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How Can I Regain my Youthful Baby Face After my Facelift

asked 1 year ago by Dilee
Latest answer by Sam Naficy, MD
Question viewed 991 times
Tags: recovery, SMAS, volume

I had a SMAS facelift 4 months ago (age 55). I have lost my youthful baby face and have a sculpted face (like all the celebs). Everything is tight again but I have lost my one asset, my round face. I never had cheek bones even in my 20's. But I was carded well into my 30's. Even at age 55 people used to think I was a lot younger. I feel like the facelift almost made me look older. So what would you suggest I do to get some volume back in my lower cheeks to create a baby face?

13 answers to How Can I Regain my Youthful Baby Face After my Facelift

Baby face and how to get it back.

Well, you can't! You can improve the upper 1/2 with cheek implants and the lower 1/2 with fat grafting which we have used successfully for 35 years. We can turn back the clock, but not to 20.

Toby Mayer, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.bevhills.com

Youthful face after a facelift

Yours is a very curious question and without photos is hard to answer. Maybe some fillers will help but it sounds like your surgery was well done and you need to realize that you can't go back in time, only improve the face you have at the present.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Most patients look for a more sculpted face, but there are exceptions.

If you feel that you like the look of the "baby face', this can be restored by a volumn filler such as Sculptra Esthetic or fat grafting to the areas you wish to appear rounder. Of the two, we usually prefer Sculptra Esthetic because it does not require harvest of fat, is more reliable, and has better longevity. However it may take multiple sessions to achieve the look you wish. Dr. Mayl Fort lauderdale

Nathan Mayl, MD
Fort Lauderdale Plastic Surgeon

Facial soft tissue fillers and Fat Injection can restore youthful fullness to the face

While a Facelift can tighten skin and improve neck laxity, jowls and sagging cheek, a Facelift does not add volume to the face. A young face not only has a firm jawline and neck but also has volume, produced by normal facial fat, which produces a fresh full plump look especially to the cheeks and cheek bone area. As we age we loose this fat. More and more Plastic Surgeons are looking to "volume restoration" as one key to rejuvenating a face to a youthful appearance... more

Brooke R. Seckel, MD
Boston Plastic Surgeon

www.drseckel.com

How to get your baby face back after a face lift?

Dear Dilee, As we age, some of our dermal fats and deep facial fats are reduced or lost. This process results in hollowness of facial features that contribute to appearing older. Since you had a lower face lift, your best option is fat grafting. I recommend getting fat grafting with PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) since addition of PRP makes fat more viable and long lasting. Good Luck.

Kevin Sadati, DO
Orange County Facial Plastic Surgeon

Fat grafting may help

You are not the first patient that has this complain. The typical aging process involves loss of the facial fat and sagging. Face lift helps with the sagging and fat grafting will restore the volume.

Kamran Khoobehi, MD
New Orleans Plastic Surgeon

Narrowing of face not uncommon after facelift.

Unfortunately, a classic facelift actually made the face look narrower and therefore older. The goal of the current facelift is to reposition tissue and often to add tissue as in lipoinjection, to achieve a more natural fuller face. This also helps to avoid the pulled wind tunnel look. If you are unhappy, go back to your plastic surgeon to discuss your options such as fat injections, to get the look you want. Good luck.

Steven Schuster, MD
Boca Raton Plastic Surgeon

IF you had a youthful face, why did you get a facelift?

Losing facial fat is a typical hallmark of aging. It is unlikely that the facelift removed any significant amount of fat and it is more likely that it redraped lax skin that made the facial atrophy more apparent. Fillers and/or fat grafting may be beneficial in restoring your loss of facial fullness. Discuss these options with your surgeon.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Regaining youthful volume

Although it is hard to tell without seeing your pictures what you are describing is likely related to volume loss and would be improved with facial fat grafting

Sam Naficy, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

Regain youthful face again

I usually advise that there are 3 factors to facial rejuvenation and that surgery to address issues caused by gravity addresses only one of the three. It is also important to consider volume restoration and skin rejuvenation. Your question concerns the former and this can be addressed with fat grafts, implants, sculptra, and other fillers. Chances are help is available and that you will be satisfied with the results of volume augmentation.

Lawrence Kass, MD
Saint Petersburg Oculoplastic Surgeon

www.kassmd.com

Miss round, youthful face after my Face Lift, now what?

I have performed Face Lifts for over 20 years and without pictures it's difficult to make an evaluation and comments. Sculptra, IMHO, is a good filler to increase lost facial volume. Perlane is another filler that I often use for facial shaping. Hope this helps.

Francis R. Palmer, III, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Facelift and fillers

If your face appears a bit thin, you may want to consider facial fillers or autologous fat injections to the areas that appear to be a bit thin.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Facelift results

It would be interesting to know whether your buccal fat pad (cheek fat) was excised during your surgery. This can lead to some loss of volume over the long term. Fat grafting may help, to a degree, but fillers are also an option. Fillers reliably enhance volume, but they generally last 6 months to 2 years depending on the product. Fat transfer is advocated by many, but its retention at 1 year is about 50%. Facelifts, unfortunately are not the... more