Facelift Before and After Photos Prove Just How Natural Today’s Results Look

A black women model with short hair smiling with her hand resting under her chin, and she is wearing a yellow shirt.

The days of overly stretched, tight, or “windblown” facelifts are over. While facelifts of the past tightened only the skin to rejuvenate the face, today’s techniques reach deeper to create longer-lasting and more natural-looking results. As board-certified plastic surgeons and two of the best-reviewed facelift surgeons in Chicago, Dr. Thomas Mustoe and Dr. Sammy Sinno not only use these techniques but also innovate them. The surgeons use a modified deep-plane approach developed by Dr. Mustoe to turn the clock back by a decade without conveying any obvious signs of surgery.

What do these modern facelift results look like? Keep reading to see real facelift before and after examples of just how effective and undetectable today’s facelift really is.

Maintaining Unique Features

This facelift performed by Dr. Mustoe breathes new life into this woman’s look without altering any of her distinctive and striking features. She still looks like herself, but subtly lifting and defining her jawline and neck took years off her appearance and gave her a brighter, more vibrant, even happier expression.

Chicago Facelift Before and After

Restoring a More Youthful Face Shape

This woman’s facelift by Dr. Sinno reestablished her natural face shape by tightening the drooping tissues on her lower face and jawline. This reduced the appearance of jowls, gave her cheeks a firmer and fuller contour, and created a subtly lifted look to combat the effects of gravity and aging on her face.

Chicago Facelift Before and After

Smoothing Away Lines & Folds

This woman looks a decade younger after her facelift by Dr. Mustoe. Lifting the tissues of her face not only rejuvenated her jawline and neck but also smoothed away the deep nasolabial folds running from the sides of her nose to her mouth. These folds are a common sign of aging, and people often benefit from added fat transfer or dermal fillers injected into this area to fill out the creases and maintain their facelift results.

Chicago Facelift Before and After

Slimming the Lower Face

This woman’s facelift by Dr. Sinno had a slimming effect in addition to a lifting effect. Repositioning tissues on her lower face and lifting the underlying structures enhanced her cheekbones, defined her jawline, and gave her face a more sculpted and contoured appearance.

Chicago Facelift Before and After

Rejuvenating the Face and Refreshing the Eyes

For many, achieving a refreshed and youthful appearance involves addressing more than just the lower face. This is evident in the results seen in two of our patients who chose to combine facelift procedures with eyelid surgery, clinically known as blepharoplasty.

These women each opted for a deep plane facelift to tighten and lift sagging skin around the jawline and neck, enhancing their facial contours and reducing the appearance of deep wrinkles. By including blepharoplasty—surgery that corrects drooping eyelids and removes bags under the eyes—they brightened their overall facial expression, making their eyes look more alert and open.

Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Mustoe Case 69 View #4 View in Chicago, IL
Deep Plane Facelift & Blepharoplasty Before and After by Dr. Mustoe in Chicago, Illinois
Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Mustoe Case 104 View #2 View in Chicago, IL
Deep Plane Facelift & Blepharoplasty Before and After by Dr. Mustoe in Chicago, Illinois

Rejuvenating the Jawline

This woman’s facelift by Dr. Sinno shows a beautiful jawline transformation achieved by removing and tightening excess skin along the lower face and neck. (You can learn more about all that a facelift can do and various facelifting techniques from The Aesthetic Society.)

Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Sinno Case 803 Left Oblique View in Chicago, IL
Facelift Before and After by Dr. Sinno in Chicago, Illinois

Catching Signs of Aging Early

Although these women didn’t have severe signs of aging to begin with, their facelifts subtly lifted and smoothed their faces to maintain their youthful features. Starting with facelifts or mini facelifts early on is an excellent way to stay on top of facial aging and preserve a youthful look longer.

Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Mustoe Case 280 View #1 View in Chicago, IL
Mini Facelift Before and After by Dr. Mustoe in Chicago, Illinois
Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Mustoe Case 77 View #1 View in Chicago, IL
Mini Facelift Before and After by Dr. Mustoe in Chicago, Illinois
Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Mustoe Case 933 Right Oblique View in Chicago, IL
Mini Facelift Before and After by Dr. Sinno in Chicago, Illinois
Dr. Sinno Facelift in Chicago, Illinois
Mini Facelift Before and After by Dr. Sinno in Chicago, Illinois

Transforming the Neck

The images below show the power of combining a facelift with a neck lift. These patients look younger, healthier, and trimmer after removing excess tissue on the neck and lifting the tissues of the lower face. Learn more about the differences between a facelift and a neck lift in our related blog post.

Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Mustoe Case 937 Left Oblique View in Chicago, IL
Before and After Facelift and Neck Lift by Dr. Mustoe in Chicago, Illinois
Before & After Neck Lift by Dr. Mustoe Case 896 Right Side View in Chicago, IL
Before and After Facelift and Neck Lift by Dr. Mustoe in Chicago, Illinois
Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Mustoe Case 23 Front View in Chicago, IL
Before and After Facelift and Neck Lift by Dr. Mustoe in Chicago, Illinois
Dr. Sinno Facelift in Chicago, Illinois
Before and After Facelift and Neck Lift by Dr. Sinno in Chicago, Illinois
Dr. Sinno Facelift in Chicago, Illinois
Before and After Facelift and Neck Lift by Dr. Sinno in Chicago, Illinois
Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Sinno Case 690 Right Oblique View in Chicago, IL
Before and After Facelift and Neck Lift by Dr. Sinno in Chicago, Illinois

Enhancing Facelift Results With Fat Transfer

Many of our patients, like the 3 pictured below, find exceptional results by enhancing their facelifts with fat transfer, a technique that adds volume and contours naturally. This process involves transferring small amounts of the patient’s own surplus fat to areas that tend to lose volume over time, such as the cheeks, lips, and under eye regions. The added volume from the fat grafting not only provides a more youthful facial structure but also improves skin texture for a more supple and healthy appearance.

Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Mustoe Case 123 View #2 View in Chicago, IL
Facelift & Fat Grafting Before and After by Dr. Mustoe in Chicago, Illinois
Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Mustoe Case 771 Front View in Chicago, IL
Facelift & Fat Grafting Before and After by Dr. Mustoe in Chicago, Illinois
Dr. Sinno Facelift in Chicago, Illinois
Facelift & Fat Grafting Before and After by Dr. Sinno in Chicago, Illinois

Facial Rejuvenation for Men

While many surgeons perform facelifts and neck lifts essentially the same way for men and women, Dr. Mustoe and Dr. Sinno place special emphasis on maintaining masculine facial features for their male patients, as seen in the photos below.

Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Mustoe Case 164 Left Oblique View in Chicago, IL
Before and After Facelift and Neck Lift by Dr. Mustoe in Chicago, Illinois
Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Mustoe Case 570 Front View in Chicago, IL
Before and After Facelift and Neck Lift by Dr. Mustoe in Chicago, Illinois
Dr. Sinno Facelift in Chicago, Illinois
Before and After Facelift and Neck Lift by Dr. Sinno in Chicago, Illinois

Sustained Youthfulness With Secondary Deep Plane Facelifts

Twelve years after their initial deep plane facelifts, two of Dr. Mustoe’s patients returned for secondary facelifts to refine and maintain the age-defying results they enjoyed from their first surgeries. The first surgeries provided a significant, natural lift that aged gracefully over more than a decade, allowing these women to enjoy continued benefits as the years passed.

The results of the secondary deep plane facelifts are remarkably natural-looking, refreshing the previous work without overcorrection. These procedures tightened the facial tissues that had naturally relaxed over time and redefined the jawline and neck, achieving a rejuvenated yet entirely authentic appearance.

Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Mustoe Case 40 Front View in Chicago, IL
Before and After Secondary Facelift by Dr. Mustoe in Chicago, Illinois
Before & After Facelift/Minilift by Dr. Mustoe Case 156 Left Side View in Chicago, IL
Before and After Secondary Facelift by Dr. Mustoe in Chicago, Illinois

To see more remarkable transformations, please visit our facelift before-and-after photo gallery.

You deserve nothing less than the best, and our plastic surgeons deliver that. Learn more about your facial rejuvenation options from Dr. Mustoe and Dr. Sinno. Contact us online or call (312) 788-2560 to get in touch.

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