Is an early maintenance mini facelift really effective?

Hello @Luminous593734, thank you for your question. To make an informed recommendation, more information is needed. A consultation is vital to establishing a surgical or non-surgical protocol plan that meets your needs, meets your expectations, and takes into account what is possible. Best wishes! Alan Gonzalez MD, FACS. American Society of Plastic Surgery Member (ASPS),International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science” Member (IFATS), American Society of Plastic Surgery Member (ASPS), Colombian Society of Plastic Surgery member (SCCP)

Dear luminous593734,
Since the beginning of the last century until the 1980’s, surgery was the only option to lift sagging skin. Excess skin was pinched and surgically removed. The only scar occurred at the incision. As facelift surgery evolved, the skin was elevated allowing more skin to be removed but it also induced scarring (ie., collagen) and therefore tightening of the overlying skin and underlying tissues.
Evolving technologies of non-surgical / minimally invasive skin and soft-tissue tightening have been developed since the 1980’. This is providing properly selected patients the option for non-surgical skin contraction, soft-tissue contraction of the underlying fat and muscle compartments and lifting of sliding deeper tissues. Without a in-person evaluation, I will offer the following recommendations:
1. Please consult with a talented Board Certified Plastic Surgeon with non-surgical and minimally invasive skills beyond surgical facelifting
2. A min-facelift for “maintenance” makes no sense to me as it produces little if any collagen stimulation / restoration or skin cellular turnover and tightening.
3. Consider:
a. non-surgical retinoids and chemical peels for general tightening and collagen stimulation
b. a plan of under the skin collagen stimulation sessions with Sculptra
c. I have tried using radio-frequency Thermi, thermal skin tightening but find the results underwhelming.
d. PDO thread suspension face lift

I hope this is helpful. All the best. Happy Holidays!