About the Mini Facelift & Neck Lift
The primary objectives of a mini facelift and neck lift, also called lower face and neck lift, at our Palo Alto and Los Gatos practices are to enhance and accentuate the youthful contours of the neck, jawline, and lower cheek. These procedures are done carefully with meticulous attention to every detail by Silicon Valley’s best facial plastic surgeons, Drs. Lieberman, Parikh and Curti. A mini facelift and neck lift are often performed in conjunction with a facelift to minimize recovery time and achieve the best possible aesthetic improvements.
Find out why a neck lift is often performed with a mini facelift.
Why L&P and a Breakdown of the Mini Facelift Procedure?
Prior to a mini facelift or any surgical procedure, you will meet the anesthesia team and be asked to review any allergies, as well as your major medical history. You will then be given your anesthesia to help you relax. As highly-trained and double-board certified facial plastic surgeons, we always work diligently and in tandem with the anesthesiologist to minimize any nausea or pain after mini face and neck lift surgery.
Though individual patient experiences tend to vary, a neck lift with a facelift, brow lift, and/or a blepharoplasty typically takes between four to six hours, and is performed under general anesthesia. A mini facelift usually takes slightly less time but it varies from person to person.
An additional benefit of having surgery with L&P Aesthetics is access to The iO Clinic’s Surgical Recovery Package, specially designed by Drs. Lieberman, Parikh, and Curti.
This post-operative recovery protocol:
- Enhances your overall recovery experience
- Speeds up the recovery timeframe
- Improves your long-term results
- Provides comprehensive support throughout your healing journey
Our integrated approach to surgical care sets us apart, ensuring you receive optimal results with maximum comfort.
What to Expect Before the Procedure
During your first meeting with a plastic surgeon, you will discuss your objectives, examine your medical history, and assess your skin and facial structure.
It’s important for patients to be candid about their motivations for embarking on this journey. Establishing clear expectations and ensuring that goals are attainable are essential for a successful outcome and a positive physician-patient relationship.
You will receive detailed guidelines on what to do prior to surgery, including avoiding specific medications or supplements. Our team will also guide you on lifestyle modifications that can enhance your results.
At the iO Clinic, we provide various methods to help patients prepare for their facial surgery. These include minimizing toxin exposure before the procedure, utilizing targeted IV nutrition, and possibly using our hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber (HBOT) to enrich tissue oxygen levels prior to surgery.
What to Expect During the Procedure
When performed on its own, a lower face and neck lift procedure typically takes between two to three hours. But as the experience is different for each patient, it may take an additional hour if a neck lift is performed with a full facelift. While a neck lift alone may be appropriate for some patients, the reality is that most individuals who have lax skin at their neck will also have the same on their face, and addressing multiple areas in close proximity to each other simultaneously tends to be the most practical approach to achieving overall rejuvenation.
At our Bay Area practice, we perform a lower face and neck lift that addresses the deeper tissues, such as the muscles and fat underneath the surface of the skin. We lift the layer of muscle at the neck (platysma) and cheek (superficial muscular aponeurotic system, or SMAS for short), tightening and re-suspending the tissues while removing any excess skin and fat to achieve natural, long-term results that rejuvenate the youthful contours of your neck and face.
Along with a mini neck lift and facelift, a brow lift may also be performed simultaneously. As the soft tissue of the cheek is suspended to a more youthful position, the excess skin must be redistributed along the forehead and then into the hairline. Performing these intricate, interrelated procedures within the same operation allows the surgeon to simultaneously address the neck, cheek, brow, and forehead. Some patients also choose to address their lower eyelids (lower blepharoplasty) are also addressed at the time of mini face and neck lift surgery.
What to Expect After the Procedure
Primarily, we educate patients about the lifestyle adjustments they can make to maximize their recovery. We assemble a dedicated team to ensure that every aspect of their health is considered. Our team discusses how to enhance healing through services at The IO Clinic, preparing mentally for the transformation, and focusing on the right nutrition, exercise, and sleep. It is crucial for the whole person to be in optimal condition for the best experience. Although recovery varies for each individual, most facelift patients find their healing process to be more manageable than expected. Learn more about a general timeline of what to anticipate following your mini face and neck lift.
Mini Facelift & Neck Lift Before and After Gallery
View real results from real patients below.
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America’s Best Plastic Surgeons by Newsweek, 2024
Best Plastic Surgeons by Palo Alto Weekly, 2024
Best of Silicon Valley Magazine for Plastic Surgery, 2024, 2025
Castle Connolly Top Doctors of San Francisco Bay Area, 2024
New Beauty Top Doctors, 2019 – 2025
An Investment in the Complete Picture
Precision surgical artistry. Stanford-trained expertise. Results that reveal your natural beauty.
Our patients, including physicians, executives, and leaders in their fields, choose L&P Aesthetics because facial rejuvenation at this level is a deeply personal investment in confidence and looking as vibrant as you feel. Because every treatment plan is personalized to your unique anatomy and goals, we discuss your investment during a private consultation.
Your investment reflects what sets L&P apart: three double-board-certified, Stanford-trained facial plastic surgeons dedicated exclusively to the face; surgical artistry refined through thousands of procedures, delivering results that look natural, refreshed, and unmistakably you; a personalized treatment plan built on a thorough consultation and complimentary VISIA 3D skin analysis; and concierge-level care from pre-operative planning through comprehensive follow-up, including travel coordination for patients flying in to our Palo Alto or Los Gatos locations. For comprehensive, natural results, the neck lift is most often performed alongside a mini facelift, addressing the lower face and neck together for balanced, seamless rejuvenation.
An investment of this significance deserves a conversation, not a price list. During your private consultation, your surgeon will evaluate your facial anatomy, discuss your goals, and provide a personalized recommendation with complete clarity on your options and your investment.
You’ve built an extraordinary life. Your reflection should match the vibrant energy you bring to everything you do.
What Is The Cost of a Mini Facelift & Neck Lift in Palo Alto & Los Gatos?
What Is The Cost of a Mini Facelift & Neck Lift?
Because our three double-board certified surgeons personalize these procedures to each patient’s unique needs and cosmetic goals, you will need to come into our Palo Alto or Los Gatos office for a one-on-one consultation to receive a price estimate for your mini face and neck lift.
Recovery and Beyond
After about an hour or two of recovery time under the careful observation of our staff, you can be discharged from the surgery center into the care of a family member or friend, though every patient’s recovery window is unique. No matter what procedures you choose to receive from our practice, our core objective is to provide a safe and comfortable surgical experience that aspires to enhance your appearance while aiming to produce natural results.
Mini Facelift & Neck Lift FAQs
Healthy women and men, typically in their 30s to 40s, make good candidates for a mini facelift if they:
- Want to tighten mild to moderate laxity of the jawline (jowls) and neck
- Want to correct vertical neck bands
- Are no longer satisfied with the results of dermal fillers
- Are not concerned with aging of the midface
People with more advanced aging that includes the midface may need a more complete facelift or a combination of procedures to attain their desired rejuvenation.
Over time, gravity affects the skin, muscles, and connective tissues, causing them to loosen and droop. The loss of volume coupled with these changes can lead to the formation of jowls along the jawline, deep folds in the cheeks from the sides of the nose to those of the mouth (parentheses lines or nasolabial folds) and downwards from the corners of the mouth (marionette lines), hollowing under the eyes, and excess fat and skin under the chin (double chin) with deep vertical folds in the front of the neck (platysmal neck bands forming a “turkey neck”).
A lower face and neck lift, also referred to as a mini facelift, is intended to surgically address signs of aging in the lower face, including the lower cheek and jawline, as well as the neck.
This natural progression of aging has become increasingly difficult for many men and women to accept, since the advent of healthier lifestyles, cleaner diets, and improved medical care have resulted in people feeling much younger and energized than they may otherwise appear. Bridging the gap between how you look to how youthful you feel can be addressed with a comprehensive, individualized approach to facial rejuvenation.
- Bandage Removal: 1 day
- Suture Removal: 4-10 days
- Return To Work: 2 weeks
- 75% Recovery: 2 months
- 100% Recovery: 6 months
For those patients that are not yet ready for a surgical neck lift or mini facelift, we now offer Ultherapy, the only FDA-approved non-surgical, non-invasive treatment that uses ultrasound technology and the body’s own natural healing process to lift and tighten loose skin on the neck and under the chin. Ultherapy uses ultrasound energy to stimulate the deep structural support layers of the skin without disturbing the surface of the skin.
There is virtually no downtime expected with a non-surgical neck lift*, and many patients choose to return to work shortly after their treatment. Results have been known to continue to unfold over the course of two to three months, and some patients have reported continued improvement for up to six months, including lifting of the skin on the neck, under the chin, jawline and on the brow.
After your consultation, we work with you to decide on a treatment plan based on what areas are to be treated. A combination of oral medication, numbing cream and local anesthesia is often used to minimize any discomfort.
Ultherapy® Recovery
- Bandage Removal: None
- Suture Removal: None
- Return To Work: Right away
- 75% Recovery: 2-3 months
- 100% Recovery: 6 months
Patients seeking minimal downtime may choose to have a mini facelift performed alone.
A mini facelift can be performed on a person of any age but usually a mini facelift is performed on someone who is at least 25 years old and not over 75 years old.
Yes, a mini facelift is typically combined with a neck lift to rejuvenate the lower face.
A mini facelift, also called a lower facelift or a short-incision facelift, is typically combined with a neck lift to rejuvenate the jowl and neck area, but not the midface, by lifting sagging skin and muscles.
A mini facelift can last up to 15 years but usually they last between 5 and 10 years.
A mini facelift is often combined with other procedures such as a neck lift and skin resurfacing.
A mini facelift, also called a lower facelift or a short-incision facelift, lifts sagging skin and muscles in the lower part of the face but it does not address the midface or neck areas.
An anesthetic will be used during the mini facelift surgery, and most patients will subsequently experience minimal pain, which can be controlled with medication. Everyone has different pain tolerance levels.
The risks associated with a mini facelift are pretty much the same as a full facelift and neck lift. It is critical that patients disclose their entire medical history to their surgeon.
Mini facelifts are not very common because they only rejuvenate part of the face, which may provide only a partial rejuvenation of the face. Most people elect to rejuvenate the entire face and neck with a full deep plane facelift and neck lift.
Still have questions? Contact us!
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