Facial aesthetic surgery in Paris 16

Facial aesthetic surgery pursues two distinct objectives. The first is to correct the effects of ageing: re-tensioning skin that has become lax, with a facelift; brightening eyes weighed down, with eyelid surgery. The second is to modify a feature felt to be unsightly, independently of age: this is the domain of rhinoplasty and otoplasty.

In both cases the requirement is the same: the face must remain recognisable. A successful operation is noticed as a rested air, not as a change of identity.

How does the face age?

Facial ageing is not simply a loosening of the skin. It combines three phenomena that develop at different rates.

The skin loses its elasticity under the effect of time, sun exposure and tobacco. The deep fat compartments melt away and migrate downwards, hollowing the temples and cheekbones while forming jowls. The bony support itself remodels, changing the contours of the orbit and the jaw.

Understanding this mechanism explains why a single technique is not always enough: re-tensioning skin without restoring lost volume gives a stretched result; filling volume without treating excess skin does not correct jowls.

Which procedure answers which stage?

The question asked at a consultation is almost never « which technique ». It is « where am I ». The answers follow an order, and offering the next one too early is as unhelpful as offering the previous one too late.

• The skin has changed, nothing has dropped yet. Texture, fine lines, early laxity: this is the field of fractional radiofrequency, which acts on the skin without removing any.
• Volumes have melted away, features are hollowing. Cheekbones, temples, folds: aesthetic medicine restores volume and relaxes the muscles that mark the face. It does not remove skin.
• The lower face is sagging, but not the neck. Laxity limited to the cheek and to early jowls calls for a minilift, often enough before fifty.
• The lower third and the neck have moved together. This is the indication for a full cervicofacial lift, which treats the SMAS and the neck angle.
• The eyes have become heavy. Excess eyelid skin and bags respond to no injection: they call for eyelid surgery, which can be done alone or alongside a lift.

Two procedures fall outside this progression because they do not treat ageing: rhinoplasty and otoplasty correct a feature, at any age once growth is complete.

Reading by stage also explains refusals. Multiplying injections on a lax face produces visible overload without correcting the real problem; operating on a face that shows no excess skin yet brings nothing. In both cases the indication is to do nothing for now, and to say so.

Which facial procedures are offered?

Cervicofacial lift

Re-tensioning of the tissues of the face and neck, with removal of excess skin. Indicated when the lower face and neck have sagged, generally from the age of 50. A mini-lift may be sufficient before that age.

Rhinoplasty

Modification of the shape of the nose: reduction of a hump, refinement or repositioning of the tip, correction of a deviation after injury. Most often carried out by the closed approach, with no visible scar.

Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty)

Removal of excess skin from the upper eyelids and of the fatty bags of the lower eyelids. It is the operation that most changes the perceived expression of the face for the most limited procedure.

Ear surgery (otoplasty)

Correction of prominent ears by reshaping the cartilage. Can be considered as soon as the child asks for it themselves, often around the age of 6-7 or 12-13. The scar is hidden behind the ear.

Surgery or non-surgical treatment: how to choose?

Non-surgical aesthetic medicine treats what is a matter of volume and muscle contraction: expression lines, hollowed folds, dropped cheekbones. It does not remove skin.

Surgery treats what is a matter of excess skin and laxity of the deep planes. No injection removes established jowls or excess eyelid skin.

The two approaches are not opposed. Practised without excess, non-surgical treatment often makes it possible to postpone surgery by several years. It is also used to complement surgery, for example to restore volume during a facelift.

At what age should facial surgery be considered?

There is no reference age. Skin laxity depends on genetics, sun exposure, tobacco and weight fluctuations as much as on chronological age.

In practice, a facelift is considered from the age of 40 when the skin has visibly become lax; a mini-lift is then often sufficient. From the age of 50, when the lower face and the neck have sagged, a more complete operation is generally indicated.

Rhinoplasty and otoplasty follow a different logic: they can be carried out as soon as the structures concerned have finished growing.

Frequently asked questions about facial surgery

Does a facelift make a face look frozen?

A frozen appearance results from excessive tension applied to the skin alone. When the re-tensioning is applied to the deep planes and the excess skin is removed without excessive traction, the face keeps its mobility and its expression.

Should you stop smoking before facial surgery?

Yes. Tobacco reduces the blood supply to the skin and significantly increases the risk of healing problems and necrosis. Stopping for at least one month before the operation is necessary.

How long before returning to social life?

Swelling is present for about ten days after a facelift, sometimes with bruising. Stitches are removed between the 7th and the 10th day. After a blepharoplasty, stitches are removed around the 5th day.

Last updated: August 2026 · Medical content reviewed by Dr Benjamin Pulvermacker, board-qualified plastic surgeon in Paris 16.