New Year, New You: How a Face-Lift Can Give You A New Start

New Year’s isn’t just a time to make resolutions, it’s also a time to reevaluate priorities, workload, and all other aspects of your life.

The new year is a great time to look in the mirror and decide how to meet your aesthetic goals. If you see developing lines, wrinkles, creases, and sags across your face and aren’t happy with how they portray you to others and yourself, consider a face-lift for a fresh start.

At Arizona Ocular and Facial Plastic Surgery, oculofacial plastic and cosmetic surgeon Dr. Dustin Heringer understands how important it is to be happy with the way you appear. That’s why he offers a long-term solution to aging facial skin, the surgical face-lift. Here’s how it works.

How and why your skin ages

Collagen is a structural protein produced in the body and found in the bones, tendons, muscles, skin, cornea of the eyes, blood vessels, gut lining, teeth, and nails. The word “collagen” comes from the Greek “kolla,” meaning glue. So basically collagen acts as the “glue” that holds the body together.

The body produces abundant collagen when you’re young, but production starts to decline at about age 25 and continues throughout the rest of your life. It decreases significantly more in women after they reach menopause.

Collagen also decreases because of other factors, such as smoking, excess sugar, and the effects of ultraviolet rays, leading to wrinkles and sagging skin. While collagen decline cannot be prevented, there are ways to postpone the inevitable.

What can a face-lift do for you?

A face-lift, also called a rhytidectomy, is a cosmetic surgical procedure that addresses the lower two-thirds of your face to create a younger look. The procedure reduces sagging skin and smooths folds of skin on the cheeks and jawline.

It's also common to combine a face-lift with a neck lift and/or a blepharoplasty (eyelid lift) to fully rejuvenate your facial features.

A standard face-lift uses the superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS) technique to address moderate-to-advanced aging around the mid-face and neck. Dr. Heringer makes incisions just behind your hairline, starting near the temples and around the front of the ear. This way the scars are hidden in the skin’s natural folds.

Then, he repositions the deeper tissues beneath the skin, shaping them to provide a softer and more youthful contour to the face and neck. Finally, he removes excess skin, smoothing creases and eliminating jowls and sagging skin under the chin. When he’s done, he sutures the incisions closed.

Face-lift recovery

A face-lift is a complex procedure, but the recovery process is surprisingly quick for most people. You can usually return to your normal daily activities after about two weeks following a standard facelift, but you’ll have to wait until about the month mark to engage in strenuous exercise.

Dr. Heringer gives you detailed aftercare instructions, and he lets you know when you’re ready to return to different levels of activity.

Bruising and swelling are normal following a face-lift, and they peak at about two days after surgery. They should be difficult to notice after about 10-14 days. Dr. Heringer can tell you when wearing makeup is safe.

As you ease back into your routine, protecting your face from the sun is especially important. For one thing, you’re more vulnerable to sunburn for several weeks after surgery. For another, staying out of the sun helps the scars heal as completely (and as unnoticeably) as possible. Wear a wide-brimmed hat and use sunscreen with SPF30 regularly.

If you’re unhappy with your face’s contours or shape, a face-lift might be just the thing for you. To schedule a consultation, give us a call at either location or book online with us today.