What is a Weekend Facelift?

Minilifts, as you know if you have read my previous posts, are marketing genius, and patient nightmares.
The pulling of a minifacelift is intense around the minimally undermined skin, so scarring is often wide and painful.
You can read about the experience of having a minifacelift under local anesthesia. Few patients describe it as pleasant.
The effectiveness around the jowl and neck area is often minimal, simply because the surgeon isn't nearly done when the operation is over, and all the deep tissues that could have been raised and repositioned remain untouched..
Patients who choose minilifts often do so because of the price. That makes the patient economically that much farther from an experienced facelift surgeon if they are not happy with their results and need a revision, or notice that the results faded so quickly. Redong a badly done facelift requires greater expertise than performing a first time facelift, especially if earlobe, hairline, tragus, direction of pull, and scarring are to be revised.
Minilifts have their place, but usually for very minimal signs of aging, and are usually best done in conjunction with SMAS manipulation and repositioning, or in cases or revision where the primary work was well done and slightly more tightening is needed.
Ancillary procedures such as volume replacement, adjustment of lips, frown lines, brow position, eyelid and cheek architecture are just as important as the facelift itself in most cases.
The recovery of a simple facelift, properly done, by a facelift expert is no different than a minilift, and the skill and artistic level is higher.
Since large marketing companies have very glitzy before and after pictures, decision making for patients is difficult. Read carefully what other patients have said online about their experiences, and decide accordingly.

The weekend facelift is just yet another attempt to reduce the downtime and recovery from a surgery. Unfortunately everything I have seen up to this point also reduces the results. I truly wish there was an effective procedure I could offer with no downtime, that was cheap for patients and that has great results.The key is the last point. I want my patients to have long lasting good results. I want a happy patient who looks good!  In my hands the weekend lift is really not possible. To get enough pull to treat the jowls just takes too much work on the tissues and therefore leads to recovery time that reflects this. I hope this helps.Best of luck,DrC

I would not recommend a "weekend" facelift. For good long-lasting results, a comprehensive facelift is the ideal procedure.

I recommend you be cautious when approaching “Weekend lifts” advertised on television.  The details of the surgery as well as the effectiveness and longetivity of their results are variable at best and dangerous at worst.   Know that when it comes to your face, you do get what you pay for.  If you have mild jowls and budget concerns, perhaps the better thing to do is save your pennies, invest in good skin care and when your budget and time off allows it, consult with a reputable facial plastic surgeon who can provide more reliable results and have a facelift. 

Weekend Facelifts are small tweaks - like excising a small amount of skin in front of the ear to get a small, but nice tightening - and a quick recovery.  The result will likely last a good 6 months, the best results are to reposition the underlying structures of the face and redrape the skin over it.  
If you only have a weekend to recover - it will not hurt anything but your pocketbookl

Thank you for your question. Weekend facelifts are good for short term results however having an actual Facelift where the SMAS muscle is tightened will give you greater longevity and is better in terms of money as although it is more expensive it will not require you to have more procedures in the short term, unlike the weekend facelift

Unfortunately there are many, many different names for face lifting techniques that area all essentially very similar and are mostly marketing gimmicks. A weekend lift may in actuality be very similar or identical to a quick lift, a mini-lift, or other various names. Do not let the branding of a certain procedure fool you. Find a surgeon that you trust and have a good relationship with and ask him or her about the various techniques that they have to offer and what would be right for you.
Also, do not get too wrapped up in cost. Budget is a concern for many patients, and there are many ways to work around this, but do not let your budget talk you into wasting money on a procedure that doesn't work - this is a recipe for disaster. Many patients will end up spending much more money on non-surgical treatments or less invasive treatments than they would have spent on one surgical procedure only to be disappointed and feeling like they wasted their money in the long run.
All the best,

The weekend facelift or mini facelift has been a term used to describe facelifts for the last 20 years.  Initially, these lifts were ineffective skin only lifts where patients had modest improvements at best.  However, not all evolutions of the minilift are ineffective.  Here are some versions which may be beneficial to your case.1.  Deep plane lift with a short scar approach- Some surgeons have adopted techniques to include deep facelift principles to create a more robust lift with a limited scar.  This allows for the patient to have a more robust facelift and can limit downtime.  Most patients will not be healed over a weekend with this approach.2.  Facetite/Necktite-  This is a novel device from Inmode where patients can have visible contracture of skin by using a probe which is placed under the skin.  While not as much lift can be created with such a device, the downtime can be minimal for some patients.The minilift is not going to go anywhere, anytime soon.  The goal for surgeon and patient alike is for patients who opt for less invasive approaches to receive enough benefits to coincide with less downtime.

Weekend Facelift was a marketing tool by a company called Lifestyle Lift.  They claimed that you could get a facelift on Friday and be back to work by Monday. It was cheaper because they did minimal surgery under local anesthesia.  The problem was minimal surgery meant less than minimal results and the company went out of business several years ago.When appropriate, a Mini-Facelift is an excellent choice for patients requiring modest lift of the mid-face and neck with shorter incisions, shorter operative time and slightly shorter recovery than full facelift. Still plan on missing one week of work. Be sure to consult with a board certified plastic surgeon. Good luck!

Many thanks for posting your question.Any facelift that is associated with marketing describing how quickly the surgery can be done, or how fast the recovery is must be treated with caution. Whilst there are a wide range of facelift techniques available, it is key that the most appropriate technique is chosen for the right person. This should not be decided on speed alone!I would always recommend seeing a properly accredited plastic surgeon with experience of a range of facelift techniques, who can perform the right operation for you, giving you the best, most natural and longest lasting results.

Thank you for your question.  There are many catchy terms used to attract patients to one's office.  I don't think there is a specific facelift that pertains to a "weekend lift".  Rather, physicians may perform some neck liposuction, possibly tightening the neck muscles slightly, and some use of lasers.  In reality, I suppose you could even include some threads to help lift the cheeks, or fillers to assist in adding fullness with neck liposuction.  So, as you can see, these are vague terms used to provide some stimulus to get patient's into one's office.  Dermatologists, family physicians, facial plastic surgeons, and plastic surgeons may be using the terms, amongst others.  You probably get some improvement, yet nothing like you would with a more sophisticated approach.  I would advise you to really ask the doctor exactly what you are getting with the "weekend facelift" and get multiple opinions for your interests.  I bet every surgeon will have a different answer.