Rediscover a Youthful, Natural Look
As we age, skin elasticity decreases, facial volume shifts, and gravity begins to take its toll—leading to sagging jowls, deep creases, and a tired or aged appearance. A facelift, also known as a rhytidectomy, is a highly effective surgical solution designed to address these concerns by tightening underlying facial structures, removing excess skin, and restoring a more youthful contour to the lower face and jawline.
At Face Forward Houston, double board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Regina Rodman specializes in achieving natural-looking results that rejuvenate your appearance without altering your unique features. Whether you're looking to smooth deep nasolabial folds, define the jawline, or lift sagging cheeks, a facelift can help you look refreshed and confident—never overdone.
If you're ready to reverse visible signs of aging and restore harmony to your facial features, a customized facelift in Houston may be the ideal solution.
Facelift Before & After
Put Your Best Face Forward
A Facelift, also known as a rhytidectomy, is a procedure to rejuvenate the lower face and neck. As we age, the superficial muscular aponeurotic system (SMAS), a layer of tissue deep under the facial skin that helps maintain our facial structure, weakens and loses its flexibility.
This can result in jowling and excess skin under the chin and on the neck. A Facelift in Houston helps tighten the SMAS of the lower face and neck and removes excess skin. The result is smoother, tighter skin and a more youthful appearance.
Dr. Rodman will tailor your facelift technique to your unique facial anatomy and aesthetic goals, selecting the approach that offers the most natural and long-lasting results.
A skin-only facelift addresses wrinkles and skin laxity by pulling the skin taught over the underlying facial tissue and muscles.
The SMAS facelift addresses significant sagging and deep wrinkles by tightening underlying muscles and removing excess skin, offering dramatic and long-lasting results.
This advanced technique lifts and repositions deeper facial structures rather than just the skin. It's especially effective for midface sagging and produces a very natural, long-lasting outcome.
During the Facelift procedure, excess skin is removed, underlying tissues are tightened, and the remaining skin is repositioned for a smoother, firmer look. This comprehensive approach targets wrinkles and folds and improves the overall contour and structure of the face. Ideal for those seeking long-lasting results, a facelift can significantly enhance facial harmony and boost confidence, making it one of the most sought-after procedures in aesthetic surgery. The facelift procedure itself generally takes around 5-7 hours, depending on the complexity and the specific techniques used, involving several precise steps designed to rejuvenate the face and neck. It is typically performed under general anesthesia to ensure patient comfort and safety throughout the surgery. Here's an overview of what the process entails:
The procedure begins with administering anesthesia to ensure patient comfort. This can be either general anesthesia or intravenous sedation, depending on the patient's needs and preferences.
The surgeon makes strategic incisions to minimize visible scarring. Typically, incisions are made at the hairline near the temples, continuing around the ear, and ending in the lower scalp. For minimal rejuvenation, a shorter incision may be made at the temples, around the ear, and possibly within the lower eyelids or under the upper lip.
Once the incisions are made, the underlying tissues are lifted and repositioned. The superficial muscular aponeurotic system (SMAS) is tightened to enhance the contour and support the newly positioned tissues. This step is crucial for achieving long-lasting results and a more youthful appearance.
Any excess skin is carefully trimmed away to eliminate sagging and wrinkles. This process helps to smooth out deep folds and create a firmer facial structure.
The remaining skin is gently draped over the newly repositioned contours. This step ensures a natural-looking result without a pulled or overly tight appearance.
The incisions are meticulously closed with sutures or skin adhesives. Their placement allows them to blend seamlessly with the natural lines of the face and hairline, making scars virtually invisible.
A facelift offers numerous benefits, making it a highly sought-after procedure for those looking to combat the signs of aging.
A facelift addresses multiple areas of the face simultaneously, including sagging skin, deep creases, and jowls, providing an overall more youthful and refreshed appearance.
Unlike non-surgical treatments that may require frequent maintenance, the results of a facelift can last up to 10-15 years, offering a more permanent solution to aging concerns.
By tightening and repositioning the skin and underlying tissues, a facelift can restore more defined jawlines, reduce the appearance of jowls, and improve the overall facial structure.
Deep lines and creases, particularly those around the mouth and nose, can be significantly reduced, creating a more youthful and harmonious facial appearance.
At Face Forward Houston facelift procedures are designed to address a range of aesthetic concerns, helping you achieve a more youthful and refreshed appearance. Here’s how a facelift can enhance your facial features:
As we age, the skin loses its elasticity, leading to sagging and drooping. A facelift tightens and lifts the skin, reducing sagging in areas such as the cheeks, jawline, and neck.
Facelifts effectively smooth out deep wrinkles and folds, such as nasolabial folds (the lines that run from the nose to the corners of the mouth) and marionette lines (lines that run from the corners of the mouth down to the chin).
Over time, the face can lose its youthful contours due to the shifting of fat and the weakening of muscles. A facelift restores these contours by repositioning the underlying tissues and removing excess fat, giving you a more defined jawline and cheekbones.
The neck is often one of the first areas to show signs of aging. A facelift can tighten and lift the skin on the neck, reducing the appearance of "turkey neck" and creating a smoother, more elegant neck profile.
Jowls are the sagging skin that forms along the jawline. A facelift addresses this by lifting and firming the lower face, eliminating the jowls and restoring a cleaner, more defined jawline.
Loss of volume in the cheeks can make the face look gaunt and tired. A facelift can help reposition the fat pads in the cheeks, adding volume and creating a fuller, more youthful appearance.
The overall effect of a facelift is a fresher, more vibrant appearance. By simultaneously addressing multiple signs of aging, a facelift can take years off your appearance, making you look as youthful and energetic as you feel.
The ideal candidates for a Facelift are people with sagging facial skin, especially under the chin or along the jawline. Those who feel their aging appearance does not match the youthful way they feel are the best candidates for the procedure.
People with high blood pressure, heart disease, take blood thinners, have bleeding-related health conditions, or depression are not good candidates for this procedure. People with unrealistic expectations and those who do not have enough time for recovery may not be suitable candidates as well. Patients who smoke may need to address this before undergoing a Facelift.
discuss your available options
During the initial consultation, you will discuss your goals and expectations for a facelift with Dr. Regina Rodman. Be open about your general health, medical history, and smoking history. Dr. Rodman will examine your face, consider your medical history, and discuss your available options. She might suggest minor procedures or discuss additional beneficial surgeries that might be performed in conjunction with a Facelift. The cost of the procedure will also be discussed. The staff may take before and after photos for documentation.
achieve a natural-looking result
Patients should expect bruising and swelling for about 10-14 days after surgery. Swelling in the face will continue to fade for several weeks after surgery. Houston Facelift patients should plan for two weeks of downtime. Patients should walk daily, but spend the majority of time resting and recuperating the first week. The second week patients often feel more energized, but activities should still be limited, and bruising or swelling will likely still be visible. In the third week after surgery patients may begin to resume daily activities again. Patients should not perform strenuous exercise for 3-4 weeks after surgery.
Rest, walk lightly, expect swelling and bruising.
Energy improves, swelling fades, downtime continues.
Daily activities resume; mild swelling may remain.
Strenuous exercise resumes, results refine over time.
Facelift Results
The results of a facelift can be remarkably long-lasting, typically enduring for up to 10-15 years. This longevity is due to the comprehensive nature of the procedure, which addresses multiple layers of facial tissue to create enduring improvements. Because of Dr. Rodman's surgical precision and expertise, Houston facelift patients enjoy comprehensive improvements that look natural and refreshed—not tight or overdone. Common enhancements include a more sculpted jawline, smoother skin, and a reduction in sagging, jowls, and deep wrinkles.
While the aging process continues, a facelift can significantly slow visible signs of aging. Patients can maintain their facelift results longer with consistent aftercare and healthy habits. Skincare, sun protection, and occasional non-surgical treatments like Botox or fillers can help prolong the youthful effects of surgery. Following Dr. Rodman's aftercare instructions, including keeping your head elevated, minimizing activity, and attending post-op visits, also plays a key role in how smoothly you heal and how refined the final outcome appears.
Your Facelift will be performed in Dr. Regina Rodman‘s surgery center located in Houston, TX.
At our practice in Houston Facelift can be combined with a brow lift and eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) to rejuvenate the upper face or any other facial rejuvenation procedures. Many patients opt to have fat grafting and skin resurfacing done at the same time as a Facelift. This restores lost volume with fat, tightens the skin with the lift, and resurfaces all fine lines.
An alternative to the Facelift is skin tightening through Renuvion. Similar to a Facelift, Renuvion also tightens the skin of the lower face and neck to reduce jowling. However, the main difference is that Renuvion does not remove any excess skin. It only tightens the existing skin, basically “shrink wrapping” it to the lower face and neck. A Facelift tightens the skin and underlying tissues by lifting the tissues and removing the excess.
During a Facelift Houston patients will have an incision made in front of the ear. This loops around behind the ear and hides in the hair. Sagging skin is adjusted, extra fat, tissue, and skin is removed, and the underlying musculature is re-suspended with long-lasting sutures to prolong the lift. The objective is to achieve a natural-looking result rather than a tight “wind-blown” appearance. That’s why the skin is gently re-draped upward, but never pulled with tension, to create a more natural appearance. Any scars usually lie in a skin crease, generally heal well, and are well hidden.
Health insurance will not cover the cost of a Facelift, since it is a cosmetic procedure. The total price may be impacted by anesthesia fees, the techniques utilized, and the total time needed to perform the surgery.
Schedule Your Houston Plastic Surgery Consultation Today
The Face Forward process starts with a consultation. You will meet with Dr. Rodman (either in the office or via video call) to discuss the result or look you want to achieve. Dr. Rodman will review and educate you about your options and schedule you for the procedure of your choice. Follow-up appointments will be scheduled as necessary. Achieve your look and enjoy the new you! Schedule your consultation for plastic surgery in Houston at Face Forward today.
1900 North Loop West, Suite 370, Houston TX 77018