Difference between Full Facelift and Mini Facelift

What is the difference between these two procedures?

Cosmetic surgeries sell like hot cakes these days. Liposuction, rhinoplasty, breast augmentation and what not, we’ve got it all covered. Our innate desire to look flawless is the factor that fuels the demand for such surgeries and there is no better place to start, but the face. Facelift surgeries have gained in prominence due to the various innovations in this field. They can be broadly classified as full facelift and mini facelift. 

Based on the procedure, full facelift involves the separation of skin from deeper tissues, insertion of sutures and removal of excess skin, whereas mini facelift involves removal of excess fat and reshaping of muscles. 

As the name suggests, full facelift focuses on tightening the skin all across the face, whereas mini facelift is all about targeting certain areas on the face with minimal impact on forehead or the eyes. 

Full facelift is time consuming compared to mini facelift due to the complexity in the basic procedures. Stitches and minor bruises are common in full facelift surgeries and it takes at least a week to get rid of them, but in case of mini facelift, such occurrences are minimal. Full facelift endures the test of time and ageing, while the other is a temporary remedy.

	Full facelift	Mini facelift
Definition	Separation of skin from deeper tissues, insertion of structures and removal of excess skin.	Removal of excess fat and reshaping the muscles.
Target area	Full facelift tightens skin on whole face.	Mini lift targets certain areas on the face.
Duration	Full facelift is complex hence takes more time.	Mini lift is not complex and takes less time.
Recovery time	Stitches and bruises are common that take one week to fade away.	Stitches and bruises are not very common.
Results	Full facelift does not have immediate results but are permanent.	Mini lift has immediate results that last for 5-10 years.
Anesthesia	General anesthesia.	Local anesthesia.