Is a Facelift Right for Me?

• 12 August 2021
• MCC Marketing

Last updated on July 10, 2024

If the aging process has begun to significantly affect your face and neck and anti-wrinkle injectables just aren’t doing the trick anymore, you may need something more. At our My Cosmetic Clinic locations conveniently located throughout the New South Wales area, we offer that something more, and it’s called the facelift, a facial rejuvenating procedure is designed to lift and tighten the face and help restore youth to your appearance.

Is a Facelift Right for Me?

Both men and women who want to address skin laxity on the lower half of the face and the neck make good candidates for a facelift. The ideal candidates should be in good physical and mental health and want to improve their appearance in a way that helps them look younger but still natural. This procedure is not designed to make you look plastic or like a different person. Its goal is to restore youth to your face and neck by removing excess skin and tightening the facial muscles and remaining skin so that you look more like your younger self again. You may qualify for this procedure if you:

• Have lost volume in the lower half of your face
• Have experienced significant skin laxity on your lower face and neck
• Have developed jowls
• Have excessive sagging skin on your neck
• Have not been able to achieve your desired results with non-surgical methods

Those who have experienced skin laxity to the point that other non-surgical skin tightening treatments have not been able to help improve their appearance also make good candidates for this procedure. Typically, the majority of patients who schedule this procedure range from 40 to 70 years old. However, some patients with severe skin laxity under the age of 40 will also qualify for this procedure. Age is not the sole determining factor.

Customising Your Procedure

At My Cosmetic Clinic, we don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to this procedure but instead, customise the procedure to best address your needs and goals. We will take different factors into account, including the severity of your skin laxity. At our office, we offer the traditional version of this procedure, a mini version, and the thread lift. We will choose the right one for you during your initial consultation based on your skin condition and your goals.

During your facelift, we can also perform different procedures to help you get the best results. Fat grafting or liposuction may be used during the process to help address your concerns. We can also combine methods and perform eye surgery and a brow lift within the same procedure so that you can address all of your issues and one single approach.

What Can a Facelift Do?

A facelift can make you look significantly younger by removing excess skin and lifting and tightening the remaining facial skin on the lower half of the face and the neck, but it cannot stop the aging process. You will look refreshed and well-rested once you achieve your final results, and while results are intended to be permanent, you will still experience the aging process.

A facelift will help take the edge off aging by temporarily reversing the clock. It can improve your appearance and smooth wrinkles in the lower half of the face while addressing sagging skin on the face and the neck.

Addressing Men and Women Differently

Both men and women make good candidates for this procedure. Gender is a factor we consider when planning your procedure since different factors come into play when performing a facelift on a man versus a woman.

We will consider the anatomic differences between men and women when customizing your procedure, such as the vascularity of the beard area in men. We will also consider the incision location and positioning when treating men and women since distinct structural differences require different incision locations.

Things To Know in Advance

Details are important. When you commit to this procedure, it’s important that you know exactly what to expect in advance so that you can walk into your procedure with confidence. There are some things that you should know in advance so that you are fully prepared and knowledgeable about this procedure and all the details that coincide with the surgical process. The following are some important surgical details to keep in mind before your procedure:

• The procedure takes approximately four to five hours to complete
• The procedure takes place in our day surgery unit
• You will walk in and out of your appointment and return home the same day
• Your procedure may involve removing excess skin, tightening your facial muscles, tightening the remaining skin, and securing it with tiny sutures
• You will be put under local anesthetic and twilight sedation for the duration of the procedure

Frequently Asked Questions

Will This Procedure Eliminate Wrinkles?

Many people believe that a facelift will eliminate wrinkles on the entire face, but in actuality, this procedure only addresses wrinkles on the lower half of the face in the neck. It will not address forehead lines and wrinkles, frown lines, or wrinkles around the eyes. To address the signs of aging on the upper half of the face, you will need to schedule other treatments or procedures such as eyelid surgery, brow lift surgery, or Wrinkle Reduction Consultations.

During your initial consultation with one of our practitioners, we will evaluate your face and help develop a comprehensive treatment plan to help you achieve the most natural and aesthetic appearance.

What Kind of Recovery Can I Expect?

Once your procedure is over, you will go home. You will not have to stay overnight at our day unit. You will be provided with a compression garment to wear 24 hours a day for the first three days to help promote the healing process. We will schedule an extensive follow-up appointment eight to ten days after your procedure, where you’ll have your stitches removed.

The Healing Process

Typically patients began to look and feel more like themselves again within eight to ten days of their procedure. It’s important that you plan for your recovery by finding someone who can help you at home. Having friends or family members who can help support you during your recovery, help with childcare or meals, and perform light household work will enable you to rest and recover without trying to overwork yourself.

Most patients return to work within two weeks of their procedure. However, you should expect to avoid strenuous activity for at least four weeks after your procedure is complete.

Will I Look Natural?

This procedure is not intended to make you look like a completely different person. When performed correctly, this procedure can help you look completely natural, well-rested, and more youthful. Our goal is to improve your appearance, not completely change it. When you come in for your initial consultation with one of our practitioners, we can discuss your expected results in detail so that you know exactly what to anticipate once your procedure is complete.

One of the most important aspects of both considering and experiencing this procedure is your expectation level. It’s important that you walk in knowing that this procedure is not designed to help achieve perfection, but it will improve your appearance. You won’t look drastically different, but you will look like an improved version of yourself.

Is It Painful?

Any surgical procedure will require a recovery period. Still, you can rest assured that we will take every measure possible to keep you completely comfortable both during and after the procedure. You will be provided with a prescription for certain medications that can help you maintain optimal comfort during your recovery.

Learn More

If you are ready to address aging and achieve a natural yet more youthful and well-rested appearance, we can help. Contact us today at one of our My Cosmetic Clinic locations, conveniently located throughout the New South Wales area, and schedule your initial consultation to meet with one of our practitioners so that you can learn more about this procedure and how it can address your goals.