It’s a natural step in the aging process when your skin starts to droop and sag. While there are minimally-invasive cosmetic procedures like dermal fillers available to help preserve youthfulness in the face, at some point, they’re just not enough.
If you’ve reached that point, you might be a candidate for a facelift.
What Is a Facelift?
During a traditional facelift, a surgeon creates incisions on the face so that flaps of skin on either side can be pulled back. This allows the surgeon to access the tissues below the skin, which are then surgically altered to contour the face.
Excess skin is also removed before the flap is closed, eliminating sagging, jowling, undereye bags, and similar conditions. The medical term for this procedure is rhytidectomy.
Why Facelifts Are Done
Facelifts are done for patients who want to alter the appearance and shape of their faces.
As you age, your skin naturally loses some of its elasticity and volume. This results in:
- Sagging of the cheeks
- Excess skin at the jawline, which are also called jowls
- Deepening of the nasolabial folds, which are the folds of skin that run from the sides of your nose to the corners of your mouth
- Sagging, excess skin, and accumulated fat on the neck
It’s important to note that facelifts are not a viable treatment for skin integrity issues. Facelifts do not remove sun damage, uneven skin tone, or related conditions. Other cosmetic treatments may be needed to address these issues.
Facelifts are done solely to contour the face and remove excess skin.
What Is a Mid Facelift?
A mid facelift focuses mainly on the mouth, nose, and eye areas. During a mid facelift, we typically address hollowness in the cheeks, remove under-eye bags, and eliminate nasolabial folds.
In general, mid facelifts do not address areas around the jawline or neck.
Who Is a Good Candidate for a Mid Facelift?
You’re likely a candidate for a mid facelift if your primary cosmetic issues are with the mid area of your face and you want as little downtime as possible.
How a Mid Facelift Works
With the mid facelift, our surgeons will first administer an anesthetic to help increase your comfort. Our surgeon makes tiny incisions in carefully selected locations that are easy to conceal.
The incisions allow our surgeon to help reposition the soft tissues in your face back to their original, lifted location. This creates fullness in your cheeks and helps to tighten your skin.
Benefits of a Mid Facelift
The benefits of a mid facelift are natural, more youthful results, and very little downtime when compared to a traditional facelift.
What Is a Mini Facelift?
A mini facelift is less invasive than a mid facelift. It addresses the neck, cheek, and jawline areas. Mini facelifts do not address issues in the eye area.
Who Is a Candidate for the Mini Facelift?
The mini facelift is designed for patients who are faced with heavy jowls and sagging skin that is mild to moderate.
The mini facelift is less invasive than a traditional facelift, but will still help tighten and lift the skin in your lower face and neck.
How a Mini Facelift Works
A mini facelift begins with small incisions that we make in well-concealed locations. These incisions allow our surgeon to both lift your skin and remove any excess.
Benefits of Mini Facelift
A mini facelift is beneficial for patients with mild to moderate sagging who either do not want to undergo general anesthesia or are not ready for a traditional facelift.
Traditional facelifts require general anesthesia, a procedure done in an operating room, and more significant downtime than a mini facelift.
With a mini facelift, patients are able to return to their regular routines and lifestyles within a week following the procedure.
Mini Facelift Results
With a mini facelift, you can expect natural-looking results that help rejuvenate the areas of your lower face and neck.
Differences Between a Traditional Facelift, Mid Facelift, and Mini Facelift
There are several differences between these three procedures.
Anesthesia
Mid facelifts and mini facelifts are minor surgeries that only require localized anesthesia to help increase patient comfort.
In contrast, traditional facelifts are major surgeries that are done under general anesthesia in an operating room.
Downtime
Traditional facelifts require significant downtime while the face heals. With traditional facelifts, there are certain activities, like coloring your hair, that you will need to avoid for a minimum of six weeks after your procedure is complete.
With mid and mini facelifts, there’s only about a week of downtime before you can resume your regular activities. Of course, downtime and recovery will depend largely on your specific procedure and aesthetic goals. With this in mind, our team will outline a plan during your initial consultation.
Interested in a Facelift? Contact Columbus Facial Plastics
Our team at Columbus Facial Plastics are the local experts in facial reconstruction procedures. Whether you’re interested in a mid facelift or a mini facelift, our experienced providers can discuss your specific aesthetic goals and the best options to achieve them.
Our team has seen high rates of success treating hundreds of patients, who get to enjoy their results for 7 to 10 years after the procedure.
Every patient’s needs are unique. With this in mind, our providers will explore the results you can expect to achieve with the procedures you’re interested in. We’ll explore your medical history, answer any questions you might have, and outline a plan to help you look and feel your best.
To learn more, contact the team at Columbus Facial Plastics today.
