Mini Facelift

A mini facelift differs from a full or traditional facelift in a number of key aspects. The procedure is considered less invasive than a full facelift or rhytidectomy procedure with shorter incisions that are better hidden within natural skin folds and this makes them less visible to other people. Mini facelift results can often match those achieved from a traditional facelift without the increased scarring, risks or downtime.

Compared with a full facelift, a mini facelift is designed to tighten loose and sagging skin in the lower part of the face and this includes the jawline, chin, jowls and the upper part of the neck. Many people noticed these areas to develop obvious signs of ageing before other parts of the face. Choosing to have a lower facelift can effectively get rid of these features with highly impressive anti-ageing effects.

The procedure is considered most appropriate for women and men aged over 40 and above. Well-performed mini facelift surgery can produce results that can easily last 10 years or more. The natural and refreshed appearance that this procedure provides often results in many observers commenting on their youthful and rejuvenated look. People who are fifty and over may have more prominent signs of aging and this could be related to a number of factors including excessive sunlight exposure. You may be considered more appropriate for a traditional facelift in some cases.

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The mini facelift is often preferred by many patients who come to see us because it can be easily combined with a number of other facial rejuvenation procedures at the same time including a neck lift, brow lift, eyelid surgery, chin liposuction or chin augmentation with implants. This is because a mini facelift is designed to rejuvenate the lower portion of the face. Our surgeons commonly combine a mini facelift with facial fat transfer for enhancement of volume in targeted areas of the face including the cheeks and temples. Fat transfer to the face first involves liposuction to harvest fat from another area of the body followed by fat purification and then injection into selected areas of the face which have developed volume loss as a result of ageing. Mini facelift combined with fat transfer to the face is a powerful anti-ageing combination and is commonly performed at our state-of-the-art Baker Street clinic in central London.

The results of a mini facelift can be effectively maintained over time by having a wide range of non-invasive anti-ageing treatments at our 106 Crawford Street clinic including anti-wrinkle injections, dermal fillers, chemical peels, laser skin resurfacing and Morpheus8 microneedling.

Healthy and supple skin contains an abundance of collagen and elastin which are the building blocks responsible for importing plumpness and elasticity. With the ageing process, we naturally produce diminished amounts of collagen which results in the development of loose skin and this is linked with skin wrinkling and sagging. The chin and jawline are particularly susceptible to the effects of ageing and sagging skin in this area is commonly referred to as jowls. Fine lines are some of the early signs of ageing and  eventually become deeper and may become wrinkles. The nose to mouth lines also known as the nasolabial folds run from the sides of the nose downwards and whilst initially only seen when laughing or smiling, they eventually become visible at rest.

All of these ageing features can be effectively treated with a mini facelift performed at the right time. People who have had a mini facelift with us often remark on how boosted their self-confidence is with their new refreshed and useful facial appearance. Some people can develop low mood and even depression from how aged they appear and lower facelift surgery can really help to improve mental well-being. Compared with a traditional facelift, a mini facelift is a quicker procedure to perform with less downtime, risks and scars.

It is well known that the ageing process can be accelerated by a number of lifestyle factors and these include excessive sunlight exposure, high levels of stress, poor sleep hygiene and people who smoke. Although having a mini facelift can help to address many aspects of facial ageing, it is important to bear in mind that the results of the surgery could be diminished by not modifying the factors above. Getting the best mini facelift results means adopting sensible lifestyle habits including getting more sleep, stopping smoking and avoiding too much sun exposure. If you are out and about in the sun, it is important to wear a minimum of SPF 30 sunscreen and wear protective clothing where possible. Adopting these measures will also have a positive impact on your overall health.

A mini facelift differs from a full facelift in a number of key respects. A traditional facelift is designed to treat deeper wrinkles and skin folds affecting a broader area of the face. The procedure, therefore, needs longer incisions to remove sufficient amounts of sagging skin. One of the key differences is where the incisions are located for each type of procedure and how prominent they appear. With a mini lift, the incisions are positioned behind the ear and extend into the hairline which is barely visible once healed. In the traditional facelift, the surgeon makes incisions both behind the air and in front of it with the incision often extending into the scalp area. A full facelift is much more invasive compared with a lower facelift. A lower facelift can be effectively combined with other facial rejuvenation treatments in the same procedure for a more overall improvement in the usefulness of the face. Many people may be increasingly prone to prominent scarring and a mini facelift may be considered a better alternative to a full facelift due to the smaller length and concealed location of the incisions.

Mini facelift surgery is most commonly recommended for women and men in their 40s and above as it is particularly effective to treat many of the early signs of ageing including jowls and sagging skin. Traditional facelift surgery is better suited for patients aged in their mid-50s and over as this is often the time when initial fine lines have now become deeper wrinkles and may be present even when the face is in a resting state of expression. A full facelift is also more effective for people who have significant laxity of the neck and the procedure is often combined with a neck lift. Those who lose dramatic amounts of weight from successful dieting and exercise often develop loose and sagging skin in the face and neck area and a full facelift is a more suitable option for these types of patients for better correction of the signs of ageing.

A standard full facelift can often take well over five hours to carry out with patients often requiring 2 to 3 nights of an inpatient stay in the hospital. Some types of facelifts may take even longer, particularly the deep plane facelift. A mini facelift takes up to 2.5 hours to carry out and patients often feel much more comfortable after the procedure with a quicker healing time.

Unlike traditional facelift surgery which is routinely carried out under a general anaesthetic, mini facelift surgery can in many cases be performed under local anaesthetic and this can be supplemented with sedation if required as an outpatient procedure. This means the patient can recover at home later the same day. After this type of surgery, the majority of patients are able to recommence their everyday activities after one week. Full facelift surgery much longer recovery period with many patients requiring at least two weeks and up to 4 weeks to recover from the procedure. Traditional facelift surgery involves a much greater degree of bruising and swelling and this can last for a minimum of two weeks before beginning to improve. Any bruising and swelling after a mini facelift improves much faster with most patience reporting a full resolution of the side effects by one week. At Centre for Surgery, our surgeons are experts in all facelift techniques.

The S Facelift or ‘S-lift’

This is a type of facelift which involves incisions that resemble an S shape which starts in the hairline and extends to the back of the ear. Once the initial incision has been performed, the facelift surgeon delicately separates the skin from the underlying tissues followed by the removal of excess skin and fat to optimise facial definition in the lower portion of the face.

SMAS Facelift

SMAS stands for superficial musculoaponeurotic system and is the fibromuscular layer of tissue beneath the skin which is surgically altered to tighten the neck and jawline for effective rejuvenation of the lower and middle part of the face. SMAS facelifts are ideal for getting rid of saggy skin, excess fat and prominent jowls affecting the jawline. The cheeks can also be enhanced as part of a cheek lift or mid-facelift which is often combined with a SMAS facelift.

Deep plane facelift

A deep clean facelift also known as a subperiosteal facelift is one of the traditional techniques of facelift surgery designed to produce long-lasting results. The area of dissection is in the deeper layers of the face located between the underlying muscles and fat. The deeper soft tissues can be surgically manipulated to tighten the neck, enhance the volume of the cheeks and result in a more defined jawline and overall rejuvenated appearance.

All three of these facelift techniques focus on improving signs of facial ageing affecting the lower half of the face and are commonly combined with other complementary facial procedures for overall facial rejuvenation. Some of the most popular combinations include a brow lift for raising the outer third of the brow and enhancing the eye region. Eyelid surgery or blepharoplasty is an effective procedure to get rid of hooded eyelids and eyebags under the eyes. Drooping eyelids can be addressed with an eyelid lift.

The results of a mini facelift can be enhanced with non-surgical treatments including anti-wrinkle injections to treat the upper part of the face and dermal fillers to add volume to parts of the face where it has been lost due to the ageing process.

A mini facelift is an ideal treatment for women and men aged over 40 who are unhappy with the obvious signs of ageing and loose skin located in the lower part of the face and neck and would like to have a treatment which is less invasive and carries fewer risks than a traditional facelift.

Surgeons at Centre for Surgery generally consider the following criteria when selecting patients for a mini lift procedure in London:

• Over the age of 40
• Are in good physical and mental health with no chronic uncontrolled medical conditions
• Have obvious signs of ageing in the lower part of the face
• Have realistic expectations of what can be achieved with a lower facelift
• Prefer to have a less invasive procedure with less downtime compared with a full facelift

The mini facelift procedure involves making incisions which are well positioned in natural skin folds both behind the ears and in the hairline. The scarring from mini facelift surgery is minimal with most people being unable to see any visible scars as early as six weeks after the procedure. The areas of loose skin are then surgically removed by the surgeon before trimming any excess fat and finally surgically repositioning the tissues to tighten the face. The skin incision is then closed with dissolvable stitches followed by the application of a sterile dressing.

For many patients, a mini facelift has emerged as the most effective technique for rejuvenation of the lower part of the face and has replaced the standard traditional facelift for this purpose. The procedure carries fewer risks and complications, has less scarring, is minimally invasive and takes no more than 2.5 hours to perform in most cases. Natural-looking results are better achieved with a mini facelift. The standard facelift has a higher risk of resulting in a ‘done look’. Advances in mini facelift surgery now allow the surgeon to address the deeper tissue layers of the face and not just the skin itself. Facelift techniques which focus on only tightening the skin are more likely to result in an artificial-looking result with the facelift incisions looking more obvious to others.

Unlike a standard facelift, the mini facelift is easily carried out under a local anaesthetic despite being a surgical procedure and takes no more than two hours to perform. All types of mini facelift surgery are outpatient based which means you’ll be able to recover in the comfort of your own home later the same day and recommence your normal daily activities after the first week of recovery.

Lower facelift surgery is considered very safe when performed by an expert surgeon. There are several common side effects which you may experience after the procedure including:

• Bruising and swelling
• Temporary numbness
• Minimal scarring which is barely visible

As with any type of surgical procedure, facelift surgery involves certain risks and complications which your surgeon will discuss at your consultation including:

• Bleeding
• Wound infection
• Prominent scarring
• Haematoma formation
• Skin necrosis
• Hairline distortion or localised hair loss near the incisions

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