How to Maintain Your Facelift Results

A facelift is one of the most effective procedures for restoring a more lifted and youthful facial appearance by repositioning deeper tissues and addressing sagging skin to restore shape to the face. However, while a facelift can reset the clock, maintaining those results over the long term requires ongoing care, thoughtful lifestyle choices, and often supportive non-surgical treatments.

In this article, Dr Maryam Zamani, consultant oculoplastic and facial aesthetic surgeon, explains how patients can protect their investment and ensure their facelift continues to look natural and youthful for years to come.

What a Facelift Achieves

A facelift works by lifting and repositioning the deeper layers of the face to restore definition to the jawline, midface, and neck, rather than simply tightening the skin. When performed well, the results are subtle, natural, and long-lasting.

However, a facelift does not stop the ageing process entirely. Skin quality, collagen production, and lifestyle factors continue to influence how the face ages over time. Understanding this is key to maintaining facelift results realistically and effectively.

Follow Your Surgeon’s Aftercare Instructions

The foundation for long-term results begins immediately after surgery. Following post-operative instructions carefully supports optimal healing and reduces the risk of complications such as prolonged swelling or visible scarring.

Patients are typically advised to avoid strenuous activity for several weeks, attend all follow-up appointments, and follow specific guidance on wound care, sleeping position, and skincare. This early phase plays a critical role in how well facelift results settle and endure.

Protect Your Skin from Sun Damage

Sun exposure is one of the most significant factors affecting facelift longevity. UV radiation accelerates collagen breakdown, contributes to skin laxity, and can undermine the refined contours achieved through surgery.

Daily use of broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher is essential, even on cloudy days. Hats, sunglasses, and avoiding peak sun hours further protect the skin and help preserve a smooth, lifted appearance.

Maintain Skin Quality with a Consistent Skincare Routine

Healthy, resilient skin supports long-lasting facelift results. A consistent skincare routine should include gentle cleansing, hydration, antioxidant protection, and daily sun protection.

High-performance skincare containing retinoids, peptides, vitamin C, and hyaluronic acid can help stimulate collagen, improve texture, and maintain firmness. Skincare should always be introduced gradually and tailored to the individual’s skin type and stage of recovery. Dr Zamani integrates high-performance skincare with her patients’ treatment plan to ensure the best possible results.

Maintain a Stable Weight and Healthy Lifestyle

Significant weight fluctuations can alter facial volume and compromise facelift contours. Maintaining a stable weight helps preserve facial balance and definition.

Good hydration, balanced nutrition, regular gentle exercise, and avoiding smoking all support skin health and collagen integrity. Smoking in particular accelerates skin ageing and can significantly shorten the lifespan of facelift results.

Laser and Energy-Based Treatments to Enhance Facelift Results

While a facelift restores youthful facial structure, laser and energy-based treatments play a vital role in maintaining skin quality, tone, and resilience over time, while also supporting optimal scar healing. These technologies work at a cellular level to stimulate collagen production, refine skin texture, and minimise surface ageing changes that surgery alone cannot address.

BBL® (BroadBand Light) helps reduce post-surgical redness and vascular changes within scars while targeting sun damage, pigmentation, and uneven tone. By calming inflammation and stimulating collagen, it supports clearer skin and more subtle, well-blended scars.

BBL HEROic™ builds on these benefits with higher power and faster delivery, making it particularly effective for widespread redness, pigmentation, and scar-related vascularity, while promoting long-term skin uniformity after facelift surgery.

HALO® Laser combines ablative and non-ablative wavelengths to improve fine lines, pigmentation, pore size, and texture while encouraging deep collagen remodelling. This makes it highly effective for refining scar texture and thickness, helping incision lines soften and integrate naturally into surrounding skin.

MOXI® Laser is a gentle, non-ablative option ideal for early intervention and ongoing maintenance. It supports collagen stimulation, improves tone and texture, and aids early scar optimisation with minimal downtime once initial healing has occurred.

CO₂ Laser Resurfacing provides the most intensive skin and scar remodelling, resurfacing damaged skin layers and triggering significant collagen renewal. When appropriately timed, it can help flatten, soften, and refine more mature scars while delivering powerful rejuvenation and skin-tightening benefits.

When carefully selected and timed according to healing stage, these treatments not only enhance and prolong facelift results but also promote smoother, less visible scarring, helping achieve a natural, balanced, and long-lasting outcome.

Injectable Treatments for Long-Term Refinement

Injectable treatments can play an important role in maintaining facelift results when used conservatively and with precision. While surgery restores facial structure, injectables help manage ongoing muscle movement, volume changes, and skin ageing.

Anti-wrinkle injections work by relaxing targeted facial muscles responsible for dynamic lines, such as frown lines, crow’s feet, and forehead lines. This helps prevent repetitive muscle movement from deepening lines over time, preserving a smoother, more rested appearance without altering facial expression.

Hyaluronic acid fillers are used in small, carefully placed amounts to support facial volume, contour, and skin hydration as natural ageing continues. They can help maintain balance in areas not directly addressed by surgery, while also improving skin quality due to hyaluronic acid’s ability to attract and retain moisture.

The aim of injectable maintenance after a facelift is subtle refinement, enhancing longevity and harmony while avoiding overcorrection or an overfilled appearance.

Knowing When to Consider Maintenance or Touch-Ups

A well-performed facelift can last many years, but ageing continues gradually. Subtle changes over time are normal and do not necessarily indicate that surgery has “worn off.”

Non-surgical treatments are often sufficient to maintain results for a long period. In some cases, a minor surgical touch-up may be considered years later, depending on skin quality, anatomy, and ageing patterns.

In Summary

Maintaining facelift results is about protecting skin quality, supporting collagen production, and making informed choices as the face continues to age. With good aftercare, sun protection, a healthy lifestyle, and carefully selected laser or injectable treatments, patients can enjoy their facelift results for many years while maintaining a natural, refreshed appearance.

For personalised advice on maintaining facelift results or exploring complementary treatments, a specialist consultation is always recommended.

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