I am confused - would I benefit more from a facelift or fillers? (Photo)

Given your photos, it appears that there is some descent of the deeper facial structures and excess skin. Fillers are good ONLY for adding volume. I would recommend a facelift / necklift with facial fat grafting but these are only recommendations that truly need a physical exam prior to providing any official recommendations. I would highly recommend seeing a board eligible or board certified plastic surgeon for a physical exam and accurate analysis with safe recommendations for potential surgical options. Best of luck!

A discussion of your concerns is important here, as well as a physical evaluation, but they are both "right" in a sense. A facelift alone will not give you the volume you need for facial rejuvenation. This is why modern facelifts are done with fat grafting at the same time. Both facelift and fat grafting address things that the other cannot. The amount of volume you need for facial rejuvenation could not safely or sanely be accomplished with fillers alone, and just fillers will not tighten any of the structures that have become lax with aging. Comprehensive facial rejuvenation requires both.

Thank you for question in sharing your photographs.

It is a dilemma for many people that are looking to maintain their facial aesthetics and the turning point is not necessarily clear. It is also fair to say that there is no direct conflict between having surgery and having fillers. They offer different types of solutions and to some degree they are complementary.

I would suggest that the easiest way for you to decide whether surgery is right for you is to simulate the impact of facelift as the injectable fillers would never be able to do the same.

To this effect, if you lie down completely flat and hold a mirror in front of you, you will be able to see changes of the facial shape that reflect relatively well the impact that you can expect from a well executed facelift and probably more likely from the deep plane facelift.

Unfortunately, fillers cannot produce the reduction in volume in the lower face, and as a result, building the volume in the mid-face is tailored against a contour of the jawline that is heavier than what you had in your 20s. This can mean that the end result would be of facial features are too full.

This can create the perception that the lower face has become dominant compared to the appearance of the eyes. Redistribution of the volume such as created by facelift surgery, reduces the overall surface of the face by reducing the size of the lower face and enhances the visibility of the eyes. This is most likely mechanism of comparison that we apply subconsciously.