an outpatient procedure under general anesthesia. Surgeons insert sutures or staples as necessary to close the incisions before applying bandages. Some patients require a drain behind the ear to remove any excess blood or fluids while the incisions heal.
A facelift removes excess skin and can give your face and neck a more youthful appearance. Based on the condition of your skin, doctors can predict which procedures will deliver the results you want. Combining alternative procedures can help you achieve a more natural appearance by limiting the number of procedures you have done. When it is time for a facelift you will see that it is a very common surgery, with more than 100,000 procedures performed in the U.S. each year.
Doctors and technology have made significant advances in recent years to improve the procedure and the results. When you believe that is it time for a facelift, consult with an experienced surgeon to get their opinion on the best procedure to address your concerns. They know better than anyone what will help you feel better about the way you look.
If you believe that it is time for a facelift and want more information on cosmetic surgery, check out Preparing for Plastic Surgery? Here’s What You Need to do First.
