I've seen women where the appearance of their mouths have changed unnaturally after a facelift. why?

Lift of what?: A face lift is a very general term and does not tell you exactly what was done. The appearance of the mouth may be effected by fat, skin or muscle. All of these may be addressed during a facelift with variable effects on the appearance of the mouth and include deep plane techniques, midface lifts, fat grafting, direct excision, use of Botox and much more.

Facelifts: There are a number of factors that can affect the appearance of the lips and mouth after a facelift. The direction of pull and the amount of tightening can cause a change in the angle of the mouth. It also depends on whether tension was placed on the skin or on the deeper tissues. There are also some nerves that can be damaged during the surgery and injury to these nerves can affect the mouth.

Overdone: The mouth does not usually change in shape or form from a well done facelift. If you have seen someone with that feature they have probably had too many surgeries or too aggressive of surgery. Ask to see before and afters from your doctor at the time of his consultation.

Natural facelift: A well-done facelift should restore a natural appearance. Keys to avoiding the pulled look include volume restoration for 3-dimensional rejuvenation, elevating vertically in the midface, and avoiding tension on the skin.

Additional procedure: A facelift should not alter the appearance of the mouth. However, many patients desire additional rejuvenation of this area and opt for fillers, implants, lip lifts, fat grafting or other means of changing he appearance of the mouth. Weakness of the lip is uncommon but possible after a lift. It is possible that the lift was poorly done- researching a surgeons before/afters should prevent this.

Change in mouthshape: If during a facelift the skin is pulled too tight towards the ear, it can affect the corner of the mouth and change its shape. So, facelift should not be pulled tight but done in a conservative fashion.

Often transient: Or due to a concomitant lip lift or nerve damage.

Facelift: Results from a facelift are technique dependent. Be sure to have you face evaluated by a board certified facial plastic surgeon.

Natural: A well done facelift should not look "operated on". Make sure you are treated by a facial plastic surgeon.