Facelift or fillers at 37? (Photo)

Dear Marie, Both facelift and fillers can greatly enhance your look.  Facial fillers rejuvenate the face by adding volume to the lines and deep creases and can soften facial appearance.  Facelift can do the same by getting rid of the skin laxity.  Using fillers for facial rejuvenation is relatively cheep, easy and hardly requires setting aside any time for recovery.   Facelift could be costly, it is more invasive, and requires taking some time off work of for healing.  At the same time, facelift would produce far better and much longer lasting rejuvenation than fillers.  So, how would you decide which one is best for you? It is actually pretty simple. There is an easy test you can do at home in front of the mirror. Place your fingers on the side of your face and gently pull the skin upwards. If the lines disappear and your face looks years younger - your best treatment is facelift.  If, after pulling, the lines persist and your face does not look quite as good as on the picture with a good lighting - you should use fillers.There might be some exceptions to this rule, of course, since all our faces are quite different in their structure and aesthetics, but for the most part it holds true.Best wishes!Dr. Konstantin

Thanks for your question. As you can imagine there is not a lot you can't have done these days. A facelift should address the concerns you have so can be varied to suit. If your skin is loose, sagging or creating the appearance of jowls you may be a good candidate for Concept™ Facelift Surgery. This type of Rhytidectomy is unique as the facelift is performed under local anaesthetic, and is less invasive than traditional methods, meaning the cosmetic surgery has a significantly faster recovery time. The cosmetic procedure is similar to a mini facelift as it is performed with a short scar that runs in front of the ear, down to the ear lobe and tucked behind the ear. There will be no dressings or drains afterwards. This is performed as a day case, walk in-walk out procedure with minimal bruising and downtime.Please find a reputable and qualified surgeon who can assess you properly to give you a realistic idea of what outcome you can achieve. All The Best

Thank you for your question.  Start with fillers and or fat transfer to restore volume to your face. Botox will also help rejuvenate.  Consult with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Best Wishes.

Your pictures show that you have lost a
considerable amount of volume, perhaps through weight loss, or as sometimes
occurs naturally as we all age. At age 37, you can reverse these lines by using
carefully placed fillers. Fillers will help smile lines and can conceal early
signs of jowling. You may wish to consider Juvederm, a filler that is regularly
used for cheek volumisation which has a positive effect on the smile lines and
jowls. I've seen my best filler results with young patients who have not yet
developed deep set lines and wrinkles. You should be able to postpone a
facelift for several more years with properly injected fillers.

37 yo- is somewhat early for a facelift. However, I have had more long lasting results when the facelift is done early. The foundation for facial anti aging treatments is the tightening of the tissues. Once this is achieved - the non surgical treatments have a more beneficial result. So, in short i would do the far and neck now-- and pursue the non surgical treatments after 6-9 months.

We do not, unfortunately, all age at the same timeline. Genetics plays a role as does weight swings, sunshine, smoking and other factors. Although face lifting may be the most effective treatment for facial jowls, it is obviously more involved. If one is younger, sometimes fillers can do the trick camouflaging some of the earlier signs of aging. They are particularly effective along the nasolabial fold lines, the circles under the eyes and sometimes can camouflage the facial jowls if filler is placed just in front of them. Your surgeon will be able to advise you and discuss with you the expected outcome.

My colleagues have covered the important points here, and I will add my opinion and a couple of thoughts.First, you bring up the idea of a facelift at the age of 37. A lot of people feel that they need to wait until their sixth decade for a facelift, and while this is usually the time when it is more necessary, working with more youthful skin really lends itself to good results. So you have that on your side. On the other hand, if you get a facelift now, will you want another one at age 60? Possible. Bring up these concepts with a good plastic surgeon (or several) in consultation, and they will give you a more in depth perspective. Next, as far as the jowls go...ultimately surgery is the most aggressive, and ofttimes most effective way to really make them go away. But, when I look at your photos, I don't see as much a heavy jowl as an overall volume loss that could really be improved with volume replacement. I think that is a good place to start for you.When it comes to volume replacement, you've got lots of options, and you should see a surgeon that is truly well versed in them all. This includes fat grafting (you would have some liposuction, with fat grafting to your face, a great option for you.) You'll want to look into the difference between things like Radiesse (whose principal component is synthetic calcium hydroxylapatite), Restylane (hyaluronic acid) and Sculptra (poly-L-lactic acid, requires a series of injections in order for Sculptra to achieve its full correction.) Botox/Dysport is great for your small lines at the brow.You have a lovely face and great bone structure. Great beauty mark as well. I think you could do a lot with the proper volume replacement. Building a good relationship with a surgeon as you start may ultimately lead to surgery, and then it will be with someone you trust. Hope that is helpful!

Thank you for your question. This is always an interesting question and in your case there are a number of right answers - you just need to find one that suits you goals and expectations. You do exhibit signs of ageing and to me the most prominent signs are those around your mouth (marionette lines) and your jowls. You do have strong underlying cheek bones (lucky you) but you have had decent of your facial tissues that have produced the above changes. These changes are made more obvious on your smiling image - the entire shape of your face changes from a more square (relaxed) to a more oval or heart shaped (smiling). If you want to achieve something close to this while relaxed you are really looking at elevating and reposition the deeper tissues or a simply facelift. This would certainly deliver the most powerful and longest lasting results and produce changes more in line with your smiling image. Given your hairstyle this would also suit a facelift as any incision (which are well hidden anyway) would by covered by your hair. You do not appear to have significant amounts of excess skin and therefore may be eligible for a short scar facelift.Alternatively, you can consider fillers alone or in combination with a facelift. Your forehead and glabella lines would be best addressed with botox even if you had a facelift. You can consider using filler in you pre-jowl sulcus and marrionette lines to soften them, however this will not produce the elevation of the deep tissues that a facelift would and therefore would not change the underlying shape of your face. A good place to start is fillers and wrinkle relaxers, they are not permanent and have minimal to no downtime. If you achieve the results you are happy with then great!. If you want a more powerful rejuvenation then you should consider a facelift - in my opinion you could achieve a lovely rejuvenation. Best of luck!RegardsDr Guy Watts

I think you can do a lot with botox and fillers at your age.  I would advise you to hold off on surgery for a few years - but I will admit that I can see why you ask the question.  At some point, you may be better off considering surgery…just not right now.

Thank you for your pictures. To improve the jowling, a facelift would most likely be the treatment of choice. The folds next to your nose can be treated with filler either before, during or after the facelift procedure. Consult with several board-certified plastic surgeons in your immediate geographic area