Mid-Face Lift or Full-Face Lift: Which is Best for You?

More people than ever are becoming aware of their health and are taking proactive steps to ensure theirs is at its best. As a result, people are feeling younger than ever before. Yet, despite 40 being the new 30, or 50 being the new 40, the body still ages. Your face may not mimic the age you feel, and instead give away your true age. Facial muscles weaken and the skin loses its elasticity, causing it to sag. You lose definition and suddenly wrinkles appear. Certain factors, such as sun exposure, lifestyle choices, and even genetics can speed up this process.

The effects of time and aging may sound dire, but fear not…there’s hope! Procedures like face lifts will reverse the aging process, allowing you to look the way you feel. Two of the most common facial procedures are a mid-face lift and full-face lift. How do you know which is right for you? Read on!

Mid-Face Lift: Areas It Addresses

A mid-face lift, also often referred to as a cheek lift, specifically targets the upper cheeks and lower eyelids. The procedure lifts the fat pad in the cheek to restore fullness to the eyes and cheeks, bringing back definition to the cheekbones and lifting the corners of the mouth. It also helps to soften smile lines.

Full-Face Lift: Areas It Addresses

A full-face lift, also called a Rhytidectomy, targets the face and neck. It addresses deep creases below the lower eyelid, as well as those between the nose and corners of the mouth. It takes care of the sagging in the middle of the face, displaced fat, lost muscle tone, jowls, and the appearance of “turkey neck.” This particular procedure has the most dramatic effects on a person’s appearance.

Techniques

Several advancements have been made in face lift procedures that require only small incisions and result in minimal scarring. Once the incisions are made, the muscles and fat are repositioned, the skin re-draped, and the incisions stitched closed. There are a few different techniques for mid and full face lifts.

With a traditional mid-face lift, your surgeon makes incisions below the lash line of the lower eyelids, where she’ll access the cheeks. Incisions may also be made in the folds between the nose and the lips. This technique allows for an upward lift, rather than an outward one. Or, for a more drastic result, she may make incisions in the hairline near the temples, for an endoscopic approach, which allows for an upward and outward lift.

In the case of a full-face lift, traditionally surgeons make long incisions that run around the front and behind the ears. The surgeon then removes excesses and tightens the skin and muscles. An SMAS (superficial musculoaponeurotic system) lift is an extension of the traditional face lift, which elevates the skin. Your surgeon will make incisions at the temples, extending down behind the ear where he or she will tighten the SMAS and, like a traditional face lift, remove any excesses.

Which One is Best for You?

In general, candidates for either face lift procedure are healthy individuals with no significant health issues and have realistic expectations about the outcome of the surgery. A mid-face lift targets the earliest signs of aging, so candidates for this procedure are often in the younger age group of those seeking cosmetic surgery. Mid-face lifts work best for those who wish to have their cheeks elevated, but do not necessarily need any work done below the chin.

On the other hand, candidates for full face lifts are further along in the aging process and have some sagging mid-face, wrinkles around the nose and mouth, developed jowls and may have lost muscle tone in the neck, resulting in the dreaded “turkey neck”. These candidates are seeking more dramatic results.

You may also prefer something less invasive, like a QuickLift. Check out our 3 reasons why you should consider a QuickLift for sagging skin to learn more.

If the tell-tale signs of aging are making you look older than you feel, you may be a candidate for a face lift. Dr. Hannah Vargas will be able to help you determine which procedure is best for you, giving you the best, most natural results.