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.

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,