Facial rejuvenation offers more options today than ever before. While treatments like Botox and fillers handle routine maintenance, there often comes a point where a deeper, structural fix is needed. Perhaps you’ve noticed a persistent double chin that no diet touches, or a gradual blurring of your jawline that non-surgical treatments can’t quite lift. That’s when focus shifts to surgery.
The terms facelift and neck lift are used everywhere, but they aren't interchangeable. Choosing the right surgical procedure isn't about picking one based on recovery time; it's about diagnosing the anatomical problem and matching it with the surgical fix.
A facelift is comprehensive—it restores the whole lower two-thirds of the face. A neck lift is targeted—it focuses intensely on the neck area. Understanding the distinction is the critical first step in achieving a successful, lasting result.
We tend to think of aging as a single slide. One day your skin is firm, the next it’s not. But it’s a little more uneven than that. Gradual. The jawline starts to soften while the skin still holds its glow, or fine lines appear even as the face keeps its shape. That mismatch is what unnerves people most. You don’t wake up feeling older, you just stop recognizing the balance you once had.
A facelift surgery (rhytidectomy, sometimes called a face lift) primarily concerns itself with the lower face and mid-face. As we age, the underlying structures beneath the skin lose volume and weaken, allowing facial skin and tissues to descend. This leads to three tell-tale signs of aging:
A facelift is the only way to genuinely lift and reposition these descended tissues, restoring definition from the cheeks down.
A neck lift surgery is specialized work for the neck area from the chin down. This procedure targets issues that make the neck's appearance look older, often referred to as the turkey neck area or a persistent double chin:
For someone whose issues are only these neck-centric concerns—like a younger patient with inherited excess fat or someone with great skin elasticity—a neck lift can be the perfect solution.
The reason a facelift and a neck lift address different problems is simple: they involve different surgical steps and degrees of tightening the underlying structures.
The Facelift: Fixing the Structure
The most common misunderstanding is that a facelift only tightens skin. It doesn't. A high-quality full facelift—like the Deep Plane technique Dr. Dunn performs—focuses on lifting the underlying muscle and tissues as a whole unit. This is essential because the jowls and cheek descent originate in this deep structural layer.
The Neck Lift: Refining the Details
A neck lift is a procedure of high specificity. It's often less invasive but more focused on the neck area.
The "Stop Sign" Problem
If you have noticeable jowls and you only get a neck lift, you will end up with a tight, smooth neck that abruptly meets heavy, sagging skin on the lower face. This creates what surgeons call a "stop sign" effect—a clear visual break where the correction ends. The result is an incongruous appearance and often requires a follow-up surgery.
Dr. Dunn often finds the ideal solution is a combined surgical procedure: a facelift to structurally correct the jowls, integrated with a targeted platysmaplasty (the neck muscle tightening) to ensure the neck is equally smooth and defined. As Dr. Dunn explains, the two areas (face and neck) must work together to maintain balance and achieve the most natural result.
You need a neck lift alone if:
You need a facelift (which includes a neck component) if:
Choosing the right cosmetic procedure isn't something you should decide alone. It requires an expert plastic surgeon to assess the location of the loose skin, the quality of the tissue, and the degree of underlying muscle laxity. Dr. Dunn will thoroughly review your medical history and discuss your desired outcome.
During your initial consultation at Coastline Plastic Surgery in Newport Beach, Dr. Dunn will map out where your tissues need support. The right choice—whether it's a neck lift surgery, a facelift surgery, or a combined plan—is the one that delivers a smooth, seamless result that looks rested, refined, and entirely like you.
