How Much Does a Facelift Cost in Beverly Hills? A Complete Pricing Guide

How Much Is a Facelift With Our Facial Plastic Surgeon? The Range Explained

Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery is the Beverly Hills practice of Dr. Cat Begovic, MD, FACS, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills; every facelift at the practice is performed by our board-certified facial plastic surgeon, a colleague she has worked alongside for more than a decade. The facelift in Beverly Hills at our practice is a face and neck lift: the SMAS, the layer of muscle and connective tissue that carries the jowls and the neck, is repositioned rather than the skin pulled alone, and the incisions sit inside the folds of the ear and along the hairline, closed without tension so that they heal to a line that is hard to find. The operation takes about four to six hours under general anesthesia, with a board-certified anesthesiologist for the whole case, in the practice’s accredited surgical center on Rodeo Drive.

Face and neck lift: our facial plastic surgeon’s fee, $45,500 to $65,500. The cheeks, the jawline and the neck are lifted together, because the tissue that sags into the jowls is the same tissue that loosens under the chin, and lifting one without the other leaves a face that reads as operated on. Where your fee lands depends on how far the neck has changed (loose skin only, or the platysma bands and fat that make a turkey neck), how much skin has to be tailored, and what is added; the operating room and anesthesia are quoted at the consultation. Our guides to sagging jowls and to the variety of facelift options explain when a lift is the answer.

Additions. Heavy lids and under-eye bags do not move with a facelift, so an eyelid lift is often planned in the same surgery; Dr. Cat's surgeon's fee for an upper eyelid lift on its own is $8,000 to $12,500, with the operating room and anesthesia quoted at the consultation (see our blepharoplasty cost guide), and added to a facelift it costs less than the two operations done separately, because the anesthesia, the facility and the recovery are shared. When the face is hollow as well as loose, fat grafting to the face is added in the same surgery. Each addition is set in your quote; a neck lift on its own and a mini facelift are quoted at the consultation.

Average Facelift Cost: Why the National Number Is Not Your Number

Search for the average cost of a facelift and you will find the American Society of Plastic Surgeons figure of $11,395. Read the fine print: that is the surgeon’s fee only, averaged across every surgeon doing every version of the operation, and the websites that quote an all-in range of $7,000 to $25,000 or more describe a typical facelift in a typical market. The market ranges below, compiled from published price lists for earlier versions of this guide, show how much a word like “facelift” can hide.

That is not the surgery this page is about: a face and neck lift by a board-certified facial plastic surgeon, with a physician anesthesiologist in an accredited facility, costs several times the figures online, and the sections that follow explain what the difference buys.

Deep Plane Facelift Cost

A deep plane facelift lifts the skin and the SMAS together as one thick layer, releasing the ligaments that tether the cheek and jowl to the bone so the whole unit moves up without tension on the skin. A SMAS facelift lifts the skin first and then tightens or folds the SMAS beneath it, which is less dissection and less operating time. The deep plane version is priced higher at almost every practice that offers both, and the reason is not marketing: releasing those ligaments means working close to the branches of the facial nerve, which takes more training, more time under anesthesia and a surgeon who does it regularly. Specialist deep plane practices publish surgeon’s fees from the high $20,000s to more than $40,000 before anesthesia and the facility are added.

At our practice the deep plane facelift, like every facelift, is performed by our facial plastic surgeon, who has worked alongside Dr. Cat for more than a decade; it is the approach he uses for most face and neck lifts, which is why the deep plane and SMAS lifts carry the same fee here. Our facial plastic surgeon’s fee for a deep plane face and neck lift is $45,500 to $65,500; the operating room and anesthesia are quoted at the consultation. Read about the deep plane facelift in Beverly Hills for what moves, who is a candidate and how the recovery differs. The term “deep plane” is used loosely, so ask any surgeon what is released and what is repositioned; a “mini deep plane facelift” is a shorter version for early jowling, priced between a mini and a full deep plane lift.

Mini Facelift Cost: Jowl Mini Face Lift Cost and Targeted Lower-Face Procedures

A mini facelift uses shorter incisions in front of the ear, lifts the lower cheek and jawline, and leaves the neck alone; because it takes less time and often lighter anesthesia, published price lists put it at about $3,500 to $15,000 nationally and $4,000 to $12,000 in Beverly Hills, with a jowl-focused mini facelift at about $6,000 to $12,000. At our practice a mini facelift is quoted at the consultation, after our facial plastic surgeon has examined how far the jowls and the neck have actually changed.

What a “mini” buys is a modest correction of early jowling in a patient with good skin elasticity and a neck that is still holding. What it does not buy is a lifted neck, a corrected platysma band, or a result that lasts as long as a full SMAS or deep plane lift, because it moves less tissue a shorter distance. So a mini is not always the cheapest path to your goal: advanced jowling or loose skin under the chin does better with a full face and neck lift even at a higher upfront price, and if a mini is enough, our facial plastic surgeon will say so. The mid-facelift and cheek lift are narrower still, treating the cheeks alone, and are more often combined with a full lift than done on their own.

Factors Influencing Facelift Prices: What Drives the Number

When you compare quotes, compare what is behind the number; these questions separate a specialist’s face and neck lift from a $10,000 facelift.

How much of the face, and how deep? Jawline only, face and neck, or face, neck and eyelids: every added area is added planning, operating time and closure. A skin-only lift is fast and cheap and loosens within a couple of years; a SMAS lift moves the layer that carries the jowls; a deep plane lift releases and moves that layer with the skin, at the cost of more dissection and more time.

Is the neck included? The neck is where cheap facelifts show. Treating it properly means addressing the platysma bands and the fat beneath the chin as well as the skin, which adds an hour or more. A quote that leaves the neck out is a quote for a different surgery.

Who performs your surgery, who puts you to sleep, and where? In a facelift the closure is where the scar and the hairline are decided, so ask who closes; ask whether a board-certified physician anesthesiologist is in the room for the entire case and whether the facility is accredited, because a hematoma in the first night is the complication a well-run facility catches. At our practice the facelift is performed by our board-certified facial plastic surgeon, with a board-certified anesthesiologist for the whole case, in the practice’s accredited private surgical center.

First facelift or revision, where, and who? A revision is longer and less predictable and is priced accordingly. Metropolitan areas cost more, and surgeons with a long record of natural results charge a premium for their time; that record is the reason patients fly to Beverly Hills for this operation. Our post on the difference between a plastic surgeon and a cosmetic surgeon explains why the title matters. If a facelift price seems too good to be true, one of the answers above is the reason.

How Patient Health and Medical History Affect Facelift Cost

Your overall health plays a bigger role in facelift cost than most patients realize. Patients who smoke, patients with uncontrolled blood pressure and patients on blood thinners need more preparation, and sometimes clearance from their own physician, which adds to the total. Smoking is the one we are strict about: nicotine constricts the small vessels that keep the lifted skin alive, so patients stop at least four weeks before and after surgery. Blood pressure that spikes in the first night is the commonest cause of a hematoma under the flap, so it has to be controlled before you are scheduled.

Skin quality shapes the plan and the price too: sun damage, thin skin, or laxity that has progressed into the neck call for a deeper technique and more skin tailoring, which costs more than a mini lift but lasts longer. Matching the procedure to your anatomy gives better value than choosing the least expensive option and needing a second operation in five years.

What a Facelift Quote Is Made Of: Cost Components Breakdown

Every facelift quote, from any surgeon, is built from the same line items. Here is how each works at Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery.

1. Consultation fee

Many “free” consultations are with a coordinator, not the surgeon. A facelift consultation at our practice is with our facial plastic surgeon, who examines you and draws the plan. It is $500, or $1,500 for a revision, credited in full toward surgery; out-of-town patients can start virtually.

2. Surgeon’s fee

The largest line and the one that varies most: the price of the surgeon’s training, skill and time, set by the technique, the extent of the lift, what is combined with it, and how much of it the surgeon performs personally. The figures on this page are our facial plastic surgeon’s fees, this line alone; the lines that follow are quoted with it at the consultation.

3. Anesthesia

Some practices lower this line with a nurse anesthetist, with sedation, or with hourly billing and overage fees. Facelift patients at our practice have a board-certified physician anesthesiologist for the whole case, quoted at the consultation; our post on anesthesia types in plastic surgery explains the options.

4. Operating room and facility

Facility fees pay for the operating room, the nursing staff, the recovery room and the supplies; the item to ask about is accreditation. Facelifts at our practice are performed in the practice’s accredited private surgical facility on Rodeo Drive, quoted at the consultation.

5. Aftercare nursing

Facelift patients wake in our aftercare nursing center, where the first hours after surgery, when a hematoma would declare itself, are watched by a nurse; most go home or to their hotel within a day or two. The aftercare night is set out in your quote.

6. Medications and labs

Pre-operative labs and any medical clearance are billed by the lab or your doctor and are often covered by insurance even for cosmetic surgery; after surgery you will have an antibiotic and pain medication prescribed.

7. Scar care

Silicone strips from the two-week visit, then a scar gel through the months that follow. Our guide to facelift scars follows the scar from the first week to a year.

8. Follow-up visits

Any drain comes out within a day or two and the stitches at about one week, at two weeks the dressing comes off, and our facial plastic surgeon sees you through the months as the result settles; the follow-up visits are itemized in your quote.

Facelift Cost Near Me: Beverly Hills, Los Angeles and California

Prices in Los Angeles and Orange County span the whole national range, from advertised specials that are skin-only lifts under sedation to specialist practices like ours, so “near me” tells you where a surgeon is, not what you are buying. When patients search for mini face lift cost near me, we recommend looking past the sticker price to the surgeon’s training, technique and record with the face. Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery is on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, and many of our facelift patients travel to Beverly Hills for surgery; our out-of-town patient page explains how the virtual consultation, the surgery week and the follow-up visits are arranged.

Facelift Cost in Turkey, Mexico and Abroad

Istanbul is the destination most of our facelift inquiries mention, and clinics there advertise a facelift at a fraction of the American price, often packaged with the hotel and transfers; Tijuana, Bogotá and Bangkok make the same offer. The price is possible because the surgeon’s time, the anesthesia and the facility all cost less, and because there is usually no follow-up: you fly home within a week or two, and the surgeon who operated on you is not the one who sees the hematoma, the wound that separates behind the ear, or the earlobe pulled into a point.

A complication after surgery abroad is treated at home at emergency-room prices, and a correction is a revision facelift, which costs more than the original surgery would have done well (our facial plastic surgeon’s fee for a revision face and neck lift is $60,000 to $75,000 before the operating room and anesthesia). The American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the CDC both warn about the risks of cosmetic surgery tourism; our post on plastic surgery tourism, the cost and the danger covers what to check before you book anywhere.

Does Insurance Cover a Facelift?

No. A facelift is cosmetic surgery, so insurance does not cover the surgeon’s fee, anesthesia or the facility, and the prices on this page are self-pay prices. Our office does not bill insurance; if you want to submit a claim for any part of your care, we can give you the paperwork after surgery. Pre-operative labs and post-operative prescriptions are often covered under your normal benefits, and an upper eyelid lift for skin that blocks the visual field is occasionally reviewed by a carrier with a visual field test. Health savings and flexible spending accounts are rarely usable for a cosmetic facelift, so ask your plan administrator first.

Financing a Facelift and Facelift Affordability Tips

Surgery is paid for before the surgery date, and many of our patients finance part or all of it. Cherry is our primary financing partner, with 0% APR options for qualified applicants and a soft credit check that does not affect your credit score; we also work with CareCredit and Alphaeon Credit. See Plastic Surgery Financing Options to apply, and read how to finance plastic surgery for a comparison of the various financing options.

Beyond financing, plan ahead and set a surgery date far enough out to save toward it; compare providers on the same terms, with an itemized quote from each, alongside credentials and patient reviews; and do not settle for a cheaper version of the surgery you need, because in this operation the cheaper version is the one that leads to a revision. If surgery is not the right step yet, smaller procedures treat part of the problem at a lower price: a liquid facelift with dermal fillers and Botox restores volume and softens lines for a year or so but does not lift loose skin; a brow lift raises a heavy brow; an eyelid lift suits the patient whose eyes, not jawline, look tired; a neck lift suits the patient whose face is holding but whose neck is not; and a thread lift, absorbable sutures that lift and reposition the outer brow or cheek for a year or so, which we do not offer, leaves scar tissue that can complicate a facelift later.

The Costs That Are Not on the Quote

A complete budget includes what happens after surgery. Two weeks off work is typical: most facelift patients are back at a desk at about day 10 to 14, once the dressing is off and makeup covers the bruising, and at social events at two to three weeks, and exercise waits until week four to six. Someone should drive you, stay the first night home and help with the dressing and the drains in the first days. Out-of-town patients stay in Los Angeles until our facial plastic surgeon has cleared them to fly (see plan your stay). Silicone strips and gel are inexpensive, and sun protection is not optional, because UV darkens a healing scar. Our facelift recovery timeline walks through every stage, from the aftercare night to the one-year mark, including what is normal and when to call.

The Real Cost of a Cheap Facelift

Plastic surgery is real surgery, and in this operation the margin for error is on your face. The savings on a cheap facelift are borrowed against a pulled, windswept look from skin lifted without the tissue beneath it, a scar in front of the ear instead of inside its folds, an earlobe drawn down into a point, a hairline moved up where a hat cannot hide it, or a neck left loose under a tightened face. Some of these can be improved by a revision; some cannot be fully corrected by anyone.

A revision always costs more than the original surgery would have, because scar tissue and an altered plane make it longer and less predictable. Our facial plastic surgeon’s fee for a revision face and neck lift is $60,000 to $75,000, and for a revision facelift without the neck $40,000 to $60,000; the operating room and anesthesia are quoted at the consultation. A revision is quoted after our facial plastic surgeon has examined you, and the revision consultation is $1,500, credited toward surgery.

Pricing Trends and Predictions

Facelift prices have moved in one direction for a decade: demand has broadened to patients in their 40s, the deep plane technique has become the most requested version and few surgeons are trained to do it well, and the costs behind the quote rise with inflation every year. Non-surgical alternatives have not made surgery cheaper; radiofrequency tightening such as ThermiSmooth is good maintenance for a face that is not ready for a lift, but as our post on the risks and benefits of advances in plastic surgery technology explains, no device moves the SMAS.

Choosing the Right Facelift Surgeon

Choosing your surgeon is the single most important decision in this process, more important than the facelift cost itself, because revision surgery to fix a poor outcome costs more than doing it right the first time. Ask how many facelifts the surgeon performs each year and which technique they use and why; ask to see before and after photos of patients like you, including the scars and the ear; and confirm where the procedure is performed, who gives the anesthesia and what the quote includes. For a facelift at our practice, deep plane or SMAS, mini or revision, you will meet our board-certified facial plastic surgeon.

Is a Facelift Worth It? Quality and Renewal at Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery

For the patient whose jowls, folds and neck have moved past what skin care and injectables can do, a facelift is the one treatment that resets the face by a decade. Whether it is worth a specialist is best answered by looking: the facelift before and after photos in our gallery show restored jawlines and necks on faces that still look like themselves, and scars you cannot find; our success stories and reviews describe what the result changed. “I want every patient to look like themselves, just more refreshed,” says Dr. Cat, the practice’s founder; every facelift at the practice is performed by our board-certified facial plastic surgeon, a colleague she has worked alongside for more than a decade, and is held to that standard, which is what the price on this page pays for.

Get Your Itemized Facelift Quote

The only facelift price that matters is the one written for your face. Start with a free discovery call: share a few details, our patient concierge will call you for a short conversation, and our facial plastic surgeon will examine you at your consultation and give you a complete written quote. You can also call (310) 858-8808. Before you visit, see the facelift before and after photos and the facelift procedure, compare with our neck lift cost guide, blepharoplasty cost guide and rhinoplasty cost guide, or browse all of our plastic surgery cost guides.