A facelift, or rhytidectomy, is one of the top five plastic surgery procedures in existence, and it’s helped millions of people around the world achieve a younger, more refreshed look. But just how powerful is it? And how many years younger will you look after you’ve had a facelift? To answer these questions, Dr. Schmidt created this handy guide to help patients understand what a facelift is, and just what it’s capable of.
What a Facelift Can Do
Depending on the patient, a facelift has the potential to help a patient look as much as a decade or more younger. A full facelift will lift jowls, sagging cheeks, and other signs of aging caused by sagging skin to give patients a revived, refreshed look. It can also help patients achieve a smoother, sleeker profile.
Keep in mind: a facelift isn’t the procedure to go for if you want to target certain wrinkles and deep creases. While a facelift can do wonders for creating a smoother, younger-looking visage as it primarily lifts and repositions sagging skin and underlying tissues to a more youthful position, it is not designed to remove deep lines and wrinkles in the skin. Dr. Schmidt has helped thousands of patients achieve confidence and a brand-new lease on life thanks to the rejuvenating effects of the facelift.
Expert facial plastic surgeons like Dr. Schmidt have the training to create facelift results that look balanced and proportional; their skill with advanced techniques and their knowledge of facial aesthetics means that patients won’t look fake, or “windblown;” instead, our patients will be able to look almost a decade younger while still looking very much like themselves.
What Areas Does a Facelift Work On?
A facelift is perfect for lifting sagging skin on the lower face and upper neck. If you also suffer from sagging eyelids or eyebrows, then it may be more pertinent to undergo a blepharoplasty or brow lift to rejuvenate both the lower and upper face. A facelift can easily be combined with a blepharoplasty, brow lift or neck lift to create this powerful, comprehensive rejuvenation.
How Is a Facelift Performed?
To perform a facelift, Dr. Schmidt will first create incisions right by the hairline and behind the tragus, a small protrusion in the ear. Dr. Schmidt will expertly hide all incisions so that they’re as inconspicuous as possible. Next, without stretching the superficial layers of the skin, Dr. Schmidt will access the tissues underneath the skin, lifting the deeper layers, and excising loose skin. Once the skin has redraped, the incisions are closed, and the patient is allowed to go home on the same day as the surgery.
Who’s a Candidate for Facelift Surgery?
There is no specific age when someone becomes a candidate for a facelift as each person ages differently. However, a facelift can help patients who want to address signs of aging like jowls or sagging cheeks of any age. Patients should be in good health before the undergo the procedure, and since nicotine can compromise our tissues’ ability to heal, patients are encouraged to refrain for smoking or vaping.
How Long Will My Facelift Results Last?
Unfortunately, we never stop aging—even after a facelift. Environmental stressors, time and genetics guarantee that our skin will continue to age and lose elasticity over time. But don’t despair—a facelift can still “turn back the clock” by helping you look years younger as you continue to age gracefully.
A facelift can last even longer when it’s performed by a skilled facial plastic surgeon. When a facelift hasn’t been performed properly, the face can sometimes age unevenly, leading to conspicuously drooping cheeks and jowls. When the deeper tissues have been addressed, the facial tissues can age properly without creating deformities—one of the most common causes for revision facelifts.
So, with a skilled facial plastic surgeon like Dr. Schmidt and a healthy skincare regimen, you can expect facelift results for a very long time indeed.
How Can I Maintain My Facelift Results?
First and foremost, you can maintain your refreshed, new look by taking care of your skin. Avoiding extensive sun exposure is a great way to preserve healthy skin, and it prevents the breakdown of collagen and elastin in the skin by UV Rays. However, we live in Colorado with an average 300 days of sun per year and we encourage you to enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle. When in the sun, be sure to apply sunscreen with a minimum of 30 SPF every two hours.
In addition, you can also try nonsurgical procedures like chemical peels, injectables or PicoSure laser treatments to target finer signs of aging, such as wrinkles and age spots.
If needed, you can undergo a revision facelift as a touch-up if you start to see signs of aging reappear. It’s been said that your body starts depositing new layers of collagen after a facelift, so some surgeons take advantage of that point in time to perform a touch up with a revision facelift.
Why would you settle for anything less than a skilled facial plastic surgery expert like Dr. Schmidt? By working with Dr. Schmidt, you can ensure that your facelift is performed by someone with a keen eye for facial aesthetics and an immense knowledge of facial anatomy. If you’d like to know more about the facelift, contact Schmidt Facial Plastic Surgery by calling (720) 443 -2235.
