Men often don’t talk about facelifts because they’ve traditionally been viewed as something primarily for women. In reality, that’s not the case.
For most of my male patients, the main goal is getting the neckline and jawline looking more defined again. I already have playlists on neck lifts, but once patients start developing significant jowling and laxity along the jawline where the jaw is no longer well-defined, that’s when a facelift comes into play.
How Is a Male Facelift Different From a Female Facelift?
One of the biggest differences between facelifts for men and women is incision placement.
For women, we normally try to camouflage the incision by following the contour around the ear, whether that’s behind the cartilage called the tragus or just in front of it.
For men, we normally place the incision slightly more forward and utilize the natural beard line as the incision line.
We also tend to bring the incision below the ear lobule, but we do not tuck it as tightly around the ear compared to women, because you don’t want to pull hair-bearing skin onto the ear lobule.
That’s one of the important differences when planning a facelift for male patients.
Male Facelift Recovery Considerations
One thing that’s important from a postoperative standpoint is that men tend to have a little more swelling compared to women.
If you think about it, it makes sense because male skin is thicker due to the hair component, and the muscles underneath also tend to be thicker.
Men also have a higher risk of developing a hematoma, which is why it’s very important to follow our postoperative recommendations closely and wear compression garments initially after surgery.
The other thing I always tell my male patients is that you have to take it easy.
Let’s face it, guys don’t like taking it easy once they start feeling better. But facelift surgery is not particularly painful for men or women, and if you start doing too much too soon, you can worsen swelling and interfere with healing.
When a Neck Lift May Also Be Needed
One procedure I often discuss at the same time is a neck lift.
For patients who have a significant amount of excess neck skin extending lower into the neck, a facelift alone may not create the best correction.
In some situations, combining a facelift with a neck lift gives better overall improvement.
Men can also sometimes have excess skin removed directly, and those incisions often heal quite nicely.
Why Chin Position Matters for Men
Another thing I talk about often is the relationship between the chin and the jawline.
For men in particular, if you drop a line down from the upper or lower lip on profile view, ideally the chin should sit at that line or slightly beyond it.
Because of that, some patients may also benefit from chin augmentation at the same time as a facelift or neck lift.
Other Procedures That May Complement a Male Facelift
Another thing men often don’t think about is skin quality.
Laser skin resurfacing can sometimes enhance a facelift because it helps improve blemishes and wrinkles that develop over time, particularly around the eye area.
Some patients may also choose to address the upper or lower eyelids at the same time.
Ultimately, there are multiple procedures that can sometimes be combined with a facelift depending on the signs of aging that are bothering you the most.
