Types of facelift scars in men and women

Dr. Alfredo Fernández Blanco is going to explain one of the most widely used techniques at our clinics for facial rejuvenation: the facelift. The main differences in this technique between genders lie in the scars. We will set out and explain the reasons behind the different types and positions of facelift scar.

The type of facelift scar in men and women

The scars from facelifts are practically unnoticeable over the following months and are usually placed in areas that can be concealed, either by the hair or by facial hair. This way, the patient has no visible marks.

The scars are usually made in:

• In front of the ear (preauricular area): within this area, we have pretragal and retrotragal.
• Behind the ear
• Extending into the hairline

But there are differences between genders for several reasons, which we will explain below.

Differences between men and women in facelift scar

Preauricular scars

• For women, for the facelift scar in the preauricular area, we can choose either the pretragal scar or the retrotragal one. The main difference between the two is that with the retrotragal scar, it is hidden behind the tragus of the ear, whereas with the pretragal scar this does not happen and it runs in front of it.
• For men, we must always use the pretragal scar since, as they generally have hair follicles on the face, we would carry that facial hair into the ear, which is not advisable. In addition, a small gap is left between the scar and the ear so that the beard stays well positioned.

Scars behind the ear

For women, we can use the intrapilous scar, since long hair conceals it. But for men, we must use a prepilous scar (right at the edge of the hairline), since with short hair the scar would be very visible.

Another important point is the hair in the sideburn area;

• For women, if we pull the skin upward too much, the patient is left without a sideburn, so we must use a prepilous technique.
• For men, there would be no problem, since the beard would take the place of the sideburn.

In short, a facelift can be performed on both women and men, even though the techniques differ.

If you would like more information about our surgeries, you can contact Clínica Dr. Fernández Blanco or call our patient care phone lines.