What is the difference between a mini and full facelift? Which of the two would deliver better results for me? 47 y/o (photo)

The difference between mini and standard facelift all depends on who you ask. The problem with a Mini facelift is that there are likely to be important steps left out which lead to a suboptimal result. Choose a good surgeon for starters and go from there. Don’t be confused by the word play. That’s all it is

A minifacelift primarily treats the jawline, while a full facelift also treats a heavy neck. Looking at your photo, you could do well with a minifacelift at this time since your neck is not heavy at all. Be sure to see a facial specialist for consultation.

You need a full facelift as this will address the deeper tissue and adequately correct everything. A mini facelift is usually a smaller incision that only include tightening of the cheek tissues and/or neck with suturing only (no elevation of the deeper tissue or creating a flap to pull on). I would recommend seeing a board-eligible or board-certified plastic surgeon with extensive aesthetic training in plastic surgery of the face. This includes a plastic surgeon who performed at least a 6 year plastic surgery residency and an extra 1 year aesthetic fellowship.

Good morning from Washington DC!
Thank you for your question. I love the way you phrased it - 47 years YOUNG!There are a lot of semantics in facelift surgery which can make things very confusing. One surgeon's "mini lift" may be the same as somebody's "full facelift" for example. Over the last several years, I have transitioned my facelift practice to move away from the "mini-lift" concept which was a SMAS facelift. I now perform an extended deep plane lift for all appropriate surgical candidates. I find that the results tend to be more natural, longer lasting, and can be more powerful than my old "mini lift". I do however adjust my incisions and amount of skin dissection quite a bit for those with more or less skin laxity.A "full" facelift may including the brows (yours seem to be in good position), upper eyelids (there does not seem to be much skin redundancy), lower lids (you may benefit from a lower lid blepharoplasty to remove the puffiness), and an extended deep plane lower face and neck lift. As always, an in person analysis will be extremely helpful to understand your anatomy and your goals.
I hope that helps! I wish you the best in your journey!Dr. SitaparaChevy Chase Facial Plastic Surgery

Thanks for the question. Based on your photos, you are a good candidate for Macs Facelift surgery. This surgery will help to reshape your face and eyelid. I recommend you meeting a board certified surgeon to decide the process together. I wish you all the best.

Dear Blondie Vaz,

Thankyou for providing reference pictures for a better recommendation. It seems your skin is experiencing skin laxity where the skins firmness and tighteness is lost. I would recommend to get a full face lift because this will target in defining your neck, midface and temporal area as well as the Upper and lower blepharoplasty . Mini facelift in contrast only targets the midface and lower cheek area. Hence a full facelift vertical lift will be most beneficial as it will give a overall tightened look. In addition i would recommend you to look into nanofat injection for your deep nasolabial folds and wrinkles, they will help to fill in the lack of volume.

Best Regards,
TAS TEAM

A profile view is usually more helpful to assess the neck. To address the signs of periorbital aging, you would benefit most from an endoscopic browlift paired with upper and lower blepharoplasty. While a minifacelift, which we call a wavelift, and perform with an endoscope to minimize the length of our incisions, would rejuvenate your midface, and cause some improvement along your jawline, you do not have much jowling, so it might be the case that performing liposuction of the neck would satisfy you for the time being, allowing you to postpone a facelift until later in life. We would need to see you in person to allow you to better choose among these different options.

Thank you for your question. The major difference between the two procedures is whether or not the neck is addressed with an incision under the chin. For patients with extensive skin laxity and platysmal banding, an incision is placed under the chin and a platysmaplasty is performed to tighten the lax platsyma muscle. This is generally omitted in a mini-lift, where lateral facelift incisions are made without addressing the neck directly. However, this definition may vary from Surgeon to Surgeon. The satisfaction level is usually higher with a facelift.

Thank you for your question and photo. A mini facelift is generally suggested for patients with early signs of aging, such as jowl formation and mild to moderate skin laxity. A traditional facelift is a more in-depth procedure that addresses advanced skin laxity, facial creases, fallen tissue, and hollowing in the midface.
The differences between the two procedures are determined by the severity of the aging symptoms and the patient's specific goals. I recommend scheduling an in-person consultation with an experienced, board-certified facial plastic surgeon who can suggest the best option for you.

A full facelift addresses skin laxity in the neck and cheeks along with reshaping the face in 3 dimensions. A mini facelift can mean different things, but it usually implies working on only one area, for example the neck or cheeks. Eyes are a separate surgery (not part of a facelift) but often done at the same time.

Thank you for your question regarding the difference between a mini and a full facelift.

You can think of your face in thirds.
The top one third (brow/forehead) would be addressed with a brow lift.
The middle one third from below your eyes to above jaw line.
The lower one third from below your jaw line down to neck.

A "mini" facelift would address your neck mainly.

If you have concerns about your eyes, I would recommend speaking with two or more experienced, licensed and board-certified providers in your area for a complete evaluation to make sure you are a good candidate and that it is safe for you to have treatment.

I hope this helps!