Understanding Deep Plane Facelifts:
Who Needs It & How to Delay Surgery with Skincare

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Welcome to The Skin Report, everyone. Today, we are going to talk about long-lasting solutions for jowls, skin tightening, and specifically address a trending topic, deep plane facelift. Remember, if you enjoy content about medical aesthetic treatments, medical-grade skincare, beauty trends, please like, subscribe, and you can always ask a question in the comments.

Welcome to The New Skin Report, a dedicated space for exploring the world of skincare, medical aesthetics, and beauty, especially for women of color. We are bringing the same insightful discussions into a vibrant new format where you can both hear and see the world of skincare and medical aesthetics come alive. Join us on the new Skin Report. Let’s explore, learn, and grow together. Hit subscribe, and let’s make skincare and self-care a journey we embark on together. Hi, Shaheera.

Shaheera:
Thanks for having me. I feel like this is a great conversation for you to go really deep into it because I don’t really know much or anything about deep plane facelifts. I know only of it because it’s popped up in my explore feed, maybe because I need it or because-

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Because you talked about it once.

Shaheera:
Because I talked about it one time and now it’s everywhere. But it’s interesting because I’m like, “Okay. Who’s searching for this? Why is this trending?” I feel like every week a new thing is trending and it’s like something so advanced. I’m like, “I hope a 12-year-old is not trying to get a deep plane facelift.” But with that said, what is it first of all, and who is the person who should be looking into it?

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Yeah. I’m not a plastic surgeon, but I’m a physician who essentially deals with any kind of skin or face, body change that is happening pre-surgically and can be addressed without surgery. That’s why I know quite a bit about it because my job is to make sure that we’re not doing a treatment that is nonsurgical on someone who actually needs a surgical solution.

And so I know quite a bit about it based on what I’ve talked to colleagues who are plastic surgeons and patients. A deep plane facelift is essentially a subcategory of a facelift. It’s more of a technique I should say. And it refers to a layer of tissue that sits below the fat that sits below our skin. And that’s used to lift up the fat and the skin. And a lot of surgeons will also do a fat transfer if somebody has lost a lot of fat underneath their skin, all to achieve a more youthful, lifted appearance, address very, very common things like jowls.

And I think it’s trending because in this world of social media there, you can see a lot of information about things. And I also think that surgically facelifts have gotten better and better and more natural. But when you ask who is a candidate for it, it varies. And I think that it is something that you can avoid doing at a younger age if there were things done prior to it. When it comes to who is really a good candidate for it, usually men or women in their 50s. Especially if they are of skin type one through three because that skin type has less melanin or less eumelanin that protects them from the effects of UV light, blue light so they have more skin aging and breakdown of fat underneath their skin causing laxity.

Shaheera:
With that skin type, for anyone who doesn’t know what a skin type is, that’s using the Fitzpatrick scale. Skin types one through six generally are what is used. Basically from someone very, very fair to medium skin tone are the ones that are generally impacted by environmental stressors or skin sagging and so on. Now with that being said, for somebody who is on the other end of the Fitzpatrick scale as a four to six, when do they generally, what age groups are they seeking?

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Generally in their 60s, so a decade later. And then one group that I think we’re seeing a lot more of people who’ve been on things like Ozempic or have had drastic weight loss. They at any young age can be a candidate for a facelift because the weight loss was very drastic and now they have a lot of new skin.

Shaheera:
What are some things that we can do in a nonsurgical environment and like an environment in medical aesthetics like yours that people can have the same benefits or maybe if they can gradually get themselves to that sort of desired result?

Dr. Simran Sethi:
The concept of collagen banking, which we have a whole separate episode on and it’s on our Instagram as well, is key here. If you are depositing into your collagen bank early in life with great skincare, medical grade, you are doing medical aesthetic treatments like microneedling, facial rejuvenation, lasers, all therapy in your 30s, 40s, you are going to delay the need of a facelift, maybe even not need a facelift honestly, if you honestly have a darker skin tone. And it makes a huge difference. And when I say delay, I’m talking like decades or the extent of the facelift. Maybe you don’t need a full facelift, maybe you just need a lower neck. The dividend from doing that collagen banking is huge. And so easy to do. There are things that will definitely impact that.

And then the other thing, I see so many women in my practice who have had a facelift in their 50s, but they have a lot of hyperpigmentation, sun damage and they have fine lines. Facelift is not a skin treatment. They end up looking like an older person who had a facelift versus looking younger, which is what they’re trying to do. Skin treatments and skincare do make a huge impact.

Shaheera:
And that’s good to mention because even if you’re collagen banking, which means you are introducing collagen into your skin or collagen replenishment and you went your 20s, 30s, that’s appropriate just to maintain really, really healthy skin renewal. For people who are like, “Well, I got a deep plain facelift, I did all this. I got treatments, all therapy, anything to lift and sculpt and tighten.”

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Yeah. You’re still, you’re if you-

Shaheera:
So I still have to continue to do everything?

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Absolutely. Absolutely.

Shaheera:
What is the… The most simple thing is use skincare to just help maintain that?

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Yeah. Well a lot of surgeons will tell people, “I’m doing your facelift now and you might need another one in 10, 15 years,” based on how they’ve been aging so far. You can definitely delay that and maybe not and I think really honestly not need another facelift. If yes, you do that, you start that collagen banking at that point. And you can start collagen induction at any point, it makes a difference.

We’re living beings. Our skin is one of the fastest renewing types of tissue in our body. That’s why it responds so well to interventions, including great skincare treatments if you can afford it. Because if you can afford skin treatments, doesn’t mean that you won’t benefit from great skincare. It really does make a difference.

Shaheera:
What kind of questions do you think people should actually ask before they venture into this deep plane facelift journey?

Dr. Simran Sethi:
I think great questions are going to be what can I be doing to optimize my results in the future if I want one and what should I be doing after? And of course, as always, they can leave us questions and comments. I love seeing those because it also allows me to sometimes even go back and research an answer, which is great. And I’m sure a lot of other people are thinking of that same question.

Shaheera:
Thank you. I feel like I’ve learned a lot maybe have prep myself to one day get a deep plane facelift. Maybe in my-

Dr. Simran Sethi:
That’s right. That will last forever.

Shaheera:
If I collagen bank maybe in my 70s.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
There you go.

Shaheera:
Thank you.

Dr. Simran Sethi:
Thank you so much for joining us today. And again, if you like this kind of content or are interested in skincare, beauty, medical aesthetics, please like, subscribe and leave us any questions in the comments.