Ripples After a Facelift - Is This Normal?

Rippling after a facelift is more likely to occur if the "high on the side" vector was used to tighten skin.  In that case, the lateral lines of tension sweep upward on the side of the face.  Often loss of the sideburn and temporal hair go hand in hand with this approach.

The problem is worse in patients with sun damage creases, as the creases are altered in their destination and may be somewhat obvious.  Fractional laser resurfacing helps these as well.

A facelift can also be done with the deep tissue being restructured upward, while the skin is pulled in a more backward direction.  This avoids the high lateral sweep effect you may be referring to.

Another factor contributing to an upward sweep is if the midface is not elevated at the time the side the face is elevated; therefore cheeklifts can reduce the "Nike swoop" effect.

It is also possible that you are very early after your surgery.  Hopefully this is the case.

It is hard to tell exactly what is going on without seeing your pictures because rippling or irregularities around the jawline and mouth following a facelift can be caused by many things.  It may be that the facelift improved other areas of your face but did not help these areas enough.  You may be noticing essentially what's "left over".  For maximal benefit to the jawline and mouth area in facelifting I usually will also add an endoscopic midfacelift with lifting of the corner of the mouth and buccal fat to an extended SMAS facelift.  Laser or dermabrasion around the mouth further helps to tighten the skin  around that area.   Some temporary irregularities even lasting several months can be just part of the healing process and lymphatic massage, steroid injections, or  just plainly more time can help resolve these issues.  Another option for correction involves adding more volume with microfat transfer or fillers.  If these areas don't seem to be improving over the next 3 months, you may want to see your surgeon and ask about these options. 

Although it is hard to tell without seeing your pictures what you are referring to is possibly deep wrinkles and skin creases which are typically not corrected with a face lift