When you look in the mirror, you may notice that your face and neck don’t seem to age at the same pace. Perhaps your jawline feels softer, your cheeks less defined, or the skin beneath your chin has begun to sag. These are natural changes that occur over time as your facial structure, skin, and underlying muscles lose firmness and elasticity.
At the Center for Eye and Facial Plastic Surgery in New Jersey, Dr. Deepak Ramesh, a board-certified oculofacial plastic surgeon trained at Johns Hopkins and UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute, specializes in procedures that restore youthful harmony to your face and neck. Understanding how both areas age together helps explain why combining a facelift and neck lift often produces the most natural, balanced, and long-lasting rejuvenation.
The anatomy of face-neck aging
Aging affects the face and neck as one continuous structure. The skin, fat, muscles, and connective tissues that support your midface and jawline also extend into your neck.
Over time, several anatomical changes occur:
- Loss of collagen and elastin: The skin becomes thinner and less resilient, causing sagging along the cheeks, jowls, and under the chin.
- Descent of facial fat pads: The supportive fat compartments in your cheeks migrate downward, leading to hollowing under the eyes and fullness near the jawline.
- Laxity in the SMAS (superficial musculoaponeurotic system): This fibrous layer, located beneath the skin, stretches with age, resulting in reduced facial definition and jowls.
- Neck muscle weakening: The platysma muscle in the neck loses tone, leading to vertical neck bands and a “turkey-neck” appearance.
- Fat accumulation and skin redundancy: Submental fat deposits and loose neck skin blur the crisp angle between your chin and neck.
Because these structures are interdependent, rejuvenating one area without addressing the other may result in visible imbalance: a refreshed face over a still-aged neck, or vice versa.
Isolated procedures may produce incomplete results
A facelift primarily targets the mid-to-lower face, tightening sagging tissues around the cheeks, jowls, and jawline. It repositions deep facial layers and removes excess skin for a smoother, lifted appearance. However, it does not address the lax muscles or fatty deposits in the neck.
Similarly, a neck lift focuses on tightening neck muscles, removing excess skin, refining the jaw-neck angle, and removing the “turkey-neck” skin. Yet, without correcting facial descent, a tightened neck beneath sagging cheeks can appear unnatural or incomplete.
When performed separately, each procedure rejuvenates only part of the problem. The transition from the lifted area to the untreated region may appear inconsistent, particularly around the jawline where the face meets the neck. For the most seamless results, both areas should be restored in harmony for proportional rejuvenation and a blended contour.
Benefits of combining a facelift and neck lift
A facelift and a neck lift often complement one another seamlessly. During a combined procedure, the deeper facial layers are lifted and secured, while the neck muscles and tissues are tightened through the same concealed incisions. Excess skin is gently redraped for smooth continuity from the cheeks to the neckline. This surgical plan enables Dr. Ramesh to restore definition and youthfulness across the entire lower face and neck in a single procedure.
Below, we describe the key benefits of combining a facelift and neck lift.
Balanced and natural rejuvenation
A combined approach restores the entire lower face and neck as a single aesthetic unit. When both regions are tightened together, the contours transition naturally, avoiding the telltale sign of a rejuvenated face with an untreated neck. This harmony enhances the overall impression of youthfulness without appearing “done.”
More comprehensive structural correction
Because the facelift elevates the SMAS and the neck lift tightens the platysma, the dual procedure simultaneously strengthens the foundational support of the lower face and neck. This multilayer correction addresses sagging skin at its source, producing more durable results compared to surface-level tightening alone.
Shorter total recovery time
Undergoing both procedures at once allows you to recover from one surgery rather than two separate ones. Most patients return to their daily activities within two to four weeks, experiencing consolidated downtime rather than two extended healing periods.
Lower total cost and anesthesia exposure
Combining surgeries typically means a single anesthesia session, operating room fee, and facility cost, making the approach more cost-efficient and medically convenient. It also minimizes the physical stress of multiple operations.
Superior incision concealment
When performed together, incisions can often be strategically placed along natural creases around the ears and hairline, allowing for both facial and neck access through the same entry points. This minimizes visible scarring and preserves a natural, refined appearance.
Longer-lasting and more predictable outcomes
By correcting the connected aging mechanisms of the face and neck, the results tend to age more uniformly. You’ll maintain a balanced rejuvenation for years, with fewer chances of one area showing signs of aging earlier than the other.
Facial aging rarely occurs in isolation, and neither should its correction. By combining facelift and neck lift techniques, Dr. Deepak Ramesh at the Center for Eye and Facial Plastic Surgery provides an anatomically precise approach to total facial harmony. His fellowship training in oculofacial and cosmetic surgery allows him to refine both the deep structural layers and delicate surface details for results that look naturally refreshed.
If you’re seeking a more defined jawline, smoother neck, and revitalized facial contour, consider scheduling a consultation with Dr. Ramesh to discuss how a combined facelift and neck lift can help you achieve your most balanced, rejuvenated appearance.
