Should You Get a Lip Lift Now — or Wait Until You’re Ready for a Facelift?

This question comes up often in consultations at my Morristown, NJ practice, and I get it — it’s intuitive to wonder whether you should “save” the smaller procedure for a time when you’re doing the bigger one. The short answer is: if you can benefit from a lip lift now, there is no reason to wait.

A lip lift and a facelift address entirely different parts of the face. Waiting on one does not improve the other, and they can be combined if and when both are appropriate.

What a Lip Lift Does — and What a Facelift Cannot

A lip lift is a surgical procedure that removes a small strip of skin directly beneath the nose to shorten the philtrum — the distance between the base of the nose and the border of the upper lip. As that distance elongates with age, the upper lip loses its youthful curve, the teeth stop showing at rest, and the face can begin to look heavier and more tired than it actually is.

A facelift addresses an entirely different set of concerns: the jowls, the lower face, the platysma bands of the neck, and the loss of definition along the jawline. It works by tightening the SMAS — the deep muscular layer of the face — and repositioning tissue along incisions near the ears and temples.

A facelift will not shorten your philtrum. A lip lift will not address your jowls. They are complementary procedures, not competing ones.

I have been performing lip lifts since 2012, well before the procedure became widely recognized, and I can say with confidence that it is one of the most rewarding procedures in my practice. The improvement in facial proportion is immediate and permanent. Patients in Morristown, Summit, Chatham, Short Hills, and Madison frequently pursue a lip lift in their 40s and then return years later for a facelift — the prior lip lift does not complicate or conflict with the facelift at all.

When Combining Both Procedures Makes Sense

There are patients who need both at the same time. If someone is seeking a facelift and I assess the lips during consultation — which I always do — and see a philtrum that has elongated and a lip that has flattened, I will recommend adding a lip lift to the plan. Doing both in a single operation eliminates a second recovery and allows me to balance the entire face at once.

The lip lift takes approximately 20–30 minutes to perform. Adding it to a facelift adds very little to operative time and recovery, while meaningfully improving the final result. Many of my most satisfied facelift patients in Northern New Jersey credit the lip lift as the detail that made everything look right.

What the Lip Lift Does — Four Specific Changes

Patients sometimes focus on the philtrum length, but the procedure actually accomplishes four things simultaneously:

1. Shortens the philtrum — reducing the distance between nose and upper lip to a more youthful 11–13 mm range.
2. Increases upper lip vermilion show — the red part of the lip becomes more visible, adding fullness without filler.
3. Improves incisor visibility — a small amount of upper tooth show at rest is a key marker of youth; the lip lift restores this.
4. Defines the Cupid’s bow — the natural curve of the upper lip becomes more pronounced and feminine.

No injectable filler replicates these structural changes. Filler adds volume; it does not shorten the philtrum or restore tooth show. Patients who have used filler for years to compensate for a lengthening philtrum are often surprised by how different — and how much more natural — the lip lift result looks.

Recovery: What to Expect

Recovery from a lip lift is mild. Swelling peaks in the first 3–5 days and resolves substantially within 2 weeks. Most patients feel comfortable going out in public within 7–10 days. The scar, which hides in the natural shadow beneath the nose, matures over 3–6 months and fades reliably when proper suture technique is used — I close in layers with fine PDS sutures in the dermal plane, which maintain tension while the skin heals under no stress.

The final proportional result is visible at 4–6 weeks once the last of the swelling has cleared. The change is permanent.

Questions to Ask at Your Consultation

If you are considering a lip lift in Morristown or anywhere in North Jersey, these are the questions worth raising:

1. How many lip lifts have you performed, and may I see before-and-after photos specifically of your work?
2. What suture technique do you use for closure, and how do you minimize the scar?
3. Based on my anatomy, do you recommend a lip lift alone, or would adding it to a facelift make sense at this stage?
4. Will the lip lift result be affected if I have a facelift in the future?

The answer to the last question is no — a prior lip lift does not complicate a future facelift in any way.

People Also Ask

Common Questions Patients Search About Lip Lift & Facelift Timing

What is the best age to get a lip lift?

A lip lift is appropriate whenever the philtrum has elongated enough to flatten the lip and reduce tooth show — which can happen in a patient’s late 30s or 40s, sometimes earlier. There is no minimum or maximum age. Dr. Rafizadeh has performed successful lip lifts on patients ranging from their mid-30s to their 70s. The right time is when the anatomy warrants it and the patient is bothered by the change, not when they reach a particular birthday.

What are the downsides of a lip lift?

The primary trade-off is a fine scar just beneath the nose, hidden in the natural shadow of the columella. In experienced hands using proper tension-free closure and layered sutures, this scar fades reliably over several months. The recovery is mild — most patients feel presentable within 7–10 days — but swelling distorts the result during the first few weeks, which can cause temporary concern before the final shape settles. Patients who over-correct by removing too much skin are the most common source of unsatisfactory outcomes, which is why surgical conservatism and experience matter.

Does a facelift include a lip lift?

Not automatically. A facelift addresses the lower face, jowls, and neck — it does not include philtrum shortening unless a lip lift is explicitly added to the plan. Patients should discuss their full set of facial concerns with their surgeon before surgery so that a lip lift can be incorporated if it would benefit them. Dr. Rafizadeh routinely evaluates the lip and philtrum during facelift consultations and recommends combining the procedures when both would benefit the patient.

How long until a lip lift looks normal?

The initial swelling peaks around days 3–5 and resolves substantially within 2 weeks. Most patients are comfortable appearing in public within 7–10 days. The scar continues to mature and fade for 3–6 months, and the final proportional result — the permanent shortening of the philtrum and the change in lip shape — is fully apparent by 4–6 weeks once swelling has cleared.

How soon after a facelift can I get lip fillers?

Most surgeons recommend waiting at least 6–8 weeks after a facelift before injecting lip fillers, to allow swelling and tissue healing to fully stabilize. That said, if you are considering a lip lift as well, it is worth discussing whether to add it during the facelift rather than pursuing filler afterward — a lip lift produces a permanent structural change in philtrum length and lip shape that filler cannot replicate.

Is 50 too old for a mini facelift?

Not at all — and many patients in their 50s are actually better served by a full facelift than a mini facelift, depending on the degree of laxity present. Age alone is not the determining factor; tissue quality, skin laxity, and overall health are. Dr. Rafizadeh evaluates each patient individually and performs facelift surgery on patients in their 50s through 70s with excellent, natural-looking results at his Morristown, NJ practice.

Sources & References

1. Waldman SR. “The Subnasal Lip Lift.” Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America. 2007;15(4):513–516. PubMed
2. Raphael P, Harris R, Harris SW. “Analysis and Classification of the Subnasal Lip Lift.” Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2014;134(5):1027–1036. PubMed
3. Moragas JSM, Vercruysse HJ, Mommaerts MY. “Non-filling” procedures for lip augmentation: A systematic review of the literature.” Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery. 2014;42(6):943–952. PubMed
4. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “Facelift Surgery Guide.” plasticsurgery.org
5. American Board of Plastic Surgery. Verification of Board Certification. abplasticsurgery.org
6. RealSelf Q&A — Dr. Farhad Rafizadeh answers: “Should I move forward with a lip lift or is it best to wait?” July 2024. realself.com

Related Reading

• Lip Lift & Rhinoplasty Together — Philtrum & Tooth Show in North Jersey
• Lip Lift Surgery in New Jersey
• Deep Plane Facelift in NJ — Dr. Rafizadeh’s Approach
• Lip Lift Procedure Page
• Facelift Procedure Page

Bottom Line

If a lip lift would improve your facial proportion today, there is no logical reason to hold off. The procedure is permanent, the recovery is brief, and it does not interfere with any future facial surgery you might want. A facelift addresses the jowls, neck, and lower face — it will not fix a long philtrum or restore lost lip definition, no matter how expertly it is performed.

If you are in the Morristown, Summit, Chatham, Madison, Short Hills, or greater Northern New Jersey area and want to understand exactly which procedures would benefit you most — and in what order or combination — I am happy to walk through your anatomy and goals in a personal consultation.