What Are the Steps of a Facelift Procedure?
Aging occurs naturally, but it’s rarely welcome. Many women spend thousands of dollars a year on skincare and other home remedies to avoid aging. There are a variety of methods to keep your skin looking young, but facelift surgery is the only method that is long-lasting and will completely eliminate your wrinkles.
Facial lift surgery in Los Angeles is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures in California, after rhinoplasty. Its popularity is due to its effectiveness; getting a face lift can take decades off your appearance, and you won’t have to worry about wrinkles returning for quite a while. Many people who want a Los Angeles facelift don’t have a thorough understanding of what the surgical procedure entails or an understanding of any of the recovery time associated with it.
One of the most important things to the doctors at Westside Face is getting our patients to understand the procedure they are signing up for. Our Los Angeles plastic surgery group thinks understanding the surgery along with its risks and realistic outcomes is essential to patient satisfaction.
The Facelift Consultation
Prior to your surgery, you will meet with a Los Angeles facelift surgeon to discuss your cosmetic needs and possibilities. This will be an honest conversation where the doctor will point out the areas of your face that they think can be helped by the procedure. You can also use this opportunity to tell them what you want to look like after the procedure is completed, and your doctor will tell you how realistic this expectation is.
Someone who undergoes a facelift at 45 will have virtually no wrinkles on their skin compared to someone who undergoes a facelift at 65. The longer you wait, the more wrinkles and sagging skin you’ll have. Getting a facelift at 65 and having no remaining wrinkles is an unrealistic expectation, and your facial plastic surgeon in Los Angeles will tell you this.
It’s possible that you’re imagining a facelift as a cure-all when you really need other procedures to get the look you want. Your surgeon will ask if you want to add on fat transfer for the face or neck lipo, which will be done on the same day as your facelift surgery.
The Facelift Procedure
The first step in this procedure is anesthesia. You can choose between intravenous sedation and general anesthesia.
In a traditional facelift, the doctor makes an incision right at the hairline on the temples, and they continue to cut around the ear and stop at the lower scalp. Fat and excess skin will be cut away and/or redistributed to different areas of the face. The underlying muscle and tissue will also be altered to match the skin.
If there’s minimal skin sagging, our Los Angeles cosmetic doctors may suggest undergoing a “mini” facelift. A mini facelift involves shorter incisions because less skin is being altered.
Our facelifts are often done in tandem with necklifts, and if you choose a necklift to further improve the contour of your face, a second incision will be done. Your doctor will make this under your chin to further tighten your appearance.
Sutures or skin adhesives are used to close the incisions from your surgery. If the doctor chooses to use sutures to close your wound, they may need to be removed after a few days. Some sutures dissolve on their own. Some surgeons use skin glues to seal the incisions.
Once the incision areas are healed, the scars that remain from your facelift are well concealed among your hairline and by your ears and chin. While scars are inevitable, they are not going to be noticeable.
Recovery Process
The facelift comes with a four step recovery process, and your appearance immediately after surgery will shift into your new and improved look in the next few weeks. Swelling and bruising will be present in that first week, and this may cause you to feel some tightness and tingling.
You should avoid strenuous activities for at least two weeks, although in the second week you can resume light activities like walking. You’ll look and feel much better three weeks into your recovery. You’ll likely feel healthy enough to exercise during weeks 3 and 4. You may want to avoid intense exercises such as cycling, but you can consult with your doctor and use your body as a barometer to how energetic you are feeling.
Your scars will be puckered and red during this first week after surgery, but they will start to heal around the same time you can begin to be able to return to your daily life.
Your friends and coworkers may not even notice you had any work done until at least a month after when your body adjusts to the change.
Many of our patients notice a change both inside and out after they choose to get plastic surgery from us. We pride ourselves in helping our patients get their confidence back. Many have mulled over the idea of plastic surgery for years before stepping foot in our office, and they are frequently overjoyed with how we’ve made natural but impactful improvements.
About Westside Face
The plastic surgery specialists of Westside Face emphasize preserving the bone structure and skin vitality that’s unique to each individual patient while making small, but impactful, improvements. This technique allows us to rejuvenate patient’s faces by enacting small and deliberate changes that make a huge difference. Each patient that undergoes cosmetic enhancement at Westside Face can expect:
- Natural-looking changes
- Long-lasting results
- Shortest possible recovery time
Plastic surgery patients often want to return to their everyday life ASAP after a procedure, and our approach allows a speedy recovery. Minimal downtime plays a huge role in client satisfaction.
Whether it’s vision obstruction or breathing issues, we also aim to improve functionality with our cosmetic surgeries. Our award-winning closed scarless rhinoplasty, revision rhinoplasty, facelifts, and necklifts will not only make you look better, but you’ll also feel better. Even more, we accept and are in-network with Medicare, and most PPO/HMO insurances. Schedule a consultation with an aesthetic specialist at Westside Face today by calling 310-846-8519 or emailing appointments@westsideface.com.
