Mini Facelift Scars: Expectations & How to Mitigate Them

All surgical procedures, including mini facelifts, leave behind some scarring. These scars will fade over time.
Plastic surgeons are excellent at hiding mini facelift scars, often tucking them behind the ears or in the hairline.
Taking proper care of your incisions and skin after a mini facelift helps to minimize scarring.
If you are truly unhappy with your scars once they fade and mature, scar treatments that can revise or minimize them further are readily available.
Older woman touching her face

Mini Facelift Scars: Setting Proper Expectations

Since it is a surgical procedure, a mini facelift will leave behind some scars. Mini facelift procedures reduce signs of aging like sagging skin on the bottom portion of the face and jaw. Although less invasive than traditional facelifts, mini facelifts still require your surgeon to make incisions on both sides of your face. These incisions are generally small and very well hidden, but you should understand where they will be and how to care for them before your surgery.

Where Are Mini Facelift Scars Located?

Usually about ½ inch long, mini facelift scars sit in the hairline behind the ears. Sometimes they can be placed in front of the ear, but plastic surgeons hide them in the natural crease of the ear when this is necessary. Mini facelift scars are significantly shorter than those left by traditional facelifts, whose more noticeable scars may extend further into the hairline or behind the ear.

Even if you’ve done your research and have a good understanding of mini facelift scarring options, it’s important to ask your plastic surgeon where your scars will be located. Variations in surgical techniques and preferences from one surgeon to another can affect the exact location of incisions and scars.

Appearance of Mini Facelift Scars

When the incisions from your mini facelift first heal, they may leave behind scars that are quite red in color and possibly raised. This is normal and not cause for alarm. Your scars will fade and flatten over time, gradually becoming less noticeable. Scars are considered mature when they are about one year old. You may continue to notice changes in them until then.

There are a few factors that may impact the way your scars look, including skin tone and genetics. Those with darker skin tones are more likely to develop hyperpigmentation around their scars, causing the scar and the area around it to be darker than the surrounding skin. Darker skin is also more prone to keloid scars, particularly in individuals with a family history of the condition. Keloid scars are raised, firm scars that often extend beyond the original incision site. Fortunately, hyperpigmentation and keloid scars are both treatable should they develop.

Best Practices for Mini Facelift Scar Healing

Taking good care of your skin after surgery can help decrease the appearance of mini facelift and other scars. You can minimize scarring by:

  • Keeping your incisions clean and dry as they heal to avoid infection
  • Changing surgical dressings as instructed
  • Avoiding direct sunlight on your incisions with sunscreen or head coverings
  • Eating a nutritious diet and staying hydrated
  • Becoming a nonsmoker, if applicable
  • Learning and engaging in proper scar massage techniques to help flatten scars and keep them soft
  • Applying scar treatments in the form of silicone gels or sheets
  • Using any ointments or other scar care products recommended by your plastic surgeon

Long-Term Mini Facelift Scar Management

Sometimes scars remain more prominent than we would like even with proper care. Should this occur, there are several scar treatment options available ranging from laser light therapies to corticosteroid injections. Mia Aesthetics does not endorse any specific scar treatments, but a dermatologist can assess your scar and point you in the right direction. In some cases, scar revision surgery can help.

Additional Tips and Considerations

Before your mini facelift, ask any questions you may have about subsequent scarring and prepare yourself mentally for the fact that there will be scars. Plastic surgeons are excellent at minimizing and camouflaging surgical scars, but no surgery comes without any scars at all. Having realistic expectations about what is coming eliminates unpleasant surprises after the fact. Make sure you go to all of your follow-up appointments with your plastic surgeon, as well. Doing so can help you avoid complications like infection which can make scarring worse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Plastic surgeons hide mini facelift scars well and, once they fade, most are unlikely to be visible even when you wear your hair up. Scars on the front of the ears, however, may be a bit more noticeable if your updo pulls the skin tight. If you wear your hair up often, discuss this with your plastic surgeon before your procedure so they can accommodate this hairstyle as much as possible.

Yes. Mini facelift scars are shorter than those of traditional facelifts. Traditional facelift scars often extend further into the hairline or behind the ears.

Scar stretching after a mini facelift is uncommon but not impossible. Scars are much more likely to stretch if exposed to sunlight or if you overexert yourself while the incisions are healing. Scars may also stretch if the surgeon closes the incisions too tightly, but an experienced plastic surgeon shouldn’t make this mistake.

Yes. Oily skin is more prone to scarring as is skin that is very thick or very thin. Older skin scars more readily than younger skin, while both extremely dark and light skin tones tend to produce more visible scars. If you have concerns, talk to your plastic surgeon for post-op care suggestions based on your skin type and tone.

You can begin using scar creams and sheets once your surgical incisions have fully healed. This generally falls two to three weeks after your mini facelift. When in doubt, check with your surgeon.

Aloe vera can help naturally treat scars, and some people swear by coconut oil, honey, and vitamin E oil. These treatments might work for some people, but their efficacy is a subject of debate. It’s best to stick to medically endorsed scar treatments.

It is possible to surgically revise scars that remain raised or more visible than desired. Scar revisions work best for wide or irregular scars. Other scar revision techniques such as chemical peels, dermabrasion, or laser resurfacing may also work for you. Discuss these options with a board-certified dermatologist before jumping into another surgical procedure right away.

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