Do You Know About Dr. Berman’s Natural Face Lift?

The purpose of a facelift is to make you appear younger—not different. While Dr. Jonathan Berman‘s Natural Lift eliminates sagging skin and realigns underlying muscles & tissues to erase signs of aging just like a standard facelift, it also restores volume. Volume is key to a youthful appearance. Wonder how he does it? Read on and be in the know!

The Purpose of a Face Lift

The goal of a facelift is to turn back the clock for 10-20 years. How many? 10-20. Regardless of a plastic surgeon’s skill, it is highly unlikely that more than 20 years can be “erased” with even the best facelift technique. Furthermore, most people desire a natural look in cosmetic enhancements. After all, your face is there for the world to see. Appearing as if you “had work done” or looking like someone else afterward (i.e., Renee Zellweger, who now looks almost nothing like she did before she went under the knife) isn’t a result most people desire. They want to look refreshed, rested, and just young enough that friends and others wonder, “Did she or didn’t she?” Our Boca Raton facelift patients don’t want to look tight, pulled up, or unlike themselves, which is why they love the Berman Natural Lift. They look like themselves, but younger.

How The Face Ages

Facial aging occurs primarily in what’s called the mid-face: that area between the cheeks and the neck. This happens because the SMAS (a tissue layer beneath the mid-face called the Superficial Muscular Aponeurotic System or SMAS for short) weakens with age. The result of an aging SMAS is saggy jowls and a flat facial appearance as the cheek pad drops lower on the face. The face becomes more “square” in appearance as the bulk of the face droops into the lower half, as you see in the photo at right. In a youthful face, the outline between the cheekbones and the chin appears to be an upside-down triangle. Aging “flips” this triangle, lending a wider appearance to the bottom of the face, due to the drooping of the cheek pad and howling in the neck.

The Platysma Muscle Contributes to a Sagging Neck and Double Chin

Another prominent sign of aging is in the neck. The neck begins to show aging as the platysma muscle weakens. The platysma is a very large muscle that you can feel if you tighten your neck. Tense your neck as in the photo to the left. Place your hand on your neck and feel the tense area: that’s the platysma. The large platysma muscle allows you to make facial expressions, open and close your mouth, move your lower lip and corners of your mouth, etc. While these are essential functions, over time, the platysma muscle begins to weaken. When fat deposits collect in the platysma muscle area, the chin starts to sag.  The platysma muscle also thickens, until it becomes almost like a cord. The skin, which also becomes loose with age, begins to “tent” over the weak platysma muscle, and literally hangs between the collarbone and the jawbone. This is often called a “turkey neck.”

The Traditional Facelift

A traditional facelift addresses aging in the mid-face and the neck. It doesn’t treat the eyes, although sagging brows can be remedied with a brow lift, and loose upper eyelid skin and bags or hollows beneath the eyes can be treated with an eyelid lift (either or both of which can be added to a facelift procedure). This facelift is often called a SMAS Lift because it focuses on the SMAS, the tissue sheet mentioned above.

The Natural Lift

If you have flattened cheeks, sagging in the jowls and/or in the neck, the Berman Natural Lift will treat those problems, just like a traditional facelift. However, the Natural Lift as performed at Berman Plastic Surgery & Spa has important distinctions. In facelifting, as in art, it’s often as much a case as what one doesn’t do, as much as what one does. A youthful face isn’t achieved solely through the lifting of the sagging skin and underlying tissues. Subtlety is a crucial factor in facial rejuvenation. A face that is pulled too tight, lifted too high, or has had too much skin removed, does not look natural.  The Natural Lift is achieved with delicate, precise measurements and meticulous suturing. Because Dr. Berman is board-certified not only in Plastic Surgery but also in Otolaryngology/Head & Neck surgery, he has a depth of knowledge regarding options in facial rejuvenation that most plastic surgeons do not possess.

In the Natural Lift, Boca Raton plastic surgeon Dr. Berman may employ additional measures such as fat grafting or the injection of dermal fillers into the marionette lines, nasolabial folds, and lips to add volume, which is a hallmark of a young face. If the skin quality is poor, he may also perform an Erbium laser treatment with the Fraxel laser to eliminate surface wrinkling and hyperpigmentation, and to stimulate the production of collagen.

Facelift Skill and Experience Matter

To create a beautiful, natural, and youthful facelift result, Dr. Berman’s nearly-25 years of skill and experience allow him to make important decisions that lead to the best outcome and the longevity of your facelift at our Boca Raton plastic surgery practice. After all, your face is there for everyone to see: always go with the very best surgeon if you wish to receive the very best results!

If you or someone you know in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, West Palm Beach, Wellington, or Miami is thinking about a facelift, send them to Dr. Berman for a complete evaluation. He will guide them in the right direction for the most youthful result! Call our office at 561-417-0171 or complete our online facelift consultation form.