If I lose 30 - 40 pounds after I get a facelift will my face be saggy again?

If you think you can seriously lose 30 to 40 lbs, you should lose that weight before having your facelift. Significant weight loss will affect the skin on the face and most likely cause laxity, thus distorting your facelift results. If you can lose 15 to 20 lbs before your facelift, that would not cause as much laxity if you were then to lose another 15 lbs or so after the facelift. My advice is to get as close to your goal weight as possible before having your facelift done in order to achieve the best, longest-lasting results. I hope this helps.

In general, I would like
to see a patient be within 30 pounds of his or her goal weight before a
facelift, but it depends on how much your face changes. For many people, the
face does not change very much. That being said, I have had patients lose more
than that and still retain their firm jawline and neck improvement many years
later. It is important to be realistic: Most of us have a goal weight that is
more ambition than reality. I would
guess that you would be fine to go through with surgery at your current weight
without much concern about future sagging, but I would discuss this with your
surgeon. A facelift that does a deep-plane, extensive SMAS correction will hold
up much better than a mini lift or a procedure that relies primarily on
suturing to correct the deeper layers. Best of luck with your decision.

There's no doubt that successful
weight loss is tough, and I commend you for your efforts. Although it's not
guaranteed, a weight loss of 30 or 40 pounds is likely to alter your results by
increasing your skin laxity. However, don't postpone your facelift for too
long. Before undergoing surgery, you should be at a maintainable weight for 6
months or so. If you don't think you'll be able to achieve or maintain your
weight loss, have the surgery sooner rather than later.