A lower face lift is the operation aimed at the jawline and the jowls, and the name is descriptive rather than standardized. It sits between a mini lift and a full facelift in scope, and no national body publishes an average for it specifically. What is published is the American Society of Plastic Surgeons average cost of a facelift (rhytidectomy) of $11,395 and, separately, a neck lift at $7,885, both as surgeon fees excluding anesthesia, operating room facilities and other related expenses.
Ask providers for a written price
Reading the two published figures together
The facelift average describes the fuller operation and the neck lift average describes the neck alone. A lower face lift is generally quoted below the first and its combination with a neck lift is quoted well below the two added together, because one anesthetic and one facility booking cover both. Those relationships are more useful for budgeting than any single number, because they tell you what each additional area costs rather than what an average patient paid.
What the operation does not reach
The brow and the eyes. Patients whose complaint is hooding or a heavy brow are looking at a brow lift, which ASPS averages at $5,460 as a surgeon fee, or at eyelid surgery, which it prices separately. Combining any of these with a lower face lift is common and is quoted as one longer operation rather than as a sum of procedures.
Where the variation in quotes comes from
Depth of dissection and the technique used. ASPS names the type of procedure used as one of three drivers of the surgeon fee, and in facelift surgery that covers a genuine range from skin-only approaches to deeper planes. Two quotes differing by thousands usually reflect two different operations, and the way to see it is a written description of what each surgeon proposes to do.
Questions people ask about lower face lift
What does a lower face lift cost?
No separate national average exists. ASPS publishes $11,395 for a facelift and $7,885 for a neck lift, both as surgeon fees excluding anesthesia and facility.
Does it include the neck?
Not by definition. Where the neck is included the operation is longer, and it is quoted below the two separate operations added together.
What about the brow and eyes?
Different operations. ASPS averages a brow lift at $5,460 and publishes eyelid surgery separately.
Why do quotes vary so much?
Because the depth and technique vary. Ask each surgeon to describe the proposed operation in writing before comparing.