What Is The Best Facelift Procedure?

What is Facial Ageing?

Every single one of us is at the mercy of the ageing process.

As we age, our levels of the protein collagen, which keeps our skin looking young and firm, depletes, leading to sagging and wrinkles. This is particularly noticeable on the face, starting with the formation of fine lines and wrinkles, such as crows' feet around the eyes and laughter lines around the mouth. This is usually followed by forehead wrinkles and sunken cheeks as our face loses its youthful plumpness.

However, it doesn’t have to be this way. A well-timed facelift can stop the clock on the ageing process, allowing you to enjoy a fresh and youthful complexion for longer.

What is the Best Face Lift Procedure?

We offer the full range of face lift options here at the Cadogan Clinic, each catering to slightly different needs. We always advise our patients that the best face lift procedure for each patient varies and depends on individual factors such as the extent of aging, as well as specific desired outcomes, and personal preferences.

Here, we will look at each of these facelift techniques in detail and help you decide what is the best face lift to meet your needs.

We’d also recommend speaking to a qualified plastic surgeon to provide an expert professional opinion on what the best face lift option or options might be for you. We’ve invited some of the best facelift surgeons in the country to practice at the Cadogan Clinic, and they would be delighted to assist.

The Different Types of Facelifts

We offer several different face lift options here at the Cadogan Clinic. Here we will look at what is the best face lift to meet your needs.

The Micro Facelift

A micro facelift is a relatively new treatment and is by far the least invasive option of all the face lifts available here. It involves just one incision and suture and is often referred to as the ‘one stitch facelift’.

This particular face lift targets the middle portion of the face, from below the eyelids, around the cheek bones and down to the upper lip, as this is the area of the face which is particularly prone to the signs of ageing, for example, hollowed lower eyelids, deeper nasolabial folds and flat cheeks.

A Micro facelift restores the cheekbone structure and volume, resulting in a natural, more youthful appearance. A micro face lift is typically the best face lift treatment for younger patients aged 35 and up who are experiencing the very first signs of ageing. It can make a patient look up to five years younger.

A micro face lift can take as little as 20 minutes to perform and there is very little downtime attached to this procedure, meaning you can return to your day-to-day routine within three or four days of surgery.

The Mini Facelift

The mini face lift is the next step up from a micro face lift and can set the clock back up to 10 years. This type of face lift is typically the best facelift treatment for patients aged in their 40s and 50s.

Unlike the micro face lift, the mini face lift focuses on tightening sagging skin in the lower portion of the face, including the chin, jaw, jowls and upper neck. A mini facelift is less invasive than a full face lift and involves fewer incisions, which are discreetly hidden and usually very difficult to see with an untrained eye. Mini face lift surgery takes between one and one-and-a-half hours from start to finish and you should be able to return to work and your day-to-day activities a week after surgery. You should start to see the results of your surgery after six weeks. A Mini Facelift is sometimes also known as a ‘Short Scar Facelift’.

 Traditional 'Full' Facelift

Also known as a SMAS Facelift or rhytidectomy, a full face lift is a more invasive and complicated surgery, but it is a great way to tackle all the problematic signs of ageing over the whole face. The procedure involves tightening both the covering skin and the underlying muscle, called the platysma, and removing surplus skin from around the ears. A full face lift is performed under a general anaesthetic and usually takes between one and three hours to complete. You should expect to take two weeks off work and it can take up to eight weeks to fully recover from a full face lift. The traditional facelift is typically the best facelift treatment for older patients.

Deep Plane Facelift

A deep plane facelift is an advanced surgical procedure aimed at delivering the most comprehensive results. It involves a deeper dissection than traditional alternatives, and specifically targets the facial muscles and ligaments beneath the skin to reposition and lift facial tissues more extensively than a traditional facelift.
This technique provides the longest lasting results, but must be performed by only the most skilled plastic surgeons given the depth of the surgery and the complexity of engaging safely with the facial structures at this level. This highly transformative surgery is often the best facelift treatment for patients older than 50 looking for the most impactful results, however it is also the most expensive.

What is the Most Natural Looking Facelift?

The most natural-looking face lift depends on a number of factors, including your age and what you hope to achieve through surgery. If you are between 35 and 50 and only displaying the first signs of ageing, a micro face lift will be able to eradicate these signs before they become too noticeable. Any face lift scars are expertly hidden, so there will be no visible tell-tale signs of surgery. We have invited a selection of the country's very best consultants to join us at the Cadogan Clinic so that you can be sure that your face lift will be carried out by one of the top practitioners in the country. This means whichever facelift you choose will result in a natural but rejuvenated look.

How Can You Prolong Facelift Results?

Even the best facelifting treatments require ongoing maintenance to ensure that results are prolonged, and lifestyle changes are among the most important ways to do this.

Once you have had face lift surgery, it is important that you look after your skin in order to maintain the results for longer. The best way to do this is to adopt healthy lifestyle habits. 

Toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke damage skin cells and cause premature ageing. Smoking also causes deep wrinkles to form on the face, particularly around the lips and mouth. So if you are a smoker, this is yet another good reason to kick this habit.
It is well-documented that harmful UV rays can cause premature ageing, causing skin to sag, age spots to appear and wrinkles to develop. Always use sun cream with a high SPF to avoid sun-damaged skin.

We also recommended eating a healthy diet, drinking plenty of water and investing in and sticking to a good skincare routine so you can enjoy the results of your face lift for many years to come.

There are also many non-surgical treatments that we offer here at the Cadogan Clinic which can help to maintain the results of your face lift. These include anti-ageing injectables, dermal fillers,  and chemical skin peels.

In the immediate aftermath of your face lift surgery, it is vital that you follow all the after care instructions as issued by your surgeon. Failure to do so will delay healing and may impact on the final result.

It is important to remember that while a face lift can roll back the years and achieve a more youthful look, the ageing process will continue from this new starting point. A person's age when they undergo a facelift will also have an impact on how long a facelift lasts and those aged under 60 tend to see the longest results.

Book an appointment with one of the Cadogan Clinic’s expert surgeons to discuss the best surgical face lift option for you.

Treatments mentioned in this article

Face & Eyes

Mini-Facelift

A mini facelift targets the lower face, jawline, and neck for slightly less invasive rejuvenation.

Face & Eyes

Face Lift (Rhytidectomy)

A facelift surgically lifts loose, sagging, and ageing skin for a more youthful appearance.

Face & Eyes

Micro-Facelift

A micro facelift, or one stitch facelift, is the least invasive facial surgery and targets the mid-face.

Surgery For Men