How long should you have to wait to have a facelift after getting facial fat transfer?

Just try to google "blindness fat transfer to face", to start with, and I'd add that if not a vision loss you'll suffer huge disappointment when after few months the fat has vanished or, worse, ended as oily cysts.

The solution of an aging face is not turning it into a blowfish face, as funny and realistic as it is, it is beyond me why this is suggested as option, maybe because a good deep-plane facelif is expensive, not within technical reach of many surgeons and has worse recovery.

You might be a candidate for a deep-plane facelift... or not, unclear without images, but for sure I strongly suggest you disregard any facial volume augmentation procedures.

Thank you for your question. Since your main concern is volume loss rather than significant skin laxity, starting with conservative fat grafting is a reasonable approach to restore youthful fullness without the invasiveness of a facelift. Fat transfer won’t tighten loose skin, so if you later feel a facelift is needed, it’s generally recommended to wait about 6 months between procedures to allow proper healing and assessment of results. Done carefully, fat grafting should enhance volume without making your face look heavier. Ultimately, beginning with fat grafting lets you gauge how you feel before deciding if a more extensive deep plane facelift is necessary.

Most people needing both FG and FL will do them at the same time. But if you wish to do them separately there should be a gap in between. If you really want to wait until the full results of FG have taken place, that can take up to 10-12 months (based on imaging studies of the face after FG), but many surgeons will do in as early as 3 months.

Depending upon how much fat was done and what you look like, I'd say 4-6 months is fine. Pictures are critical of course.

If you decide to have fat transfer first, I’d recommend waiting about 3 to 6 months before considering a facelift. This allows the transferred fat to stabilize (since some will naturally reabsorb) and gives you and your surgeon a clearer picture of how close you are to your goals.

Some people start with temporary dermal fillers if they are concerned that fat grafting will make their face look "heavy". Since you are a younger patient and seem curious about less invasive options, I would suggest looking into dermal fillers before pursuing surgery. Fillers can help you “test drive” added volume, and because they gradually wear off, you can adjust your long-term plan without committing to surgery right away.

Staging your procedures over time allows you to evaluate your initial results and decide if a facelift (or a nonsurgical skin tightening treatment) is the best next step, or if the fat transfer alone has produced your desired outcome. The benefit is committing to only what you need, but the trade-off is the possibility of multiple recoveries and an overall higher cost.

Many patients do find that combining their procedures in one operation is the more streamlined, cost-effective option, but that's only if they are a good candidate for those procedures. Based on your age, you may not need a deep plane approach, but it depends on the extent of your skin laxity and volume loss. I recommend getting a consultation specifically with a facial plastic surgeon, if you haven't already, since they have the specialized training and knowledge of facial anatomy to help guide you in your decision.

Fat transfer can restore volume but won’t correct laxity, which is why many surgeons recommend combining it with a facelift. If you stage it, you’ll generally want to wait 6–12 months before proceeding with facelift surgery so results are stable. In most cases, doing both together is the most effective and efficient approach.