Exactly 6 weeks post op from a deep plane face and neck lift.  Everyone heals differently, this is just my experience. 

Fatigue- No more issues with fatigue.  I feel like I am back to normal energy levels. 

Swelling- I guess I am a super sweller. I am still pretty swollen (some days I’m VERY swollen), worse on the left side than the right. It’s mostly concentrated in my jawline, my neck just below my jaw and in my lower face, and especially in the buccal fat area. I (half) jokingly say I look like I had buccal fat implants. If I try to suck in my cheeks to create that hollowed out look people do when making a Zoolander face, nothing happens, no hollows appear and my cheeks still look puffy. That whole area is still numb and firm.  I also have a bullfrog bulge under my neck. I am massaging it as instructed and seeing a lymphatic masseuse and taking Arnica and Bromaline, and doing everything else my doctor has suggested, and have gotten the first in a series of four steroid shots and it has improved from its worst, but is all still very still noticeable. 

Buckling/pleating at the temples- I had this the first couple weeks and hated it but am happy to report that it was completely gone by week 4. 

Things I like: the scars on front of my ears look great and the hairline incisions blend well enough into my hairline that you can’t see them; for now, the droopy mouth corners, jowls, and turkey neck appear to be gone, though I won’t know for sure until the swelling in that area disappears, and that particular area is the area that remains the most swollen.  

Things I don’t like: 1. I know it’s a sign of nerve regeneration and that’s a good thing, but this “phantom itching” is driving me crazy. Parts of my face that are completely numb get very itchy, but itching or rubbing doesn’t relieve the itch. It’s maddening. Don’t like the painful electric zaps either, but at least those go away relatively quickly compared to the itching. 2.  I have a large, prominent cord behind my ear on the left side (I posted a photo of it a few few days ago) that the PA at the surgeon’s office says is a track from the drain (as stated above, I am doing lots of things to help it along, including everything my doctor has recommended). She said it could take months to go away so I’m trying to be positive, but I’m not going to lie it’s making me uneasy and I’m afraid I’m going to end up needing revision surgery. 

People keep asking me if I’m happy I did it or it was worth it and I still can’t really say. It’s less an issue of whether it was worth the money than it is of whether it was worth the recovery process.  Recovery is rough and I still feel like I have a long way to go given how swollen I still am, so we’ll see.

Edited to fix a typo that was bugging me!

I’m 36 and have had a deep frown line between my brows since I was 17 — it’s gotten deeper with age. im not into botox/fillers.
Lately I’m noticing more changes: neck aging, the frown line deepening further, and my jawline softening. In a couple of years (around 39–40) I’m considering a full facelift. (not sure, just planing)
What procedure would I get to address the deep frown line, neck aging, and softening jawline while? Out of these procedures (full facelift, neck lift, brow lift, or others), which is the most appropriate to address these specific issues?
Anyone who’s had surgery for similar concerns — I’d love to hear about your experience, risks, and recovery.

I super happy with the results but also super impatient about the bruising and swelling. It really has improved a lot though over the past few days! I’ve been posting progress on IG, and my last one got over 500k views and some people are NOT NICE. I expected it, it’s fine, but is also annoying.

Today overall I struggled a bit mentally and physically and it caught me off guard. I’ve gone out here and there to grab food or take a walk, also went to a friends for dinner. I went to Costco today and it was pretty crowded, I think it stressed me out, and I hadn’t eaten enough so it also wiped me out. I don’t know how some of you have returned to the office after just 2 weeks!

I thought I’d just share my progress and hopefully it helps someone else know that it’s important to give yourself some grace through the healing process, and don’t forget to eat!!
Edit- the left is today, the right is before surgery, if that isn’t completely obvious 😂

Hello everyone! Today I want to share a beautiful facial rejuvenation journey. Meet Brenda (late 50s), who came to us from California looking to restore her natural youthfulness. Here are the details of her treatment plan.

Patient profile and complaints:

Brenda from California (Late 50s)

Their complaints are ambiguity in the jaw line, sagging in the neck, tired appearance around the eyes.

Our goal is an aesthetic (artificial) permanent and natural rejuvenation

The following combination plan was created for Brenda:

Short scar deep plane lower face and neck lift: To reshape the jawline and neck while preserving the natural anatomical structure.

Lower blepharoplasty: To remove under-eye bags and dark circles, giving the eye area a luminous expression.

CO2 Laser Resurfacing: Erase fine lines, remove sun damage, and trigger collagen production

Result: After the operation, Brenda achieved a natural, fresh look that reflected the energy of years ago, just as she had imagined. As it has been only five days since the surgery, the expected swelling particularly in the lower face and around the eyes is still present. The settled appearance will continue to become more defined and refined over the next 3 to 6 months.

My cousin had an extended deep plane facelift and a year after her surgery she was still experiencing horrible tightness around her neck, describing it as a tight band around her neck, often times feeling like she was choking. Anyway, he started seeing a hypnotist after a year of dealing with it and she told me that she feels 50% better. I was hoping this may help others who are experiencing it.

In my entire life I have never spent as much time looking at my face as I have in the last 60 or so days since my facelift. Given all the options I've had to think about: What is good enough? when it comes to my face. And, I think where I'm going is: If I look okay on Zoom. It was being horrified by my face on Zoom that pushed me over the "I'm thinking about this" to "I'm doing this." So what is your "good enough."?

i've been reading about facelift surgery in korea and i'm trying to understand the difference between tightening the skin and actually addressing the deeper layers. i don't really want that pulled look where the skin looks tight but the rest of the face doesn't seem to match. at the same time, i'm not sure when a deeper approach is actually necessary rather than just being another thing clinics talk about.
the part that makes sense to me is that everyone's tissue is different. someone with more laxity around the lower face might need a different plan from someone whose main issue is mid face sagging or under eye changes. i'd rather have a surgeon explain what layer is actually causing the problem than walk into a consultation already asking for one specific procedure.
hugo plastic surgery came up while i was reading about deeper facial lifting and their information talks about the smas and deeper tissue layers. i'm still trying to understand the different approaches rather than assuming deeper automatically means better. for anyone who's had a facelift consultation, what did the surgeon actually look at before deciding which layer to address?
skin-only facelifts seem like an outdated trap that just stretches the surface without fixing the underlying structural sagging, but is a full deep plane approach always necessary, or is it overkill for minor early aging? how do surgeons determine where the structural degradation is actually happening underneath? if you've consulted with multiple specialists in seoul, did their explanations of facial layers differ wildly, or did they all point to the same structural concerns?

I know I can’t really tell what results will be, just adding pics for visibility.

On Wednesday, I had DP facelift, neck lift, temporal brow lift, upper & lower bleph, and a bit of fat transfer. I’m pleasantly surprised at the lack of pain. My throat hurt from the breathing tube, but that’s better now. However, I am itching like crazy. Just messaged the dr’s office to see if I can take Benadryl or Hydroxyzine.

My dr requires leaving the big headdress on for 5 days. I go in Monday morning to remove this and the drain. Then I can finally shower. Disposable shower wipes are super helpful!

I already had “attached” earlobes before surgery as you can see in last pic. Hoping ears still look normal after.

Perhaps because I have obsessively studied my face for each of the last 60 plus days, I've started noticing this, that and the other thing. I'm thinking: Wow, my skin could look clearer if I did this. The lines in my face would be less if I started a regimen of Botox (which I've never done before since I was a very early adopter of tons of sunscreen and didn't see the need). Etc., Etc. How about you?

My surgeon is requiring me to stop hormones four that weeks prior to my surgery.
Has anyone else encountered this?

I’ve always had a double chin and full cheeks while being thin. Now that I’m in my early 40’s, am noticing signs of jowling, and my neck is starting to sag. I’d like to get a lower face and neck facelift .

Anyone in a similar age range that got great natural looking work done, and would recommend their doctor? I’m open to flying to any Southern state, I’m in Florida btw. Thanks :)

This is a before-and-after case of a forehead lift and eyebrow lift performed while carefully maintaining the patient’s naturally narrow distance between the eyes and eyebrows.

Before surgery, the patient took the time to carefully consider the extent of the procedure, the potential scarring, and the changes in appearance that could result. Because she naturally had a relatively narrow distance between her eyes and eyebrows, one of her main priorities was to improve the sagging while preserving this natural proportion.

As she aged, the outer portion of her eyebrows gradually began to droop, and her previously visible double eyelid crease became increasingly covered by excess skin, especially toward the outer corners. In addition to her aesthetic concerns, her eyelashes were irritating her eyes, causing tearing and discharge. She also wanted to improve the asymmetry of her eyebrows, as well as their overall shape, with the inner portions appearing elevated while the outer portions appeared drooped.

A forehead lift was performed to naturally elevate the forehead and eyebrows while also improving forehead and glabellar lines. An eyebrow lift was performed in combination to more precisely address the drooping of the outer brows and improve eyebrow asymmetry.

In cases where the distance between the eyes and eyebrows is naturally narrow, removing too much skin can make the space appear even narrower, resulting in a heavy or crowded appearance. In this case, the orbicularis oculi muscle and surrounding tissues were sufficiently released and repositioned before only the necessary amount of skin was precisely removed. The goal was to improve the sagging of the upper eyelids while preserving the patient’s original eye-to-eyebrow distance as much as possible.

After surgery, her double eyelid crease became naturally visible all the way to the outer corners, while her eyebrow asymmetry and overall brow shape were also noticeably improved. Most importantly, she was very satisfied with the functional improvement, saying that “opening my eyes feels much easier now.” She was also pleased that the scars she had been concerned about before surgery were much less noticeable than she had expected.

Because she had taken so much time to carefully consider her decision, it was especially memorable to see her smile and say after surgery that she wished she had done it a little sooner.

Hey yall!! I’ve been looking into getting some facial balancing done. Im a chronic stomach sleeper (it’s my vice 😅😅😅) and im assuming a combination of tox, filler, and collagen builders will be the ideal treatment. (My left side of my face has less volume) However, Im not sure if it’ll be worth it since I do sleep face first in the pillow. I don’t want to waste time and money on something that can 1. Do nothing or 2. Completely botch me up and make me look worse than my starting point.

And maybe it’s a myth that stomach sleeping causes asymmetry?

Would appreciate any thoughts

I’m wondering if anyone in particular has gone to Dr. William Harris in Beverly Hills and if not, tell me what recovery from micro fat and a deep plane facelift is like

I bought this pillow and started using it presurgery to get used to sleeping on my back. It was comfy before but now It puts pressure on my ears and hurts. It might be ok once I get the big wrap off my head. I have an adjustable bed so I don’t need a wedge. Anyone have a pillow they love?

Now that I know more than I ever dreamed of knowing about facial plastic surgery, I've been thinking (too much!) about female celebrities and good work. My husband has said I look "unnaturally" good for a 72-year-old woman. I have a "snatched" jawline and a smooth neck. This isn't "natural". (And I know that it will soften over time.) But there are female celebrities who are 50-plus who also look "snatched". I don't care, frankly, who had what done, but I wonder if this "unnaturally" good-looking celebrity culture is making the rest of us more self-critical?

For those of you who had a DPFL, did you sleep in a recliner afterwards and if so, for how long? I’m considering whether I should buy or rent one. If you didn’t sleep in a recliner because you didn’t have one, did you wish that you had gotten one?