After Weight Loss: Treatments to Rejuvenate Your Face and Neck

If you’ve recently lost weight, whether intentional or not, you may have mixed feelings about the changes. While losing weight can sometimes make your body feel lighter or healthier, it can also lead to a loss of facial volume and firmness, which may cause wrinkles, hollowness or what’s often called “Ozempic face.”¹

Luckily, there are steps you can take to regain some of the facial firmness lost during weight loss. From surgical procedures like a facelift or neck lift to non-surgical options like dermal fillers and laser treatments, read on to explore treatment options that may help restore facial volume.

Why Facial Volume and Firmness Matter

Collagen and elastin are essential proteins that help maintain the firmness and hydration needed for youthful-looking skin. As these naturally decrease with age, the skin can appear thinner, drier and less firm, leading to visible signs of volume loss.²

This process, called soft-tissue atrophy, can cause once-smooth skin to appear thinner, looser and more hollow.³ 

Volume loss can impact the various parts of the face, including:²

• Cheeks
• Forehead
• Jawline
• Lips
• Under the eyes 

Volume loss in these areas can create the appearance of tiredness, gauntness and premature aging.¹

Causes of facial volume loss

While aging is the main cause of facial volume loss, weight loss is another common reason. Dramatic weight loss through diet and exercise, bariatric surgery or weight loss medications like GLP-1s can lead to a decrease in overall body fat, impacting facial volume and skin firmness and causing the face to lose its rounded, lifted contours.¹ In addition to aging and weight loss, other reasons can cause a loss of facial volume and skin firmness.³

• Certain medications
• Genetics
• Hormonal changes
• Severe illness
• Smoking
• Stress
• Sun exposure

These factors can accelerate decreases in facial volume and skin laxity, contributing to a thinner, older and more hollowed appearance over time.³

Symptoms of facial volume loss

The loss of fullness and skin laxity after weight loss can show up in multiple ways on the face. You may notice:³

• Dry, thinning lips 
• Fine lines and wrinkles
• Flat or sagging cheeks
• Hollowing or sunken areas under the eyes
• Lines or folds around the lips and nose (nasolabial folds)
• Loose skin along the sides of the mouth or the jawline
• More prominent brow bones

Restoring volume and firmness helps more than just your appearance — it can bring back your confidence, too. By replenishing lost support beneath the skin, treatments such as a face and neck lift or non-surgical options like BOTOX® Cosmetic, filler or laser treatments, can smooth contours, reduce the look of sagging or wrinkles and help you look and feel more like yourself again.⁴ 

Understanding the Facelift

One surgical option that can help address many of the signs of facial volume loss, like sagging skin and wrinkles, is a facelift.

What is a facelift?

A facelift, or rhytidectomy, is a surgical procedure designed to lift and tighten sagging skin, muscles and tissues of the face and neck for a smoother, firmer and more youthful appearance. By tightening muscles and removing excess skin, a facelift helps restore natural facial contours.⁵

There are many different types of facelifts designed to address different concerns and meet patient needs. Some of these include an SMAS facelift, a deep plane facelift and a midface lift.⁵ A consultation with a plastic surgeon can help you determine which type of facelift is best for you.

The facelift process

The specific steps of a facelift may vary based on the type of facelift you get. However, in general, most facelifts will include these steps:⁵

• Consultation. During your facelift consultation, your surgeon will discuss your goals, review your medical history and examine your face and neck to determine the best surgical approach for your wants and needs. You’ll also learn about different facelift options, recovery expectations and costs and have the opportunity to ask questions.
• Anesthesia. Depending on the type of facelift you are getting, your surgeon may select general anesthesia or a combination of sedatives, local anesthesia and intravenous anesthesia.
• Incisions. The number, placement and size of the incisions will vary based on the type and goals of the facelift. Incisions are generally placed in areas that will blend into the natural folds or contours of the skin. 
• Adjustments. During this phase of the facelift, underlying muscles are tightened, fat is removed or redistributed and excess skin is trimmed and removed.
• Closure and bandaging. Once the inner adjustments have been made, the incisions will be closed with small sutures, skin adhesive or metal clips. Some sutures may be self-dissolving, while others may need to be removed during a follow-up visit. In some cases, a small drain may be placed under the skin to aid with fluid drainage. Bandages will also be applied over the incision closures.

The entire facelift surgery can often take three or four hours. Bruising, swelling and discomfort are common after a facelift procedure but usually resolve within two to three weeks. The healing process can vary, but on average, patients can expect to see final results around three weeks.⁶

While a facelift won’t prevent future facial aging, results from facelifts often last 10 years or longer.⁵

Good candidates for a facelift

You may be a good candidate for a facelift if you are experiencing a loss of facial volume, have deep wrinkles and notice areas of sagging skin. Those exploring a facelift should also be in overall good health and have realistic expectations of what a facelift can and cannot achieve. While patients typically fall between 40 and 70 years of age, there is no one best time to consider a facelift.⁵

Exploring the Neck Lift

Another surgical procedure that can address the signs of volume loss after weight loss is a neck lift. A neck lift can be performed on its own, but can also be combined with a facelift, a brow lift, blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) or cheek implants.⁷

What is a neck lift?

A neck lift, also known as a lower rhytidectomy, is a surgical procedure designed to improve excess or sagging skin along the jawline and neck. It can also address excess fat beneath the chin as well as muscle banding in the neck that causes uneven contours.⁸ 

Depending on your aesthetic goals, a neck lift can involve a cervicoplasty to remove excess skin, a platysmaplasty to tighten neck muscles or both, resulting in a smoother, firmer and more defined neck and jawline.⁹ There is also an option between a traditional neck lift and a limited incision neck lift.¹⁰

The neck lift procedure

A neck lift includes many of the same procedure steps as a facelift. In general, most facelifts will include these steps:

• Consultation. During your neck lift consultation, your surgeon will discuss your goals, review your medical history and examine your neck to determine the best surgical approach for your wants and needs.¹¹
• Anesthesia. Before the procedure, anesthesia will be administered. A neck lift is usually performed with general anesthesia or intravenous sedation.¹⁰ 
• Incisions. The number, placement and size of the incisions will vary based on the type of neck lift. A traditional neck lift includes an incision that begins at the hairline above the ear and continues down and around the ear. A separate incision under the chin may be required as well. A limited incision lift often just includes smaller incisions just around the ear.¹⁰
• Adjustments. After incisions are made, fat in the jowls and neck may be reshaped or contoured. The underlying neck tissue is repositioned, and the platysma, a thin, sheet-like muscle located along the front of the neck, is tightened. The skin of the neck is then smoothed over the newly defined contours, with any excess being removed.¹⁰
• Closure and bandaging. Once the procedure is complete, sutures or skin adhesive will be used to close the incisions. Bandages or a compression wrap may be recommended by your surgeon.¹⁰

A neck lift procedure usually takes about three hours to complete. Bruising, swelling and numbness are common after a neck lift but typically subside within 10 to 14 days. Most individuals are able to return to normal daily activities in about two weeks. While natural aging will still occur, results from a neck lift can last 10 or more years.¹²

Good candidates for a neck lift

You may be a good candidate for a neck lift if you are looking to address sagging neck skin, muscle laxity or visible wrinkling caused by weight loss, aging or other factors.¹² Those considering a neck lift should be non-smokers in overall good health with no major medical concerns.⁷ 

Non-Surgical Options to Restore Volume and Firmness

If you’re looking to address a loss of facial volume due to recent weight loss with a non-surgical treatment, there are a range of options to explore. From dermal fillers and BOTOX^® to laser treatments and chemical peels, these minimally invasive treatments can help address lines and wrinkles, hollowness and skin laxity without the procedure time or recovery of a surgical solution.⁴

Popular non-invasive treatments to restore facial volume

Here are some common non-invasive treatments to treat a loss of facial volume after weight loss.

• BOTOX. While they don’t actually lift the tissue of the face, neuromodulators like BOTOX work to relax muscles, creating a smoother, more youthful overall appearance.⁴
• Dermal fillers. Injectable fillers are a popular treatment for restoring volume to the face. Hyaluronic acid fillers like Restylane® can be injected into the cheeks, lips or jawline to create immediate plumpness.² Other biostimulatory injectables, such as Sculptra®, stimulate your body’s natural collagen production to restore volume and structure in the face.¹
• Energy-based treatments. Ultrasound, radiofrequency, lasers and other energy-based treatments rely on heat to treat the layers of the face and neck. Treatments like Ultherapy®, Infini® or non-ablative laser treatments can stimulate collagen production, tighten skin and help reduce fine lines.⁴
• Laser resurfacing and chemical peels. Although focused less on actually lifting the tissue, laser treatments and chemical peels can noticeably enhance the skin’s surface by improving texture and tone. Laser resurfacing removes damaged outer layers to reveal smoother, firmer skin underneath, while chemical peels use acids to exfoliate the top layers, leaving you with brighter, smoother skin.⁴

Talk with a skin care professional to explore which non-surgical option might be best for you.

Good candidates for non-surgical treatments

Individuals who are looking for treatment options that don’t require anesthesia, surgery or weeks of recovery time may prefer non-surgical options for addressing facial volume. Cost may also be a contributing factor. Non-surgical treatment options are often less expensive for a single treatment, but most will require continued sessions to maintain the results.¹³

How to Decide Which Option Is Right for You

Choosing the right facial volume treatment starts with consulting a qualified specialist who can assess your unique needs and goals. A dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon can evaluate your facial structure, skin quality and overall goals to recommend options that are safe and effective. This consultation is essential not only for achieving the desired results but also for understanding the realistic outcomes and potential complications of each treatment.⁵

When deciding on a treatment plan, it’s important to consider factors such as your desired results, budget, tolerance for recovery time and any underlying medical conditions. In some cases, combining treatments — like injectables with laser treatments or dermal fillers alongside a surgical facelift — can provide a more comprehensive, natural-looking enhancement.⁵ By weighing these factors carefully and working with an experienced specialist, you can choose a personalized approach that delivers the results you want while fitting your lifestyle and expectations.

Realistic Expectations and Maintaining Your Results

Whether you opt for a surgical or non-surgical solution to address lost facial volume, it’s important to keep realistic expectations in mind. A facelift cannot lift sagging brows, smooth skin texture or change your underlying bone structure. Non-invasive treatment options do not provide the same results or longevity as surgical solutions and may require multiple treatments to achieve your desired results.⁵

Regardless of your treatment type, making lifestyle adjustments may help you maintain your results and also encourage a healthy glow. These can include:¹⁴

• Applying daily sunscreen
• Avoiding excessive sun exposure
• Getting regular exercise
• Maintaining a healthy diet 
• Staying hydrated
• Using skin care products to exfoliate and hydrate your skin

By pairing realistic expectations with healthy habits and consistent skin care, you can help extend your results and enjoy a fresh, youthful appearance for years to come.

Taking the Next Steps 

Facial rejuvenation treatments to address the loss of facial volume and fullness after weight loss are about taking steps to restore a youthful, refreshed appearance that complements your new look. Whether you are open to exploring surgical solutions or are looking for less invasive alternatives, discussing these options with a qualified specialist is a first step toward feeling confident, revitalized and ready to put your best face forward.

Financing Facial Rejuvenation After Weight Loss With the CareCredit Credit Card

Ready to revitalize your appearance and boost your confidence? The CareCredit credit card makes it easy to pay for facial rejuvenation after weight loss and related expenses not covered by health insurance.* Use our Acceptance Locator to find a doctor or cosmetic surgeon near you that accepts CareCredit so you can stop dreaming and start living your best life. Continue your wellness journey by downloading the CareCredit Mobile App to manage your CareCredit account, find a provider on the go and easily access the Well U blog for more great articles, podcasts and videos.

 In addition to cosmetic procedures, you can also use your CareCredit credit card for dentistry, pet care, vision, hearing, health systems, dermatology, pharmacy purchases, spa treatments and so much more within the CareCredit network. How will you invest in your health and wellness next?

Author Bio

Kate Bayless is a health and wellness freelance writer with 20 years of experience. Her work has appeared in Parents, Women’s Health, Beachbody and OpenFit.