55, loose skin - face filler or a Facelift? (Photos)

Based on your photo, you are a great candidate for improvement. A minifacelift will lift and tighten along the jawline with a natural result. At the same time, precisely injected fat can fill creases where you've lost tissue over time. Together, they do a great job of improving the problems that occur with facial aging. Be sure to see a facial expert for consultation.

Thank you for your question. Fillers address volume, not skin laxity, so they may only provide short-term camouflage and can look puffy if used to chase sagging. The definitive treatment is a lower facelift, sometimes combined with perioral resurfacing (laser or peel) for fine lines and limited fat grafting for deflated areas. A “mini lift” can help with very early laxity, but if there is excess laxity, it may become less effective and less durable than a full lower facelift. Use fillers only as an adjunct or if you’re delaying surgery and consider energy-based tightening (RF microneedling/ultrasound) for modest improvement if you’re not yet ready for a procedure. You need an in-person exam with a board-certified surgeon to evaluate skin quality, jowl/neck laxity, dentition/occlusion, and to determine whether a mini or full lower facelift (with or without resurfacing and small-volume fat grafting) best matches your goals.

Deepplane face lift and fat injection at the same time would be a good choice for you. But this picture is not enough to decide

This degree of laxity is not going to get much better with just volumization without adding so much volume that you don't look like yourself. A facelift to tighten and smooth the tissues with some targeted volume in the form of fat transfer would give you a better and more balanced result.

Thank you for your photo. Fillers would give some improvement, though temporary, to your concerns. Trying to add too much filler to the skin can make one’s appearance look puffy. A better option would be the smoothing of your skin achieved with a mini-facelift. This would accent your cheeks, smooth and straighten your jawline and smooth the skin at the corners of your mouth. A mini facelift can typically be done under local anesthesia with some sedation if you are amenable to that. Best wishes.

Thank you for your question! Although it’s difficult to fully assess from photos alone, your question highlights an important distinction: loose skin typically requires surgery (such as a facelift or mini lift), while volume loss is best treated with filler or fat transfer.

Filler is a great option for restoring youthful volume, but it’s a common misconception that it can correct or delay sagging skin. Overfilling in an attempt to lift can sometimes create an unnatural appearance because it’s not addressing the true cause of laxity.

It’s hard to determine from your photos whether a mini lift would achieve your goals, as every surgeon defines and performs a “mini lift” differently. I’d recommend researching thoroughly, scheduling consultations with two to three double board-certified facial plastic surgeons, and reviewing plenty of before-and-after photos to find a provider whose aesthetic results align with your goals.

In person consultation would be ideal to determine candidacy of facelift. We need to assure that you have enough laxity to provide a worthwhile result. You should also be considering laser skin resurfacing work to boost collagen. The UltraClear laser also has a "Mircro Coring" component that cores away excess skin; this may be a good option as well.

Unlike other tightening treatments, Ultherapy only requires a single treatment every one to two years and has long-term effects in skin stimulation and collagen production. Ultherapy is ideal for men and women who are experiencing mild to moderate skin laxity and desire a noticeable and long-term skin tightening treatment without the complications and risks of more invasive surgical procedures. Ultherapy can be combined with dermal fillers, Botox treatments, chemical peels, skin tightening lasers, and skin facials. Our plastic surgery and cosmetic center in Santa Monica offers Ultherapy as a complement to other skin treatments and cosmetic rejuvenation procedures.

Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

Based on this photo, which does not reveal much of your neck and face, it is very likely that lower face and neck lift should be a procedure of choice. In person or teleconference consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon with good reputation in face lifts is recommended. Good luck.

You can try fillers if you like and you don’t yet want a facelift. The facelift is the ideal solution. I would advise a facelift. You’ll get a great result!