What is the difference in incisions between lower face lift, mini lift and/or neck lift?

Incisions for a facelift require three primary considerations.  Adequate access to the supportive tissue of the face and/or neck to accomplish the patient's goals, proper removal and redraping of skin after tissue repositioning without pleats or puckers, and a location resulting in minimal visibility of the incision.  In my practice, each facelift patient is considered unique and the particular procedure performed designed for them.  Incisions may vary accordingly but the following principles apply:  Incisions around the ear should be in a naturally occurring crease and preferably behind the tragus in women.  Incisions along or within the hairline are designed so that hair grows back through them.  Incisions are long enough to remove excess skin without tension or pleats but are not extended beyond what is necessary.  Hope that helps.

The difference between facelift, Mini lift, lower facelift, and necklift are real but subtle. First, the level of tissue tightening can vary: facelift or lower facelift can involve deep plane dissections, resulting in a stronger and more vertical pull. In order to do that, however, the incision must go above the ear into the sideburn or temple and often behind the ear along the hairline. This is needed to crest the space to do the deeper work. Necklift will involve incisions behind the ear and platysma lifting (a more lateral vector) while a mini facelift incision will be around the ear only and typically involve SMAS tightening for the deeper lift. Currently, non-invasive treatments like facetite or fractora can be use differently as alternatives to a mini lift. 

Thanks for a great question.
Face lift incisions can be short scar, standard, or extended.  The choice of incision is matched to the technique of face lift as well as patient considerations.
In most face lifts, incisions are created in front of the ear and extended into the hair of the temple where they are well camouflaged.  In short scar techniques, such as the MACS lift, the incision is in front of the ear and sideburns.  When the incision skirts the sideburns, care is taken to cut across the hair follicles allowing growth through the incision and thus camouflaging it.  
Extended incisions are used when a neck lift is performed and this incision extends behind the ear and into the hair.  
Mini-lift generally refers to a "skin only" face lift and I view this as a marketing term and not a proper face lift.
I hope this answers your question.

Dear Bunny,
You ask an interesting question.  
I do not believe that the same incision works for every patient and take many factors into account when planning incisions. The length and location of the incisions should be individualized for each patient, taking into account the aging changes, the length of the sideburns, the hairline in front, above and behind the ears,shape of the ears and the amount of redundant or loose skin to be removed. The quality of the final result is far more important than the length of the scar and the location is important in avoiding obvious visible scars and the stigmata of a facelift. I have a chapter (41) in my book “The Art of Aesthetic Surgery” discussing length and location of scars for optimal results.

There different incisions when you're doing facelift surgery because each incision has an advantage and disadvantage. When you're doing efface the phone a man versus woman deviating the sideburns becomes more of an issue in a man where it's a nonissue and a woman. Each patient has different problems a person's problem is only the neck could have just a neck left with a scar behind the ear and the hairline. A person with good cheek dissent may do better with a full facelift.

The key to a facelift is that when people see you they don't know you had surgery they just know you look good so adapting the incisions that will give you the desired result and keep you from looking surgical is the answer to an ideal facelift. Another new twist to these incision choices is fat transfer to the face. Fat for transfer to the cheeks and lower lid may be used to avoid a facelift and maybe downstage the facelift to a neck lift. The goal is to get a good natural look and for no one to know you had surgery.

  There are different options for placement of the incisions on each of the 3 surgical procedures mentioned, so a full and thorough examination is required to make a determination about which procedure  is to be performed, and then placement of the incisions for that specific procedure. In addition, the placement for incisions on a man versus a woman is different for a lower facelift procedure.  For many examples of   face lifts and neck lifts, please see the link and the video below

Dear BunnyThanks for the great question. Surgeons are not all the same. All have their own preferences. I will answer you based upon my 30 years of experience."Sideburn" incisions allow the patient to have a "higher" lift in the cheek area.  It preserves the hairline to prevent "bald" loss of sideburn hair. This is very very important. Scars inside the sideburn do not heal well and are apparent when the patient get their hair wet when for example swimming.I like the incision in front of the tragus as is avoids an "open" visible ear canal. The skin there is unique and in my view should be preserved.We are in the era of short scar facelifts. I rarely if ever need to continue an incision onto the mastoid hair line behind the ear. The scars may be visible and cause postop pain. It is never needed for a facelift alone- rarely for an extreme degree of neck laxity. Care must be taken with all these issues.A true neck lift includes a "corset" suture of the muscle and removal of fat. This always requires on incision under the chin...I hope this helps. Thanks

These terms mean different things to different physicians. The approach for each type of lift will vary from physician to physican as well. Generally speaking the incision along the sideburn and upper ear address the cheek, the incision in front of the mid to lower ear addresses the jowl area and the incisions behind the ear address the neck. The farther down the hairline behind the ear the incision is made, the more skin that can be removed from the neck.  Please watch my video for more information on the difference as well as the importance of the SMAS and before and after photos.  You might want to consider s second opinion from a board certified facial plastic surgeon or plastic surgeon. Good luck!

Each patient might need different incisions for each individual's aging issues. Also each surgeon has their own preferences. There is no correct answer.

You ask a great question, and some surgeons may have varying answers based upon their specific techniques, which may yield different and fantastic results over what others do.  There are many forms of facelifting.  Based upon your question, you are referring to lower facelifting as compared to midface or upper facelifting (forehead lift).  Mini facelift (weekend lift, s-lift, mini-incision, short-scar, lifestyle...) typically have relatively small incisions done just in front and behind the ear.  They when done a certain way can indeed also, in addition to the jowls, lift the upper neck.  Therefore they are a lower facelift, and can have minimal downtime, bruising, and swelling and be very safely done in an awake manner in the office setting.  In my hands mini lifts lasts typically 5-7 years, but many have lasted up to 10 years.  Not every facelift candidate is suitable for a smaller incision facelift if they have very fatty jowls, fatty necks, or severe facial/neck sagging.  Deeper plane facelifting or facelifting with substantial work on the SMAS (submuscular aponeuorotic system) takes longer and can provide some longer lasting and more powerful results.  They also, however, carry higher risk of motor and sensory nerve injury and most surgeons do them under general anesthesia.  The postop recovery period is longer, and they can sometimes provide a powerful lift that may or may not look very natural.  The incisions can be quite extensive to allow safe removal of the repositioned skin, and extend much of the way around the ear and up into the hairline above the ear and behind it.  They can be a fantastic surgery to have done, and can most powerfully address the neck as well.  We have some fantastic minimally invasive ways to address the neck that I employ for many of my patients if they have central neck fat and more skin laxity than a mini lift can address.  This includes some limited neck liposuction and radiofrequency skin tightening with a device like the Inmode RFAL "Facetite."  I think all facelift patients should strongly start a skin care regimen to maximize the beauty of their skin, and get dermal filler volumization and have deep fold areas addressed with fillers.  This allows more natural-looking facelifting surgery to be done, so you look like you just a younger and more beautiful version.  Seek a qualified surgeon, which can include general plastic surgeons, facial plastic  surgeons, and oculofacial plastic surgeons with great local/national reputation, reviews, before-afters, great bed-side manner, and office staff.  Best regards.