There are typically two types of face lift people go for; a liquid facelift or a traditional facelift. Terms like liquid facelift and traditional facelift are often used interchangeably, when doing online searches, but they’re two very different treatments with different results, recovery and cost.
What A Liquid Facelift Really Involves
A liquid facelift uses injectable treatments to refresh your face, without having surgery. Your provider uses both dermal fillers and neuromodulators (like Botox) to lift, smooth and restore volume in specific places on your face.
Fillers such as Restylane and Radiesse add volume to undereye hollows, your smile lines and your cheeks. They can also help improve your jawline definition, with results seen almost immediately after treatment.
Botox and other neuromodulators relax your muscles, which can soften any lines around your forehead and your eyes. When used together, fillers and neuromodulators create a balanced and natural look.
It is usually a short visit with minimal downtime, with most people returning to normal activities within one day, and you may need touch-ups every 6 to 18 months.
What Happens During A Traditional Facelift Procedure
Your surgeon begins by evaluating your facial contours and your skin laxity, so they can plan the rhytidectomy. A board-certified plastic surgeon then marks incision lines on your face, that hide in your hairline, and around your ears.
You’ll receive general anesthesia or IV sedation, to keep you comfortable whilst the plastic surgeon works deeply on tissue beneath the skin, and not just the surface.
The surgeon repositions or tightens the SMAS layer, to lift any sagging skin and give you a more youthful appearance. They might also trim excess skin, and remove fat to refine your jawline, and reduce any jowls.
Many patients combine a facelift with eyelid surgery, or a neck lift, for smoother eyelids and a firmer neck. The team closes the incisions with fine sutures, to minimize any visible scarring.
You will have a recovery period with swelling and bruising, and your provider will give you instructions on how to care for your wounds, and your activity limits post-surgery.
Key Differences In Technique And Treatment Approach
With a liquid facelift, it uses injections and fillers to restore volume and smooth out your lines. You get targeted lifting and contouring, with your skin being cut, so the recovery is shorter with minimal downtime.
With a traditional facelift, it is a surgical procedure to tighten you skin, and the underlying tissues. Your surgeon reposistions your muscles, removing excess skin, giving longer-lasting results fore more advanced sagging.
You can get more immediate, subtle and natural looking results from the injectable, as the focus on volume, contour and softening wrinkles. The results are not going to be permanent, so you’ll have to return for maintenance over months to years.
Surgery is going to give you more dramatic structural change, and longer lasting results. If you want the correction of your loose skin, and the deeper tissue support, a face lift might be a better option, but you’re going to have a much longer recovery, with higher surgical risks.
Cost Considerations And Long Term Value
You will usually pay less up front for a liquid facelift, with typical sessions often ranging from about $2000 to $5000, depending on the fillers and neurotoxins used.
Traditional surgical facelifts have higher initial costs, with surgery costs several thousand dollars more, as it will include the surgeon’s fee, the operating room, anesthesia and sometimes the drain or garment costs. The recovery time is usually weeks, which means time off work and added care expenses.
Think about the ongoing costs for the injectable. Fillers and touch-ups wear off, so you might need to repeat the treatment every 6 to 24 months. Over several years, these repeated visits add up, and may exceed a one-time surgical expense.
Weigh in the recovery time in your decision. You can return to normal activity quite quickly, after having injectables. Surgery, obviously, requires more downtime, and a staged healing period, but you’re going to get results that can last 10+ years.
Hi, my name is Gemma, and I’m the owner of MakeupMuddle.com. I’m a true beauty obsessive, and love writing about anything to do with beauty – I have been a beauty writer since 2012.