How common it is that lips become more unattractive because of a facelift surgery?

Before/after photos would be helpful, but what you might be describing is maybe an overpull of the corners of the lips? That would put a stretch on the lips, creating an thinner, more turned in appearance. Other than that, facelift procedures can affect the smile, depending on the type of procedure and if the smile muscles and/or nerves were stretched or damaged. I would discuss with your plastic surgeon and express your concerns. 

Pulling in the skin of the face from the sides will narrow your lips and widen the corners of your mouth. An ideal facelift should have more of a vertical or oblique pull so this should not occur. Sometimes though, if the surgeon is focussed on correcting the nasolabial folds or marionette lines around the mouth the lips may become stretched. So there is some compromise here. Some of this volume can be replaced with lip filler or fat injection.

The only way that lips can be made unattractive due to a facelift is if the surgeon pulls too far backwards instead of upwards during the lift. In experienced hands this should never happen.Andrew Campbell, M.D.
Facial Rejuvenation Specialist
Quintessa Aesthetic Centers

Hello and thank you for your question.  The lips and smile are often a key part of face lift surgery, but are simply ignored by the patient nor not addressed by the surgeon. The patient is usually focused on loose hanging skin or neck waddling.  The aging lips and smile give away ones age, often more than sagging cheeks and neck.  The aging smile can be addressed by fillers, corner lip lifts, and upper lip shortening.The early pull of a cheek lift can drag on the lip corners, especially if the surgeon had to extend the pull near the lips to give you the best cheek advancement.  Patients with thin lips and small teeth, or in those with long term dentures, can also influence the total outcome of facial de-aging.  The lips occupy a central facial aesthetic unit which must be treated separately from the face. We tell all patients if they have an aging smile, only to have some of them who decline work on the lips, to finally agree with us after a successful facelift. They can see that the lips are now in focus because of downturned corners, a long upper lip, or pronounced nasolabial folds that we could never correct with cheek lifting.  The Aging Smile by itself can offset other features of facing aging, and is  part of our treatment proposal in most facelift patients..  Great teeth and smile can make a good face lift appear spectacular.  Aging lips and smile can detract from a superlative face lift.  Ask your doctor if he can look at your lips and smile and suggest some refinements.

Typically a face lift does not affect the appearance of the lips.  However, as facial aging occurs, the lips typically lose volume, develop fine lines and wrinkles, and may turn in a downward direction giving an appearance of being sad.  Often procedures to address the aging lips can be performed at the same time as a facelift.  However, if the lips are not addressed, and a facelift is performed, often the aged appearance of the lips becomes more pronounced.

Loss of facial fat is one of the most significant contributors to facial aging--probably more than gravity.  A facelift alone will not correct aging around the mouth except to lessen jowl and marionette lines.  For proper correction fat grafting is a critical component to the facial rejuvenation process

Facelift surgery should not cause your lips to shrink or deflate.  Likely you are noticing your lips more after the facelift.  Fillers are a nice option to augment the lips and I would recommend following up with your surgeon.

All the best!

without pre and post facelift photos cannot objectively analyze the issues you bring up.  an overdone or multiple facelifts can stretch the lips laterally.  when your face is altered the way you perceive your appearance may be altered. in other words changes in the face ( hopefully improved ) can alter the way you see other parts of the face including the lips, although the lips may not have been altered by the facelift.   

Two answers to your question that are probably both in effect.  The major two factors that change the face as the years go by are the gravitational effects on the SMAS layer which contribute to the jowls and neck laxity and fat loss of the mid face which includes the areas around the mouth and the whole cheek area to the lower eyelids.  Repair of one problem can make the other look more noticeable in some cases and less so in others.  My best example of this would be using fillers (such as fat or hyaluronic acid injections) to plump the cheeks and fill in the tear trough area under the eyes. Deep nasolabial lines will no longer give an aging appearance and become just a normal variation of an aesthetic norm.   By not using filler associated with a face lift, this area would look worse not better.