Not Ready for a Facelift – What are my Options?

I would like to have my neck tightened and jowls reduced but I am only 42 years old and do not feel that I am ready for a regular face lift yet. What are my other options?
-Judith P.
San Clemente, CA

I obviously cannot tell you what your options are without seeing you in person and having you show me your areas of concern in a mirror! Aesthetic treatments and surgical procedures are ALWAYS optional but it will be difficult to weigh your options without seeing a cosmetic surgery specialist. In general, however, your first option would obviously be to wait before you have any surgery. During this time, you might be able to enhance your appearance with good skin care and perhaps some of the filler injections or Botox® treatments – many patients buy themselves years with such treatments before they again consider a surgical option. And whether you wait to have surgery or decide to do a lesser procedure now, please remember to use sun blocks daily and to see an aesthetician to set up a good skin care program for yourself – we would be happy to help you set up an appointment with our skin care department.

I have operated on patients in their late 30’s who were good candidates for a facelift, but those instances have been few and far between, and usually with extenuating circumstances such as severely stretched skin from obesity and subsequent weight loss. You are correct in feeling that younger patients with early signs of aging usually are not candidates for a full face lift. Such patients can frequently be helped quite considerably with one of the newer minimal incision techniques including neck liposculpting, tightening the neck muscles through small incisions just beneath the chin and perhaps the ear, endoscopic forehead lifts, or some of the modern midface lifts that are performed through hidden incision inside the mouth and behind the hairline.

Perhaps a series of one of the nonablative laser treatments or intense pulse light (“IPL”) treatments will remove surface blemishes and tighten the skin sufficiently to buy you some time. A lot of the decision making depends on your expectations as well and the degree of laxity you have. But to tell you the truth, as I stated earlier, I could not begin to tell you what your best option would be without evaluating you in person. Please call us at (949) 888-9700 and ask the staff to arrange a complimentary consultation for you and I will be happy to give you my best opinion as to your options. I see patients at the Waves Beyond Skin Care Spa in San Clemente on a regular basis and could see you there if it’s more convenient for you. But first, I will show you examples of three younger patients who received minor procedures that bought them some time before they were ready for a full facelift.

42 year old female with early signs of cheek hollowing and deepening of nasolabial folds (the fold between the lips and cheeks), before and after injections with Sculptra Aesthetic®, a long lasting filler.   By the time this filler wears off and her neck droops more, she will be ready for a full face lift.

Actual patient of Dr. Bunkis – 35 year old female with some upper eyelid hooding, a minor neck adiposity, and early facial laxity, before and after a one hour procedure in which I did her upper eyelids and liposuctioned her neck and jaw line.

Actual patient of Dr. Bunkis – 44 year old female with more than average sun damage, before and after a full-face phenol peel.