What each option actually does
Fillers add volume. Thread lifts hold tissue in place with dissolvable threads for a limited time. HIFU and other energy-based devices heat the deeper skin layers to encourage tightening. A surgical facelift repositions the deeper supporting layer, the SMAS, and removes excess skin.
They are not interchangeable. Each one treats a different problem, which is why comparing them only on price or downtime can lead to disappointment.
It also helps to remember what you are actually bothered by. If it is fine lines and skin texture, a facelift alone will disappoint you. If it is heavy jowls and a soft jawline, a cream, a laser or a filler will. Naming the real concern is half of the decision.
When non-surgical treatments make sense
In your thirties and early forties, with good skin and only early changes, fillers, skin treatments or energy-based devices can be enough. They are also useful for people who cannot or do not want to have surgery.
They work best for fine lines, mild loss of volume and skin quality, not for tissue that has visibly descended along the jawline and neck.
Non-surgical treatments also suit people who need a quick refresh before an event and cannot take two weeks away from work. The trade-off is that their effect is shorter and usually has to be repeated, which adds up in both cost and time over the years.
Where they reach their limits
Once the jowls are clearly visible, the neck has loosened or the nasolabial folds are deep because the cheek has slipped, non-surgical treatments struggle. Filling a fold whose cause is sagging can make the face look heavier rather than younger.
Thread “fox eye” lifts around the eyes are a good example: they are temporary and can leave irregularities, whereas surgical cat eye canthoplasty gives a stable change.
Repeated treatments can also make later surgery a little more complex, for example when threads or filler have changed the tissue. If you are already thinking about a facelift, it is worth asking the surgeon before booking another round of non-surgical treatment.
What surgery offers
A facelift lifts and repositions the cheeks, jowls and upper neck, with scars hidden in the hairline and around the ear. Because the deeper layer carries the lift, the skin lies smoothly without tension and the result looks natural.
The face keeps ageing, but from a better starting point: most people still look younger ten years later than they would have without surgery. At New City Clinic, the facelift package is €3,000 all-inclusive.
Recovery is the main price of surgery. You spend one night in hospital, swelling peaks around the third day and most people feel comfortable socially after about two weeks. The final result appears over around six months.
- Repositions descended tissue rather than filling around it
- One treatment instead of repeated sessions
- Can be combined with eyelid surgery or fat transfer
- Requires a recovery of about two weeks socially
Combining surgery with your own fat
Lost volume and sagging often go together. Facial fat transfer uses your own fat to restore the cheeks, temples or under-eye hollows and is frequently combined with a facelift for a softer result.
Unlike fillers, the fat that survives after three to six months stays long term. Fat transfer is priced in a free personal quote from New City Clinic.
Fat transfer is also useful around the eyes and temples, where hollowness makes a face look tired even after a lift. The surgeon decides whether it is worth adding in your case.
How to decide
Send your photos and ask the surgeon directly. Op. Dr. Fatih Kılıç will tell you if surgery is not yet necessary, and which option is realistic for your face. The written answer usually arrives within 24 hours.
You can read more about each treatment on newcityclinic.com before you decide.
There is no obligation in asking. If the honest answer is that a non-surgical approach suits you better for now, that is what you will be told, and you can come back to the idea of a facelift when your face actually needs it.
This portal belongs to New City Clinic: Complete facelift guide on newcityclinic.com
