A face lift in Los Angeles takes about three to six months to go from first consultation to a result that looks settled. Most patients return to work within two to three weeks. The result usually holds for around a decade, and the neck is the first place it softens.
It often starts with a photo. Someone tags you at a wedding, and the person in the picture has your eyes but a jawline you don't recognize. Filler helped for a while. Now each syringe makes your face look fuller, not younger.
You are in good company. ASPS member surgeons performed 79,058 facelifts in 2024, about 1% more than the year before. Most of those patients started exactly where you are: a list of questions and no clear picture of the next six months.
This guide walks a face lift through five stages, from the first signs to the result you live with for years. If you are still choosing who to trust with your face, start with our guide to finding the best facelift surgeon in Los Angeles.
About Dr. Ardesh
Dr. Ardesh of Beauty Mark MD is a double board-certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon known for delivering thousands of refined, natural outcomes. With an academic background that includes teaching in head and neck surgery, ophthalmology, and dermatology at Loma Linda University, he later transitioned into private practice to focus on patient-centred care. His philosophy emphasises subtle enhancement rather than obvious alteration, earning him recognition as a leading plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach.
Stage 1: the signs you're ready
Aging in the lower face follows a predictable order. The skin is rarely the first thing to go. The support underneath it is.
What the mirror tells you
These are the changes patients point to most often in our consultations:
- Jowls that break up the clean edge of the jaw.
- Deeper folds from the nose to the mouth, and lines running down from its corners.
- Loose skin or vertical bands in the neck, or a blunter angle under the chin.
- Cheek volume that has slid lower, so the midface looks flat and the lower face looks heavy.
- Filler and Botox that now make you look puffy instead of rested.
When injectables are still the right call
If your concerns are fine lines, mild volume loss or skin texture, injectables and skin treatments can carry you for now. Plenty of people choose that route. Minimally invasive treatments outnumbered cosmetic surgeries more than two to one in 2024.
Laxity changes the math. Filler adds volume. It cannot lift tissue that has dropped, and it cannot tighten a loose neck. That is the point where a face lift does something no injectable can.
Who makes a good candidate
Good candidates don't smoke, or are willing to stop well before and after surgery. Their medical conditions are under control. They want to look rested, not like someone else.
Age matters less than people assume. Patients 70 and older made up 20% of the facelifts ASPS members performed in 2024. Health and anatomy decide candidacy. The birth year on your license does not.
Stage 2: the consultation
The consultation is where your face lift actually gets designed. Rush it, and everything after is guesswork.
What happens in the room
At Dr. Ardesh's Beverly Hills and Newport Beach offices, a consultation usually covers five things:
- Your goals, in your own words. What bothers you most, and what you want to keep.
- A hands-on exam of skin quality, where the deeper tissues sit, bone structure, the neck, and the brow and eye area.
- Your photos over time. Pictures from 10 to 15 years ago show how your face has changed and what "refreshed" means for you specifically.
- A safety review of medications, health conditions and past procedures.
- A plan. Which lift fits your anatomy, whether a neck lift, brow lift, eyelid surgery or fat transfer adds something real, and which anesthesia suits you.
Virtual consultations work well for a first conversation, or if you live outside Southern California.
Six questions worth asking
Whoever you see, bring these:
- Which facelift technique do you recommend for me, and why?
- Will you treat my neck, or only the lower face?
- Where will my incisions be, and can I wear my hair up afterward?
- Is local anesthesia an option for me?
- How long should I plan to stay out of public view?
- How long do you expect my result to last?
What it costs
The national average surgeon fee for a facelift ran $12,000 to $19,000 in 2024. That figure leaves out anesthesia, the facility and add-on procedures, so your own quote depends on your plan.
You should walk out knowing exactly what will be done. Not holding a menu of extras.
Stage 3: preparing for surgery and surgery day
Good recovery starts weeks before the operation. Most of it happens at home, with a checklist.
The weeks before
You get a personalized pre-op checklist. Expect to stop nicotine, pause certain medications and supplements that raise bleeding risk (only as your surgeon directs), finish any required tests, and clear your calendar.
The nicotine rule is not a formality. Research suggests smokers face up to 12.5 times the risk of skin necrosis after a facelift compared with non-smokers. Vaping counts too, because nicotine narrows blood vessels however it reaches you.
Set up your recovery space
- A recliner or a stack of pillows to keep your head raised.
- Cold compresses.
- Button-up or zip-front tops, so nothing pulls over your face.
- Soft food and a gentle cleanser.
- A driver home, and someone to stay with you the first night.
Choosing your anesthesia
Many face lifts are done under general anesthesia. For suitable patients, Dr. Ardesh also performs face lifts under local anesthesia, so you skip general anesthesia entirely. Patients who chose it tell us the experience felt comfortable and they were clear-headed sooner afterward.
Whether it fits you depends on your health, the extent of surgery and your own comfort level. That gets decided at consultation, not on the day.
On the day
A face lift is usually an outpatient procedure. Surgery takes several hours, longer when the neck, brow or eyelids are treated at the same time. Incisions sit in the natural creases around the ear and into the hairline. You go home with a light dressing or compression wrap and written instructions.
Stage 4: healing, week by week
Recovery depends on how much was done and how your body heals. Read this as a general map, not a guarantee.
The timeline
|
When |
What you'll notice |
What to do |
|
Days 1 to 3 |
Swelling and tightness peak. Numbness around the ears and cheeks is common. |
Keep your head raised, use cold compresses as directed, rest, take medication as prescribed. |
|
Days 4 to 7 |
Bruising fades, often settling toward the neck. |
Attend your first follow-up visits for incisions and dressings. |
|
Days 7 to 14 |
Most sutures come out. The face still looks tight or puffy, worst in the morning. |
Keep activity light and sleep with your head up. |
|
Weeks 2 to 3 |
You start to look like yourself. |
Many patients return to work and easy social plans, with light makeup or hair worn down. |
|
Weeks 4 to 6 |
The jawline and neck sharpen as swelling settles. |
Ease back into exercise. |
|
Months 3 to 6 |
The result looks natural and settled. |
Keep protecting incisions, which fade further over the next year. |
Aftercare that changes the outcome
- Sleep on your back with your head up, and avoid sharp neck turns early on.
- Skip hair color, saunas and hard workouts until your surgeon clears you.
- Wear sunscreen and a hat. Sun on healing skin can darken scars.
- Drink water, eat well and stay off nicotine, which slows healing.
Don't judge it in week two
This is the hard part, honestly. Around day ten, you will look in the mirror and wonder what you signed up for. The face feels tight. One side looks puffier than the other.
That is swelling, and swelling leaves. The lift stays.
Stage 5: long-term results and Dr. Ardesh's approach
The best face lift is the one nobody can name. Friends say you look rested and ask where you went on vacation. Your jawline is clean, your neck is smoother, and you still look like you.
How long a face lift lasts
The evidence is better than most people expect. In a Glasgow study of 50 patients photographed about 5.5 years after surgery, 76% still looked younger than before their lift. The neck was the only area that showed noticeable slide.
Deep plane data runs longer. A 30-year review found patients waited an average of 10.9 years before a second lift, and those who had their first at 53 or younger waited 12.4 years.
One fair caveat. The 15-year claims you will see online for deep plane lifts rest mostly on surgeon experience, and no controlled trial has settled which technique lasts longest. Skill and fit matter as much as the name of the technique.
What that looks like in Dr. Ardesh's hands
Dr. Farhad Ardesh is board certified in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and in Head and Neck Surgery. His practice is dedicated to the face and neck, and his approach centers on enhancing natural features while preserving identity.
|
What he does |
What it means for you |
|
Plans around facial structure, proportion and movement, often with a deep plane face and neck lift |
Deeper tissue gets repositioned, so the result looks natural and holds |
|
Pairs the lift with a brow lift or eyelid surgery when those areas have aged too |
No single area looks newer than the rest |
|
Offers local anesthesia to suitable patients |
You avoid general anesthesia |
|
Recommends only what will meaningfully improve your face and neck |
You pay for what helps, not a padded list |
|
Follows you through recovery in both offices |
The same team from consultation to final check |
"I absolutely love my results. My skin texture looks better than before and I look and feel 10 years younger." Lisa P., facelift patient (Google review)
A face lift does not stop time. It resets the clock. Your face keeps aging naturally, just from a younger starting point, and sunscreen, good skincare and steady habits help the result hold.
See real patient results in the before-and-after gallery.
FAQs
1. Is a face lift painful?
Most patients describe tightness, swelling and mild soreness rather than sharp pain. Medication usually controls it well, and it eases within the first week.
2. Will my scars show?
Incisions follow the natural creases in front of and behind the ear, then run into the hairline. Once healed, they are very hard to spot, even with your hair up.
3. Will I lose feeling in my face?
Temporary numbness around the cheeks and ears is common. Feeling returns gradually over weeks to months.
4. Can I combine a face lift with other procedures?
Yes. Neck lift, brow lift, eyelid surgery and fat transfer are common pairings. One recovery beats several. Your surgeon should still recommend only what you actually need.
5. Do men get face lifts?
Yes, though they remain a small share. Men had 5,819 of the 79,058 facelifts reported in 2024, about 7%. Technique adapts to keep a masculine jawline and to account for beard hair when placing incisions.
6. Can I travel to Los Angeles for a face lift?
Many patients do. Plan to stay locally for at least the first week for follow-up visits, and check with your surgeon before you fly home.
7. What a face lift really buys you
Most people think a face lift buys them years. We'd argue it buys something quieter. It ends the daily negotiation with the mirror, the camera angles, the wondering whether one more syringe will do it.
Uncertainty is the real cost of waiting. Once you can see each stage clearly, the decision gets smaller. It stops being a leap and becomes a question of fit, and of timing.
The first step is a consultation where someone studies your face and tells you the truth about it. If you are weighing a face lift in Los Angeles or Orange County, book a consultation with Dr. Ardesh.
