What reasons would fat be added just to the upper face? Can this still look natural?

hello ,
thank you for your question.
Fat is often added to the upper face after weight loss or facial surgery to restore volume lost in areas like the cheeks and under-eyes. This can help smooth hollowness, lift the midface, and bring back a more youthful, natural contour without altering your facial shape. When done conservatively by an experienced surgeon, it can look very natural and simply enhance your original features.

As part of the natural aging process, the skin loses elasticity, which leads to wrinkles and sagging. In addition, facial volume tends to decrease and shift downward.Undergoing a facelift suggests that there was an effort to improve the sagging skin. However, it seems that following the procedure, changes in body weight may have caused the facial hollowing to become more noticeable.Fat grafting is a procedure in which your own fat cells are harvested and reinjected into areas of volume loss. It is not a surgery that makes the face appear large or puffy.If you look at a child’s face, it’s usually full and plump due to natural fat and volume—this kind of fullness is a key characteristic of a youthful appearance.By restoring volume to sunken areas through fat grafting, you can expect the face to look more refreshed and revitalized.

Thank you for your thoughtful question. Collagen production begins to decline around the age of 25 and continues gradually with age, often leading to volume loss and a less full appearance in the face. This loss is typically most noticeable in areas such as the temples, under-eye region, and below the cheekbones.

Fat transfer, when performed by a highly experienced facial plastic surgeon, can result in a very natural and rejuvenated appearance. In your case, since you've previously had fat grafting to the cheeks and felt it was successful, adding small, strategically placed amounts of fat to the upper face could be a good option to restore balance and volume—without significantly altering the natural contours of your face.

It’s important to have realistic expectations with fat transfer, as it is intended to restore lost volume, not to lift sagging skin. Depending on how much time has passed since your deep plane face and neck lift, and the quality of the previous work, a revision or secondary lift may be a reasonable consideration to address ongoing laxity.

I would recommend consulting in person with a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon who can evaluate your facial anatomy, review your surgical history, and provide personalized recommendations based on your goals.

I love using a patient's own fat to replace volume loss in the face! Where the fat is placed depends 100% on where you have lost volume (or have a non-age related contour issue like deep tear troughs).
So yes, fat can be added just to the cheeks.
I always want to see photos of my patients from 15 to 20 years ago so we can "turn the clock back" and replace what has been lost for a natural look.

Thank you for your thoughtful question. Since no photos are available, it’s not possible to make a direct assessment, but your description offers helpful context.In many cases like yours, volume restoration in the upper face is essential not for adding fullness, but for restoring balance. With age or sudden weight loss, we often see a deflation of the midface—particularly the cheeks, under-eye transition (tear trough), and temple areas—which can lead to a drawn or hollow appearance. This affects how the skin drapes and how light reflects across the face.Adding a small amount of fat to the upper face is not about creating roundness—it’s about reestablishing youthful contour, softening skeletal shadows, and blending transitions between facial planes. When done conservatively and with a deep understanding of facial anatomy, fat grafting can be subtle and refined. The goal is not to change the shape of your face, but to reconnect it with its previous proportions, especially if you once had a fuller, harmonious look.Fat is often placed in the upper face because this is where age-related volume loss is most visible and where support has the most impact on overall expression. The key lies in precise placement and restraint. When fat is layered thoughtfully into structurally supportive areas—like the deep medial cheek, infraorbital rim, or temple—it can restore softness without distorting identity.A consultation focused on your past photos and facial dynamics in motion can help your surgeon create a plan that restores—not replaces—what has changed.Warm regards,Op. Dr. Güray YeşiladalıBoard-Certified Plastic Surgeon