Wanting to look your best isn’t vain. When you look your best, you feel your best. When you feel your best, you live your best.
Don’t just take our word for it—studies show the positive effects that confidence can have on your mental and physical health, improving your professional and personal relationships. More importantly, confidence improves your relationship with yourself.
Change may be inevitable, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept changes to your skin that make you feel like a lesser version of yourself. Pearlman Aesthetic Surgery is here to guide you on your journey toward confidence. We’re outlining the key qualities of injectables v. facelifts, so you can make the right decision for yourself.
Work With the Best
Remember, no matter which route you choose, where you go determines your results and experience. With over 30 years of experience and tens of thousands of success stories, Dr. Steven Pearlman is someone you can trust to guide your transformation.
Meet NYC’s Top Cosmetic Surgeons
The Science Behind Skin Aging
To decide between injectables v. facelifts, you first have to understand what’s causing your skin concerns. While you can’t control everything that can lead to premature aging—like gravity, genetics, and your skin’s changing anatomy—some factors are within your control.
First and foremost are aging changes with loss of elasticity and the effects of gravity. Other accelerating factors include sun exposure, smoking, stress, poor dietary choices, and alcohol. These are the primary culprits, as you can see in studies comparing the complexions of identical twins with opposing lifestyles.
What causes wrinkles?
Every year, your skin produces less collagen—a protein that acts as your skin’s building blocks—and elastin—the protein that allows your skin to stretch. This causes your skin’s framework to weaken, creasing with every repeated expression, like a smile.
What causes sagging?
As your skin becomes more delicate without those proteins, the fat pads beneath your skin’s surface also wear away. Without the resources to “bounce” back, your skin becomes loose—similar to a balloon deflating—and gravity takes its toll.
How a Facelift Combats Aging
Facelifts are cosmetic surgeries that consist of separating the skin with the attached underlying muscle, called the SMAS, from the underlying tissues. Then, we carefully drape this hearty flap of skin and muscle upward in a more youthful position, fixing it into place. Lastly, excess skin is removed.
View Our Patient’s Facelift Results
Watch as Dr. Pearlman explains the art and science behind natural facelift transformations ↓
When weighing injectables v. facelifts, it’s important to consider that facelifts offer permanent results, although the aging process continues. However, there are different techniques for a facelift or “rhytidectomy” in NYC to consider.
→ What Goes Into Your Facelift Cost in NYC?
Mini Facelifts
Our surgeons recommend a “short flap” or mini facelift in NYC for patients with minor sagging in the face and neck, typically those in their 40s. By creating “short flap” incisions around your ears, this approach minimizes downtime while uplifting your lower face’s underlying muscular system—contouring your jawline.
Deep Plane Facelifts
Usually, those underlying muscular structures start to shift by the mid-40s to 50s, in which case you’ll need to opt for a deep plane facelift instead. This technique precisely releases, tightens, and secures those frameworks, allowing us to reposition your cheeks back to their original position in a more natural way. The deep plane facelift is best because it separates “tissue planes” in natural embryologic layers, with the skin and SMAS muscle being lifted and repositioned together.
Deep plane facelifts place tension only on your musculature, not the skin—offering more natural-looking and longer-lasting results than a standard SMAS facelift or “ponytail lift.”
→ Dr. Pearlman’s Guide to Ponytail Lift Alternatives
How Injectables Combat Aging
We realize that not everyone’s in the position to commit to facial surgery in NYC. As part of our mission to empower beauty—which looks different for everyone—we offer a range of non-invasive solutions, including injectables.
When looking at injectables v. facelifts, it’s still important to work with an experienced professional who has mastered the art of seamless results. When you come to our office, you don’t have to worry about looking “frozen” or “overfilled.”
→ Learn More About Your Options for a Minimally Invasive Facelift in NYC
Botox
Botox is the most popular injectable in the world for good reason! This FDA-approved formula—along with our other top neurotoxin brands, including Dysport, Xeomin, Daxxify, and Jeuveau—smooths and prevents wrinkles. These substances minimize specific muscle contractions, eliminating creasing from repeated facial expressions to restore your wrinkle-free appearance.
Dermal Fillers
When weighing the powers of injectables v. facelifts, it’s important to understand how different injectables work. While facial or “dermal” fillers can smooth wrinkles, they don’t work by limiting muscle movements like Botox.
View Our Patients’ Filler Results
Fillers address wrinkles by restoring lost volume, “filling” in hollowed areas. There are many kinds of fillers out there, the most popular of which are based in natural hyaluronic acid (HA), that replaces the collagen and elastin your body loses over time.
Here’s a closer look at the different types of fillers ↓
Can you get fillers after a facelift?
Yes, depending on your unique facial anatomy and goals, fillers can enhance your facelift results. While a facelift combats facial sagging or “laxity,” keep in mind that you may develop other signs of aging—like fine lines and volume loss—over the years that a facelift doesn’t address.
That being said, it’s important to work closely with your cosmetic surgeon to plan your treatments, as you should wait to schedule your filler appointment until you’re fully healed from surgery. That’s why in-office consultations play an integral role in your transformation.
Can you get a facelift after fillers?
If you’ve already gotten fillers and are planning on a facelift, you rarely have to dissolve them before your procedure. However, it depends on the type of fillers and facelifts. Hyaluronic acid-based fillers (like Restylane® and Radiesse®) don’t tend to obstruct your facial anatomy like permanent fillers, which we may suggest removing beforehand.
We may recommend dissolving your cheek filler if you’re getting a full face and/or neck lift if you have a significant amount of fillers in your face, as the formulas could interfere with your surgeon’s ability to reposition and lift the area. Don’t worry—dissolving dermal fillers is a simple process that usually takes less than 30 minutes. Most HA-based fillers dissolve on their own as your body metabolizes them within a year, but other formulas like Sculptra® can last for up to 2 years.
Deciding What’s Right for You
We know that this is a lot to take in, but you should take the time to weigh all of your options, including injectables v. facelifts, so that you can achieve your skin goals safely, effectively, and in line with your lifestyle and budget.
It’s important to be honest with yourself and your surgeon and set realistic expectations based on your decision. While both injectables and facelifts can combat aging, they work differently and provide different results.
A facelift’s primary goal is to address sagging and reposition facial tissues to provide a more youthful look, while fillers’ main purpose is to add volume.
Not everyone is ready to commit to the process of a facelift recovery. While a facelift is the most effective solution for most patients—typically over the age of 50—struggling with moderate to severe sagging, it’s not your only option.
Fillers aren’t just for anti-aging. Men and women of all ages can use fillers to plump their lips, define their cheeks and jawline, and rebalance their features however they see fit.
We’re Here to Help
There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to aesthetics—everyone’s struggles, goals, lifestyle, medical history, timeline, and budget are different. That’s why our approach is completely personalized.
We’re dedicated to enhancing your unique features, not overpowering them with cookie-cutter cosmetic techniques. When you’re comparing injectables v. facelifts, keep in mind that neither solution is better than the other, but one may be more suitable for you. Don’t stress about finding the “perfect” treatment on your own; we’ll help you determine the right solution—or combination of solutions—during your consultation.
At Pearlman Aesthetic Surgery, we empower beauty, and that starts by empowering you with the resources and support you need to make confident decisions about your care. Explore our blog and follow us on social media to unlock more exclusive insights.
📲 TikTok
📲 YouTube
On the Blog: How Long Does it Take to Recover from Rhinoplasty Surgery?
Your Journey Starts Here
You deserve the best, especially when it comes to altering the features that make you who you are. You want to trust the hands performing your surgery.
As New York City’s top plastic surgeon, Dr. Steven Pearlman is here to bring your vision to life on your terms—we’ll take care of the science and artistry it takes to get there.
While nothing can substitute for an in-person skin analysis, we’ve crafted some virtual tools to help you narrow down your best options, including injectables v. facelifts. Just answer a few questions about your goals and we’ll send personalized recommendations directly to your inbox!
