Who is a non-surgical facelift for, and when does surgery win?

Who it is for

Most patients in their thirties and forties do not need a surgical facelift, and many in their fifties do not either if they have looked after their skin.

“Well, not everyone's ready to get that facelift done, and I don't I tell my patients don't you don't need to go in and facelift done when you're in your 30s and 40s.”

What these patients want is lift, tightening, contour, and better skin, without looking operated on.

“Patients still want lifting, tightening, contour, and better skin quality, but they don't necessarily want that plastic surgery look or dramatic transformation at this time.”

What it combines

There is no single treatment called a non-surgical facelift. It is a combination chosen for how a particular face is aging, done in one sitting or spread over years.

“It could be regenerative new stem injections that stimulate collagen production or laser skin resurfacing or USRF skin tightening. Different things working together instead of relying on one treatment to do the whole job alone.”

How it differs from surgery

Surgery cuts, changes the anatomy, and needs anesthesia and weeks before the result shows. The non-surgical route is done awake, with no cutting, and aims to improve rather than transform.

“Most patients are asleep when they get cosmetic surgery and they wake up and they can't even see results for weeks and months to come.” “No, that's the best part of it, because the fact that we really don't cut, we really don't go inside your skin and really don't change the anatomy of your body or your face, there's no need to cut anything and make you look like someone else.”

When surgery wins

It does not do what a facelift does, and he says so. When the neck is hanging and nothing has been done for decades, the answer is surgery.

“So, you cannot you cannot get the same exact results of a facelift with just fillers and lasers. If you are in your 60s and 70s and you've never done anything for your face and your neck is hanging and you need to do something that's surgical procedure.”

A large fat pad under the jaw is another dividing line. Depending on the stage of aging it is reduced with ultrasound or removed surgically.

How long it lasts

Neither option stops the clock, including a surgical facelift. What lasts is the habit of maintenance.

“You get a facelift, and clock starts ticking again, and they start to have to need to do something fairly quickly. They need to come back and maintain their face 2 months later, 6 months later, a year later.”

The biggest misunderstanding

That fillers and lasers equal a facelift. They do not, and a facelift does not end the need for care afterward. The non-surgical route is a way to look better at the stage you are at, and to delay surgery for as long as it is not needed.