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Can A Mini Facelift Fix My Sagging Jowls?

Home » Blog » Can A Mini Facelift Fix My Sagging Jowls?

Can A Mini Facelift Fix My Sagging Jowls?

    Guide:

    Addressing Sagging Jowls With A Mini Facelift

    With age, our body naturally loses collagen and elastin, leaving the skin weaker and unable to hold its firm appearance. When your facial features start to sag, one of the initial aging changes you may notice is saggy jowls.

    Aside from the loss of collagen and elastin, jowls start to take over the lower face and jawline due to:

    • Genetics
    • Weight fluctuations
    • Frequent use of facial muscles to make expressions
    • Sun exposure
    • Smoking
    • Overindulging in alcohol

    The mini facelift is a less invasive anti-aging treatment than a full facelift. This procedure allows people who have started to notice ptosis in the lower third of their face to target it more powerfully than non-surgical treatments. 

    What is a mini facelift? With shorter scars, a lower cost, and about half the recovery time of a traditional SMAS facelift, the mini facelift, also known as the short-scar facelift, can subtly improve the appearance of early jowling and tighten the underlying framework of the lower face.

    While Botox, fillers, and energy-based treatments can improve facial aging changes to an extent, everyone reaches a point where it’s more cost-effective to get this small surgical procedure than continually having touch-ups on non-surgical treatments.

    With short incisions hidden discreetly in the hairline and around the natural creases of the ears, plastic surgeons can address sagging jowls with the mini facelift procedure by removing excess skin and tightening and repositioning the underlying tissues.

    What Can’t A Mini Facelift Fix?

    During a mini facelift jowls are addressed, but it can also be a solution for redefining the overall appearance of the chin and jawline and smoothing out wrinkles and folds in the lower face. However, these improvements are less dramatic than those of a traditional facelift.

    On its own, the lower-thirds facelift does not address concerns from the midface and above, such as eye bags, loss of volume in the cheeks and temples, forehead wrinkles, and droopy eyelids. It also is not ideal for addressing severe skin laxity in the neck. 

    It’s common for patients to pair their mini facelift with other facial rejuvenation procedures such as a neck lift, eyelid surgery, or a brow lift for more comprehensive results. It can even be paired well with minimally invasive treatments such as laser skin resurfacing or laser skin tightening.

    Do I Need A Mini Facelift Or Neck Lift To Tighten Jowls?

    If you are just starting to notice aging changes in your lower face such as jowls that are not serious enough to require an extensive procedure like a full facelift but can no longer be effectively improved with non-surgical treatments, a mini facelift may be perfect.

    If you’ve noticed sagging skin around your entire face and neck for years and it now appears more pronounced, you may benefit from a more comprehensive face and neck lift. Depending on the degree of sagging, a full facelift may give you a more worthwhile result, RealSelf says.

    It’s common for patients to combine their mini facelift with a neck lift if their lower face and neck are showing signs of aging much faster than their mid and upper face. This allows them to address their jowls more effectively without having a more complex surgery that may target areas they aren’t currently worried about.

    Mini Facelift Candidates

    Ideal candidates for the mini lift are typically in their late 30s to early 50s looking to address early signs of aging such as mild jowls and other skin laxity concerns around their mouth and lower cheek area. 

    Some patients get the mini facelift as an anti-aging treatment to prevent aging signs from becoming more evident and postpone the need for a full facelift procedure and the lengthier recovery it requires.

    The mini facelift can also be an excellent maintenance option for people who had a previous facelift and are starting to notice the recurrence of laxity in their lower face, University of Utah Health says.

    People with more severe skin laxity around their entire face and neck usually find a traditional facelift more beneficial. We typically reserve this less invasive facial rejuvenation procedure for individuals with mild to moderate aging changes for the best mini facelift result.

    Best Treatment For Sagging Jowls

    During a mini facelift jowls in the lower face, chin, and jawline can be addressed effectively if there is mild to moderate sagging.

    The mini facelift offers advantages for individuals with initial indications of skin looseness and sagging jowls by targeting and adjusting the dermis and underlying tissues in the lower face and jawline.

    Although it’s not an ideal solution for comprehensively addressing as many age-related changes in the face and neck compared to the full facelift, the mini facelift can yield a noticeably refreshed appearance when combined with procedures like a lip lift or neck lift.

    Often ideal for younger patients just starting to notice aging changes that non-surgical treatments like fillers or Botox cannot effectively improve, the mini facelift can be an excellent alternative to the traditional facelift for the right candidates. 

    If you’re concerned with early jowling but aren’t quite noticing drastic changes such as volume loss in your midface or severe skin laxity in your neck, the mini facelift may be the solution.

    Are you ready to tighten your saggy jowls and achieve a refreshed look? During a mini facelift jowls are targeted and removed for a more defined jawline and a younger appearance. Request a consultation with board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Gordon Kaplan, who has extensive expertise in all things facial rejuvenation.

    The Kaplan Center

    The Kaplan Center is a medical practice ran by board-certified Plastic Surgeon Dr. Gordon Kaplan in Edgewater, NJ. With over two decades of experience, The Kaplan Center specialises in plastic and reconstructive surgery for the face and body, along with a number of non-surgical treatments.