What is a Mini Face Lift?

What is the difference between a full face lift and a mini face lift and which is better for you? We are here to answer those questions for you today.

Full Face Lift

Traditionally a full face lift is a major surgical procedure that is designed to pull and tighten the skin on the whole face. It will tighten saggy jaw lines, cheeks, eyes and smooth the forehead. An incision is made near the ear and the skin is separated and then excess skin is removed as the remaining skin is draped back tighter over the face. This surgery requires downtime and many patients experience a painful recovery. The results however are long lasting.

Mini Face Lift – or Weekend Face Lift

There are many different options available to achieve a mini face lift. A surgical mini face lift consists of a Doctor inserting surgical instruments through three or more small cuts behind the ears. Excess fat is then removed and the muscles are reshaped. Surgery targets minor sagging around the cheeks, jawline and neck. The mini face lift focuses on the bottom third of the face and does not address the eyes or forehead. This is an outpatient surgery but will require some downtime before returning to work.

Some common treatments that may be used before and after a mini facelift include:

• Ablative and fraxel laser treatments to address skin blemishes like large pores and scarring from acne
• BOTOX® Cosmetic injections to temporarily stop muscle contractions that result in fine lines and wrinkles
• Dermal filler injections to add youthful volume to lips, cheeks, and other areas of the face
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections  which use your own isolated growth factors to increase collagen production and blood flow, which is purported to rejuvenate skin tone
• Liposuction  or surgical fat removal, to eliminate stubborn fat deposits and restore definition in specific areas of the face
• Fat transfer (fat grafting), a process of removing unwanted fat from one area of the body, such as from the neck, and injecting it into that the face