Where Do Jowls Go when SMAS Muscle is Lifted and Tightened?

Good question. JOWLS form due to the combination of:Loose skin (lose of collagen and elastin) Loose SMAS muscle, Lose of fat above the jowl causing deflation,Fat accumulation in the jowl area.  A lower facelift can addresses these issues.  You can see in the video below how addressing the SMAS lifts the jowl.  Be sure to consult with an experienced facial plastic surgeon

The easiest way to understand the answer to your question is to take a mirror and examine your face first lying down fully flat and then sitting up. If you change position and examine the movements of the facial tissues, you get a decent representation of the effect of a facelift.As you change position to lying down flat the jowls disappear, some of the skin bunches in front of the ear and some of the facial volume returns to the front of the cheek. The superificial and deep planes of the face move differently under the influence of gravity. The superficial layer moves backwards, in line with the gravity pull. This is is somewhat similar to the tension applied to the SMAS layer, although not exactly the same vector.The deeper layer (buccal fat) is constrained in a tight walled space and moves mostly up. To a degree, the tension os the SMAS produces the same effect.For this reason, when the jowls are heavier, in order to improve the jawline contours buccal fat reduction or re-suspension can be a good adjunct to the SMAS tightening.

Thank you for your question. The SMAS Facelift is performed to address sagging skin, excess fat and jowls, loss of volume in cheeks. The fat is lifted which in turn corrects the jowls, excess skin removed to create a lovely contoured jawline, and rejuvenate the face. All the best