Male Facelift vs Female Facelift: Key Differences Explained

The differences between facelifts in men and women are few, which surprises many. After all, men and women share facial anatomy. Furthermore, the different anatomic features are a matter of degree rather than of kind when a surgeon encounters them during a procedure. In other words, many men display more traditionally “female” tissue qualities, and many women display more traditionally “male” qualities. Therefore, most of the typical differences encountered in the male versus female facelift are not strictly exclusive. The one difference that is real and significant, however, is the structure of the male versus female hairline and how it factors into surgical planning. This blog post is meant to cut through the often-exaggerated hype present in the broader health and wellness media landscape when it comes to the differences between males and females during facelift surgery.

Goals of Female and Male Facial Surgery

Both men and women want to preserve and enhance their facial features, not change them.

The effects of aging tend to make women look more masculine as well as older. This is why the effects of age-related changes in women tend to look more severe sooner than in men. As a result, women planning to undergo facelift surgery seek a restoration and preservation of the more traditionally female facial aesthetics of their youth.

Dr. Harmon feels that the effects of aging are more exaggerated in women compared with men everywhere but the neck, where changes are often much more significant in men relative to women. In fact, changes in the neck (i.e., turkey neck) are commonly the features that prompt men to seek the expertise of Dr. Jeffrey Harmon in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Shared Goals in Male Facial Surgery and Female Facelifts

In addition to lifting the neck, jawline, and cheeks, men want to avoid the same features that women want to avoid, including:

• An over-tightened, “pulled” look
• Stretched or distorted anatomy, especially around the mouth and eyes
• Highly invisible incisions

Men simply want to preserve their masculine qualities while restoring some of their more youthful, sculpted angles.

Skin Thickness and Vascular Differences in Men

Anatomically, men are more likely to demonstrate:

• Thicker skin
• More vasculature just beneath the skin, which can lead to more bleeding during surgery and after surgery
• Tight tissue confluences that need to be released in deep plane facelift surgery, which are thicker and wider

However, this is not universally the case.

Hairline Differences in Male vs Female Facelift Surgery

What is usually the case is that incision visibility tends to be more acutely important to men because they usually wear their hair shorter than women. It is important to note, however, that facial incisions in men tend to heal particularly well and particularly quickly, likely because of the concentration of stem cells in facial hair follicles that women do not have.

The differences in where incisions are placed between men and women are in front of the ear. First, men demonstrate more angular, longer sideburns, while women demonstrate a more gently curved temporal hair tuft higher in the temple. The facelift incision simply needs to accommodate this difference. Second, a decision needs to be made whether to carry the incision into the ear canal or in front of it. Taking the incision into the canal, as would be performed in women, hides more of the incision. However, this approach brings facial hair-bearing skin to an area where it did not exist previously. Dr. Harmon prefers to hide the incision in the ear canal unless an older facelift incision already sits in front. This allows the option for laser hair removal in the future, thereby negating the major downside of such an incision.

Preserving Masculine Features in a Male Facelift

Men, like women, want to look younger while preserving their distinct gender-related features. Other than minor differences in incisions, the reality is that the approach is identical. The best way to prepare is to have the skills and experience to anticipate and address the different range of tissue qualities that can be encountered in men.