Facial cosmetic surgery improves your facial appearance and makes you “look good for your age.” Looking many years younger is not necessarily the goal of a facelift. Orange County’s Dr. Sikorski’s professional focus is that of restoring a natural, well cared for appearance that leaves you looking rested, energetic and healthy without changing the uniqueness of what makes you look like “you.” Older standardized surgical techniques that are not customized to the individual can actually create a generic appearance that is neither attractive nor unique.
At Natural Image OC, Dr. Sikorski uses her medical and fine arts training, always striving to provide her facelift patients in Orange County with results that enhance their true beauty naturally and do not make them look “done up.” If you are becoming self-conscious about the way your face appears, a facelift might be the right procedure to provide you with a more refreshed, youthful appearance, and to help you regain the confidence in your face that you may have lost.
What Can a Facelift Accomplish?
A facelift will improve the major negative aspects of aging, such as loosening of facial skin, folds, and creases around the nose and mouth. By tightening underlying structures and removing loose skin, Dr. Sikorski redefines the facial/neck structure while achieving a natural, non-stretched, non-surgically altered look. Improvements in visible signs of aging in the face and neck include:
Reducing sagging in the mid-face; 
Removing creases and hollowed out skin below the lower eyelids; 
Eliminating deep creases along the nose and mouth; 
Repositioning or extracting fatty deposits of the face that have fallen or are misplaced; 
Getting rid of jowls that sag at the jawline as a result of loosened muscle tone; and 
Removing a double chin. While a facelift will never stop the aging process, it can provide you with a more refreshed, energetic look for about 5 to 10 years.
Ideal Facelift Candidates
You are typically a good candidate for a facelift if you:
- Are 45 years or older and showing the signs of aging including deep facial creases, folds and sagging skin on their face and neck;
- Are in good general health;
- Are a non-smoker, as smoking can negatively impact both the surgery and recovery time;
- Have realistic expectation for the facelift; and
- Are in good psychological health.
Combining Facelift with Other Facial Procedures
In addition to providing facelift surgery, Dr. Sikorski often works with her Orange County facelift patients to add complimentary facial treatments to complete their enhanced look, including:
- Blepharoplasty, or an eyelift to tighten up sagging eyelids;
- A brow lift, to reduce creases in the forehead and lift drooping eyebrows;
- A neck lift, to tighten up loose and sagging skin to match your face’s more youthful appearance after a facelift; and
- The use of facial injectables and dermal fillers to fill in superficial fine lines and wrinkles throughout the face.
Improving the neck and forehead are often assumed to be part of a facelift procedure, but actually, procedures to lift the brow or tighten the neck can be, and often are, separate procedures. Most Orange County patients who choose to have facelift surgery also opt for neck lift surgery to enjoy a unified appearance.
Other Procedures
Thermage Skin Tightening for mild skin laxity22 
Mixto Fractional CO2 Laser Resurfacing 
Erbium Laser Resurfacing for full surface skin rejuvenation 
JUVÉDERM® Injectable Gel for lip enhancement 
Customizing Your Facelift Procedure
Facelift patients may choose between several facelift procedure options offered by Natural Image OC in Orange County to achieve their desired look.
Composite Facelift
A composite facelift is an excellent option for Orange County patients to select when aging is apparent throughout the entire face and neck. With a composite facelift, the neck, face, eyes, and brows are all addressed during one surgical procedure, providing you with a refreshed look.
SMAS Facelift
A SMAS facelift is the most popular face and neck lift combination procedure. With this facelift option, Orange County patients ages 45 and older have their skin smoothed out, as well as a tightening of the face’s Superficial Musculo-Aponeurotic System, or SMAS. After the face is corrected, the neck is tightened, so that loosened skin is removed.
Mid Facelift
A mid facelift is perfect for Orange County residents with sagging cheeks and drooping corners of the mouth, but otherwise, have a youthful-looking face and neck. With a mid facelift, the cheeks are tightened up, which removes the nasolabial folds of the mouth, too.
Active Lift™
Offered exclusively by Dr. Sikorski of Natural Image OC, the Active Lift is a less invasive facelift that is more like a mini lift. With the Active Lift, Orange County patients have loosened skin tightened and removed, as well as liposuction of fatty areas. The ActiveLift is perfect for facelift patients who do not yet need a full composite or SMAS facelift. An ActiveLift has a faster recovery time than traditional facelifts.
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Facelift Recovery
Everyone is different, and every facelift is different, so individual recovery times vary. However, most patients find that they can resume their normal daily activities after one or two weeks. Be sure to follow Dr. Sikorski’s detailed post-operative instructions to know how to effectively care for yourself after a facelift. Dr. Sikorski has performed thousands of procedures in the Orange County area and will use her artist’s touch and a skilled eye to provide you with your ideal look, but if you do not follow your post-op instructions, you could delay your healing and end up with less than perfect results.
Note: Dr. Sikorski does not use staples for skin closure. Although this is a common practice for some surgeons, she does not take this “short cut”- which can leave a patient with uneven and excessive scarring.
Watch Janeen talk about her Facelift experience at Natural Image Oc
Costs of Cosmetic Surgery
At Natural Image OC in the Orange County area, we maintain a top-level integrated, AAAHC accredited outpatient surgery center. This helps reduce the costs of cosmetic surgery because we are not tied to the additional costs of a satellite surgical center, nor do any “overtime” costs that can accrue from extra surgery time or anesthesiologist fees. In the end, this can save up to 25% over what many surgeries might cost elsewhere.
Costs of Facelift
At Natural Image OC in the Orange County area, we maintain a top-level integrated, AAAHC accredited outpatient surgery center. This helps reduce the costs of cosmetic surgery because we are not tied to the additional costs of a satellite surgical center, nor do any “overtime” costs that can accrue from extra surgery time or anesthesiologist fees. In the end, this can save up to 25% over what many surgeries might cost elsewhere.
Because every patient is unique, each procedure is unique as well. There are several different options for facelift surgery, and only Dr. Sikorski will be able to tell you which one will be ideal for your case. During your initial consultation, Dr. Sikorski will be able to carefully examine your face, and you will be able to ask her any questions you have about the procedure and explain to her your desired outcome. Once you’ve had this initial appointment, you will be provided with an estimation of costs for your specific procedure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Kind of Facelift Surgery Should I Choose?
From comprehensive lifts to mini lifts, almost any variation and extent of surgery can be crafted to meet your facial improvement goals. Every facelift surgery is highly individualized. Dr. Sikorski’s dual specialty of cosmetic surgery and dermatology allows for a wide range of options from purely surgical to mini-surgical, surgical with dermatology or, for Orange County patients who wish to avoid any type of surgery, nonsurgical cosmetic dermatology.
Dr. Sikorski provides complimentary consults so that you can weigh the various options. With a complete assessment consultation you’ll understand the options, what each will accomplish and associated procedure costs.
How Long Does a Facelift Procedure Take?
On average, a facelift procedure takes between 2 and 4 hours, depending on the type of facelift you are having done and the condition of your skin. If you choose to combine your facelift surgery with another procedure such as a brow lift or neck lift, your surgery time could increase by several hours.
Can’t I Get The Same Results with A Non-Surgical Option?
Not exactly. As we mentioned above, there are several other options you could qualify for that are considered non-surgical; however, the results you receive through a facelift procedure last exponentially longer than the results you get from chemical peels, laser treatments, or injections. Often, men and women in Orange County use these other procedures to slow down the effects of aging and delay their need for a facelift, but most patients eventually realize the results they desire can only come from a facelift.
At What Age Should I Get a Facelift?
Typically, men and women in the Orange County area who are between 40-60 years old consider facelift surgery. This is generally because time and gravity have taken their toll on your skin, and elasticity has been lost, and sagging has increased. However, a facelift can be done for patients in their 70s or 80s as well, depending on their overall health and skin condition.
I Had a Facelift Performed Elsewhere, and I’m Not Happy With The Results. Can Dr. Sikorski Help Me?
Of course! Dr. Sikorski is a recognized physician in skincare and facial surgery. She has over 20 years of experience as a cosmetic surgeon and dermatologist and has high standards for providing her patients with attractive and graceful change. If you have had a negative experience at another practice, she will take great care to be sure you fully understand what realistic results she will be able to provide in order to correct your previous outcome.
Your consultation visit
If you are ready to see if a facelift is right for you, schedule a consultation visit with Natural Image OC. You’ll enjoy a relaxing visit to our office where you can ask questions, meet our staff, take a tour of our office and surgical suite and view additional photo results of our Orange County patients.
Your consultation assessment is with Dr. Sikorski, not an impersonal or commissioned salesperson. Fees and procedure preparations are discussed with our patient coordinator, who will detail the surgical experience with you.
We look forward to meeting with you and helping you find the simplest solution to achieve the goals you desire. Contact Dr. Sikorski in the Orange County area to schedule a facelift consultation. Call (949) 448-0487.
Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology for the Greater Orange County Area.
Dr. Sikorski offers cosmetic & dermatology procedures to patients in all Orange County communities, including Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Irvine, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, San Clemente, and San Juan Capistrano. Schedule your own consultational appointment today!