February 18, 2026 | Facial fat transfer
6 minute read
Undergoing a facelift can turn back the clock on your appearance by tightening sagging skin and redefining your facial contours. However, while a facelift beautifully addresses loose skin and drooping tissue, it doesn’t always correct the volume loss that occurs with age. This is where facial fat injections come in. By using your body’s own purified fat to restore youthful fullness to your face, fat injections offer a natural, long-lasting alternative to traditional dermal fillers. When performed together, a facelift with fat transfer can provide smoother, softer, and more balanced rejuvenation than either treatment alone. In this blog, we’ll go over what you need to know about combining facial fat transfer with your facelift.
Table of Contents
- What Is a Facelift?
- What Are Facial Fat Injections?
- Can You Combine a Facelift With Facial Fat Injections?
- How Fat Transfer Could Enhance Your Facelift
- Benefits of Combining Your Facelift With Facial Fat Transfer
- Why Choose Dr. Sean Delaney for Your Facelift With Fat Transfer?
What Is a Facelift?
A facelift, also known as a rhytidectomy, is a cosmetic surgery designed to rejuvenate your face by tightening lax skin, lifting underlying muscles, and improving your facial contours. A traditional facelift focuses on repositioning the skin and superficial tissues (the SMAS layer) to smooth wrinkles and restore a firmer appearance. A Deep Plane Facelift, on the other hand, goes beneath the SMAS layer to lift the deeper facial structures as a single unit. This advanced approach delivers more natural-looking, longer-lasting results by improving volume in the midface, softening nasolabial folds, and restoring youthful definition without the noticeably tightened look sometimes seen with older techniques.
What Are Facial Fat Injections?
Facial fat injections, also known as fat transfer or fat grafting, use your own fat to restore lost volume and youthful definition to your face, as well as improve the overall quality of your skin. The procedure begins with gentle liposuction—typically from the abdomen, flanks, or thighs—to harvest small amounts of fat. The fat is then purified and carefully injected into targeted areas of your face, such as the cheeks, nasolabial folds, under-eye hollows, or jawline, to restore contour and volume.
Because the fat is taken from your own body, the results look and feel natural, and there’s no risk of allergic reaction. Over time, the transferred fat cells integrate with the surrounding tissue, providing long-lasting rejuvenation that boosts volume, improves skin tone, and enhances elasticity.
Can You Combine a Facelift With Facial Fat Injections?
Absolutely. In fact, combining a facelift with facial fat injections is quickly becoming a popular choice among patients seeking more comprehensive facial rejuvenation. A facelift addresses sagging skin and underlying muscle laxity, while fat injections replace the volume lost due to weight loss or the natural aging process. Together, fat injections and a facelift work to create smoother contours, fuller cheeks, and a more balanced, youthful facial profile.
During your facelift consultation, Dr. Sean Delaney will assess your individual anatomy and listen to your concerns and aesthetic goals to determine the ideal balance between lifting and volumizing. Then, he will create a customized treatment plan that will deliver the gorgeous results you desire.
How Fat Transfer Could Enhance Your Facelift
A facelift primarily focuses on tightening and repositioning the skin and deeper facial layers. While this improves definition and eliminates jowls, it doesn’t address areas of your face where fat loss has caused hollowing or a flattened appearance. Adding fat transfer to your facelift fills these gaps—literally and figuratively—creating smoother, softer contours.
Increases Volume Naturally
Aging often causes deflation in your cheeks, temples, and under-eye areas. Fat transfer replenishes these areas, creating less noticeable transitions and a more youthful, rounder appearance.
Softens Fine Lines and Creases
The injected fat adds subtle fullness to areas like the nasolabial folds (smile lines) and marionette lines, minimizing wrinkles that have been etched in over time.
Improves Skin Tone and Texture
Fat contains stem cells and growth factors that may boost collagen production, giving you firmer, more radiant skin over time.
Restores Facial Harmony
Fat can be precisely injected into your face to improve symmetry or sculpt features that appear sunken or flat, such as your midface or jawline.
Benefits of Combining Your Facelift With Facial Fat Transfer
Adding fat injections to your facelift offers several advantages over undergoing either procedure alone, including:
- Providing comprehensive rejuvenation: By addressing both skin laxity and volume loss, you achieve a more balanced and symmetrical result.
- Results are natural-looking and long-lasting: Since the procedure uses your own fat, you receive safe, organic enhancement that can last for years—longer than traditional dermal fillers.
- You undergo fewer procedures overall: By combining both treatments into one surgery, you can reduce your recovery time and costs compared to undergoing them separately.
- Your skin health is improved: The regenerative properties of fat grafting can enhance your skin tone, smoothness, and overall quality.
- Results are entirely customizable: The amount and placement of your facial fat injections will be adjusted to align with your individual aesthetic goals, ensuring results that enhance and complement your natural facial structure.
Why Choose Dr. Sean Delaney for Your Facelift With Fat Transfer?
Dr. Sean Delaney is double board-certified in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery and head and neck surgery, known for his advanced skill and expertise in both surgical and non-surgical facial rejuvenation. His approach to facelift surgery melds artistry with precision, focusing on restoring youthful structure and ensuring your results look natural and beautiful.
With his specialized training in facial fat grafting and deep knowledge of facial anatomy, Dr. Delaney seamlessly integrates fat transfer into his facelift procedures—whether you choose a Deep Plane Facelift, Mini Deep Plane Facelift, or traditional facelift—to provide balanced, long-lasting results. Every treatment plan is carefully tailored to complement your facial proportions, improve your skin quality, and achieve your unique aesthetic goals.
Dr. Delaney’s commitment to creating natural outcomes and providing compassionate care ensures you’ll not only look younger after your facelift—but you’ll also feel confident and refreshed, knowing your results truly reflect the best version of you.
Learn More About Combining Fat Injections With Your Facelift in Houston
Are you ready to experience a more complete facial rejuvenation? Then it’s time to schedule your consultation with Dr. Sean Delaney at Facial Plastic Surgery Associates to learn how a facelift with fat injections can help you look naturally refreshed and beautifully balanced. To make an appointment, call our office at (713) 526-5665 or complete our online request form.
