Facelift at 62 So Worth It!

I'm 62 and I've had a weak jawline all of my life. I've wanted a lower facelift for decades. I hated my profile. I worked really hard to take pictures to hide that, but it's all I ever saw. I never wore turtlenecks, or draping fabric around my neck, or choker necklaces because I thought it emphasized the least favorite part of my face.
I've done fillers and botox for at least 10 years, and that helped, but surgery was the only option for the change I wanted to see.
On Nov 12, 2018, I had a facelift. I did this to extend my career options since I need to work at my current level until I'm 65. I could not be happier with the results. Dr. Holden is a miracle worker.
I'm thin-skinned, freckled + age spots from too much sun exposure/sportzing, and fair skinned. I bruise easy and it's long lasting.
I've never had anything remotely close to a milky complexion even with lasers, peels, retin-A and tons of sunscreen.
My hair, skin and nails are brittle with low elasticity. I think the elasticity of your skin is a factor in how you recover. To gauge your elasticity, take a strand of your hair between opposite hands, and try to pull it apart. If your hair breaks easily, you're likely to also have this brittle property in your skin. If your hair stretches before it breaks, then you have good elasticity and therefore better recovery prospects.
Based on the lack of elasticity in my skin and the bruising/trauma factor, I believe I have the least optimal skin for plastic surgery and that I could become more drastically impacted if anything went wrong or was not expertly performed.
In 2005, when I was 46, I had upper and lower blepharoplasty surgery aka an eye job. I had bags of fat on upper and lower eyes that always made me look tired - even in my early 30s. After that surgery, all I could say was why hadn't I done it years ago? That experience pales in comparison to this facelift. I'm just thrilled with my results.
I made 2 consultation appointments. One with Dr. Paul Holden (Scottsdale Plastic Surgeons) and one with Dr. Hobgood. After meeting with Dr. Holden, I cancelled with Hobgood. While Hobgood is an excellent surgeon, I felt so at ease after with Dr. Holden that I saw no reason for the 2nd consult.
Dr. Holden has the best patient manner I've ever experienced. I felt immediately at ease. I dropped my anxieties and put all of my confidence in his abilities. He is calm, professional, and has a warm demeanor that is medicine in its own right. His assessment of what I should do was spot-on. I accepted all of his recommendations and scheduled the appointment. Here are the procedures:
Facelift Type II
ActiveFX Full Laser
Fat Transfer - Full Face
Fat Transfer - Hands
Artisse Spray - this is so that I didn't have a drain. 10/10 this is the way to go. I've known women that had the drain, and it's not fun even if it's only there for 24 hours or so.
The entire experience and Dr. Holden's staff are world class. Kind considerate, and professional. I felt safe.
I couldn't be happier with the results. That said, as the swelling goes down, I've always had super thin lips and flat face, so I'll continue getting filler for these areas as well. I just won't need as much as I used to need.
I've heard some negative comments that some of the staff has fake eyelashes that are quite dramatic. I have no idea why that would matter. It did not in any way detract from anyone's abilities. I trusted the entire staff and I think they were all wonderful in every way. Just focus on yourself and not how others want their looks. This should not be the basis for your decision at all.
I'm not a great patient. Who likes needles or surgery to begin with? But I have never been so artfully IV'd in any prior surgery (torn meniscus, eye surgery). I just wish all surgeries were as good as this one was. The run up to going into the operating room, I was calm, relaxed, ready for the change.
I bruise easily, but because I followed the advice given to me at the pre-op consultation, I believe that this bruising was minified. Especially compared to how bruised I was from the eye surgery years earlier. That doctor did not advise me to bump up on recommended supplements prior to surgery. And I wasn't on a healthy diet. This time around, all of those things made a difference and I healed to the best that my body was capable of.
About 10 days before the surgery, I went in to cover any questions and was coached on care and recovery. I was given a gift bag of the necessities. I followed their recommendations to a T.
I pre-purchased things like gauze, aquafore, baby wash, supplements etc. so that I would have everything required to heal as fast as possible.
Also, while not recommended, I'm a big fan of Wound Wash after all the sporting injuries I've had. After the bandages came off and the recommended cleaning was done, wound wash is a great way to be sure the skin behind your ears is clean.
I think it matters that you prepare by getting as healthy as you can through proper diet and exercise. I am a whole foods plant-based vegan (ok, 80/20 - you can't be perfect). I truly believe that my diet made my recovery faster and less traumatic.
If you're not plant-based, look into it. You can see and feel a change within 20 days of changing your diet. Sugar and processed foods will not aid in your recovery and they might make it worse. I found youtube to be a fantastic resource to go plant-based and/or vegan. What you eat matters in many ways.
Because of my age, I was required to get a blood test and EKG to ensure I was fit to undergo surgery. Being vegan, my numbers are good. I take no meds for conditions like High Blood Pressure or Cholesterol, or any of the other meds that people need to take because they won't change what they eat.
This is major surgery. I think it was around 7 hours. But it felt like one minute, I was out and the next thing I know, they're telling me my ride was there.
Prior to surgery, my workout schedule was on point. But that went out the window with this surgery. Mentally, it's not fun. Be prepared that you will not/can not be as active.
I stocked food for a liquid diet as I was not able to open my mouth or even chew for the first 10 days. I basically lived on Vegan protein shakes, chia pudding and recommended supplements like Vitamin C, Arnica Montana, Bromelain. My friend came to stay with me for a week. I thought I'd only need her for 3 days, but really glad she hung around for 5 days. After that, I was on the mend and pretty capable.
As I began to heal, I was concerned for some of the bumpiness around and under my jawline, but this is normal and it fades away over time.
The recovery is pretty awful - especially if you're active. I'm 3 months post op and still numb and tight, but each day it gets better. I'm hiking again, but this year, I'm skipping the sticks. I will waterski again come March.
Around 6 weeks post op, I was beginning to feel human again. I have the good fortune of being able to work from home. I took 10 days vacation from the day of surgery and then worked from home until late December. I could have back to the office earlier, but I was self-conscious of my neck area as that was the most dramatic change, so I wore scarves.
Out of all of it, the fat transfer to my hands was the worst for me because it can be painful at times, and pretty uncomfortable, but I'm really glad I did it.
Dr. Holden did an amazing job with the facial fat transfer. I just love how my cheeks are now.
I work with computers for a living. I'm crafty, use power tools and my hands are pretty beat up from years of that stuff. When Dr. Holden recommended the hand fat transfer, I told him it wasn't necessary because I'm hard on my hands. His response? It's included with the procedure, so just do it. I'm sure he was like wtf? What woman doesn't want younger looking hands? I'm very happy that I did the fat transfer to my hands now that the swelling has gone down. It matters in the overall youthful transformation you'll get from something as life changing as a facelift.
A facelift is not painful, just uncomfortable af. The only meds I took was Tylenol mainly for my hands.
Yes, I have makeup on in my afters. Believe it or not, I had some on in the befores, but I was just not that interested since no amount of makeup made that much difference. In fact, because my skin was so droopy, my eyeshadow ended up rubbing off and going elsewhere, so I didn't wear as much.
Now, my eye makeup stays put. Honestly, the act of getting dressed in the morning is fun now that all that saggy, wrinkled skin is gone.
DM me if you have any questions and I'll try to answer.