An "overdone" facelift almost always traces back to one thing: relying on skin tension alone to lift the face, rather than repositioning what's underneath it. A modern, natural-looking facelift instead lifts the deeper structural layers of the face, letting the skin re-drape without excess pulling.
At the Glasgold Group in Princeton, NJ, Dr. Mark Glasgold and Dr. Robert Glasgold have each spent over 20 years performing deep plane facelifts, and this blog breaks down exactly why that distinction produces such different results.
Signs of an "Overdone" Facelift
Patients researching facelift surgery are often more afraid of looking "done" than they are of aging itself. The tell-tale signs of an overpulled result include:
- A tight, shiny appearance at the temples and around the ears
- Flattened cheeks that lose their natural, three-dimensional contour
- A "windswept" look, where features appear pulled toward the ears
- A mouth that looks stretched sideways rather than simply lifted
- Skin that looks smooth but doesn't move naturally with expression
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, an overdone or "windswept" facelift look happens when techniques rely on strong skin tension to create lift, which can flatten the face's natural contours the way pulling a sheet tightly across a mattress flattens its shape.
Why Skin-Only Facelifts Create the "Overdone" Look
Traditional skin-only facelifts and shorter procedures marketed under names like "lifestyle lifts" primarily tighten the surface of the skin without addressing the deeper tissue that has actually shifted with age. Dr. Mark Glasgold has noted that these procedures are often given appealing names that make them sound more advanced than they are, when in practice they're simpler techniques with more limited, shorter-lived results.
Thread lifts face a similar limitation. Once the initial swelling resolves after a few months, patients frequently see very little lasting improvement, because the underlying structural support of the face was never addressed in the first place.
What Is a Deep Plane Facelift, and Why Does It Look More Natural?
A deep plane facelift repositions the deeper facial tissue layer, rather than just tightening the skin above it. Facial plastic surgeon Dr. Heather Furnas has explained that this approach advances and tightens the face's deeper structures along with the skin, without placing excessive tension on the skin itself, which is exactly why it tends to produce a softer, more natural result than techniques built primarily on skin tension.
Dr. Mark Glasgold introduced the deep plane facelift at the Glasgold Group in the 1990s after concluding, following a year studying under the country's leading facelift surgeons, that this modified technique offered patients the most natural and desirable results available. He has since performed more than 1,000 deep plane facelifts, and Dr. Robert Glasgold has been performing the technique for over two decades as well.
Volume Loss Is Part of Aging, Too
Sagging skin isn't the only driver of an aged appearance — lost facial volume plays an equally significant role. As the face loses fat and its underlying support weakens, cheeks hollow and shadows deepen, contributing to a tired or sunken look that a facelift alone doesn't fully correct.
That's why facial fat transfer is frequently performed alongside a facelift at the Glasgold Group. Because the procedure uses a patient's own fat, it restores volume around the eyes, cheeks, and mouth in a way that also helps facelift results last longer over time.
How the Glasgold Group Prioritizes Natural Outcomes
Every detail of the Glasgold Group's facelift approach is built around avoiding an overdone result. Dr. Mark Glasgold and Dr. Robert Glasgold each perform only one surgery per day, ensuring full attention to a single patient's anatomy and goals rather than moving quickly through a full schedule.
Their approach also uses twilight anesthesia rather than general anesthesia, and a drainless technique that reduces the risk of hematoma, the most common serious facelift complication. One patient's husband described his wife's deep plane facelift result directly: she looked great, and still looked like herself, a distinction he specifically wanted other skeptical spouses to hear.
Why Choose the Glasgold Group for a Natural-Looking Facelift in New Jersey
Patients researching a facelift in New Jersey are choosing a practice where deep plane technique isn't an occasional offering, it's the only facelift performed. Both Dr. Mark Glasgold and Dr. Robert Glasgold are double board-certified facial plastic surgeons, certified by both the American Board of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
That focus is reinforced by their roles as co-directors of an AAFPRS-accredited facial plastic surgery fellowship program, through which they've trained more than 25 facial plastic surgeons. Combined with over two decades of hands-on deep plane facelift experience each, that record gives prospective patients a way to verify expertise well beyond marketing language.
Facelift FAQ
What's the difference between a deep plane facelift and a SMAS facelift?
A SMAS facelift lifts the superficial muscular layer beneath the skin, while a deep plane facelift works below that layer to reposition deeper facial tissue and fat as a unit, which is why the Glasgold Group's surgeons rely on the deep plane technique for the most natural, long-lasting results.
How long do natural-looking facelift results last?
The Glasgold Group considers facelift results permanent in the sense that repositioned tissue stays in its new position, though normal aging continues afterward; most patients feel they look better even 8 to 10 years later than they did before surgery.
Can a well-performed facelift still look bad?
Yes, if it relies too heavily on skin tension rather than deeper tissue repositioning, even a technically successful surgery can produce a pulled or flattened look, which is why surgeon technique matters more than the general category of "facelift."
Considering a Natural-Looking Facelift? Talk to the Glasgold Group
A facelift shouldn't announce itself. Dr. Mark Glasgold and Dr. Robert Glasgold have spent over two decades refining the deep plane technique specifically to avoid the overdone, windswept results patients fear most. Schedule a consultation with the Glasgold Group in Princeton, NJ to discuss a facelift plan built around your own natural features.
Contact the Glasgold Group to schedule a consultation.
This information is provided for educational purposes only and does not replace a consultation with a board-certified facial plastic surgeon. Outcomes, risks, and suitability vary from patient to patient.
Sources
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Subtle Elegance: Achieving Natural-Looking Results After 55
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons, The Natural Facelift: Exploring Advanced Techniques
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Facelift Roulette: Which Option Has the Best Odds
