A facelift that appears pulled, windswept, or overly "done" is not an inevitable result of the surgery. This appearance typically results from a technique that tightens the skin without addressing the deeper tissues that sag with age. When these deeper layers are properly lifted and supported, the skin can fall back into a more natural position. This philosophy guides every facelift performed by Dr. Behrooz Torkian in Beverly Hills.
Dr. Torkian is double board-certified in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and in Otolaryngology (Head and Neck Surgery), and he has dedicated his entire career to the face, head, and neck. He also teaches fellows and residents as an Assistant Clinical Professor at UC Irvine. In this blog, he draws on that experience to explain where the overdone look comes from and why his deep plane approach is designed to avoid it.
The Facial Anatomy Behind Natural Facelift Results
Natural facelift results depend on understanding that the face is built in layers and that aging affects all of them. From the surface inward, the key structures include:
- Skin: The outer layer, which loses elasticity and thins over time.
- Subcutaneous fat: Divided into separate compartments that shift and deflate with age.
- SMAS (superficial musculoaponeurotic system): A fibromuscular layer that supports the skin and connects to the muscles of facial expression.
- Retaining ligaments: Connective structures that tether the soft tissues to the underlying bone.
Facial fat is not one continuous sheet. Cadaver research published by Drs. Rod Rohrich and Joel Pessa found that the face's subcutaneous fat is divided into multiple independent compartments, and that the area once described as a single cheek fat pad actually contains three separate compartments. Because these compartments change at different rates, aging rarely looks uniform.
Retaining ligaments add another layer of complexity. These ligaments act as anchor points throughout the face and neck, and the main ones include:
- Zygomatic ligaments: Strongest facial ligaments anchoring cheek tissue near the cheekbone.
- Maxillary ligaments: Support soft tissue of the inner midface.
- Masseteric ligaments: Tether lower cheek by the chewing muscle.
- Mandibular ligaments: Anchor skin along the jawline's front edge.
- Cervical ligaments: Support soft tissue of the upper neck.
As soft tissue descends around these anchor points, folds such as jowls and nasolabial creases take shape.
How Does a Deep Plane Facelift Work?
A deep plane facelift works by lifting the tissues beneath the SMAS rather than stretching the skin over them. First described by Dr. Sam Hamra in 1990, the technique is built around a few key features:
- A deeper plane of dissection: The surgeon works below the SMAS in the midface rather than just beneath the skin.
- Direct ligament release: Specific retaining ligaments are released, so the soft tissue can be mobilized more fully.
- Tension on the deeper tissue: Because the lift is held at the fascial level, the skin can be closed without tension, which supports long-lasting results.
- Jowl correction: The approach can also address the buccal fat that contributes to jowling.
Dr. Torkian performs a deep plane vertical facelift that repositions the cheek, jowl, and neck tissues upward. Rather than pulling the face back toward the ears, this technique restores volume to its original position, aiming to create a younger version of the same person without altering their appearance.
Why Do Some Facelifts Look Overdone?
Some facelifts look overdone because the surgeon treated aging as a skin problem instead of a structural one. Skin pulled tight over sagging tissue carries the entire burden of the lift, and it tends to leave recognizable signs, including:
- A windswept look, with tissue swept toward the ears instead of lifted upward
- Flat or stretched cheeks and mouth corners pulled wide
- Earlobes tugged downward or a hairline that has shifted
- Thin, shiny, or overly taut skin
- A smooth lower face above an untreated neck
Skin-only tension also creates three underlying problems:
- The wrong direction of pull: Facial tissue descends with age, so a sideways pull creates a sweep the face never had. A more vertical lift, as in a deep plane facelift, looks more like the patient's own younger face.
- Results that fade early: Skin is elastic, so it stretches and lets the tissue beneath sag again.
- Wider scars: In breast surgery, the tension used to close an incision correlates with how much the scar widens at one year, according to a review in Advances in Wound Care (source).
Dr. Torkian understands this healing problem from research as well as surgery. He co-authored multiple studies on wound healing and keloid scarring. One study using tissue-engineered skin models won First Prize at UC Irvine's annual otolaryngology research symposium.
Deep Plane Facelift vs. SMAS and Skin-Only Techniques
To compare, here is how the three general approaches differ in the areas that most affect a natural result:
|
Skin-Only Lift |
SMAS Tightening |
Deep Plane Facelift |
|
|
Layer lifted |
Skin |
Skin plus folded or tightened SMAS |
Skin and SMAS moved together as one unit |
|
Retaining ligaments |
Not released |
Varies by technique |
Released |
|
Where tension sits |
Skin |
Shared between layers |
Deeper tissue, with a tension-free skin closure |
|
Risk of a pulled look |
Higher |
Moderate |
Lower when properly executed |
Every technique has a place, and surgeons continue to debate which facelift technique is superior overall. For patients whose main concern is avoiding a pulled appearance, though, the deep-plane approach most directly addresses the anatomy responsible for that appearance.
Working at this depth also demands expert anatomical knowledge. The facial nerve runs deep to the SMAS and most facial expression muscles and is at risk during facelift dissection. Dr. Torkian's head and neck surgical training gives him a detailed understanding of these structures.
Other Factors That Keep a Facelift in Beverly Hills Looking Natural
A natural facelift in Beverly Hills depends on more than the lift itself. Dr. Torkian also considers several related factors when planning each procedure:
- Volume: Facial fat grafting can restore hollow areas using your own fat.
- The neck: A refreshed face paired with an untreated neck can look mismatched, so he evaluates them together.
- The brow and eyelids: A brow lift or eyelid surgery may be recommended so the upper face matches the lower face.
- Skin quality: A lift repositions tissue but does not change texture, so treatments such as Helix CO2 laser resurfacing can refine the surface.
- Incision placement: Incisions are placed along natural contours where they can heal discreetly.
Planning is where many overdone results are prevented. During consultation, Dr. Torkian uses Canfield Vectra 3D imaging and Sculptor software to simulate potential outcomes from every angle, so you can see a realistic preview and decide how much change feels right.
That preference for subtlety is reflected nationally. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported that facelifts rose 13 percent in 2025 and facial fat grafting grew 39 percent, the largest single-year gain of any procedure it tracked. The society noted that patients increasingly want authentic restoration rather than transformation.
Is a Deep Plane Facelift Right for You?
A deep plane facelift may be right for you if you want results that look like a refreshed version of yourself. Good candidates generally:
- Have moderate to advanced sagging in the midface, jowls, or neck
- Are in good overall health
- Do not smoke, or are willing to stop before and after surgery
- Have realistic expectations about what surgery can achieve
Patients with earlier signs of aging may not need a full facelift. Dr. Torkian also offers a mini facelift, InstaLift, and a non-surgical facelift using dermal fillers and BOTOX, which can add lift and fullness for many patients in their thirties and early forties. Because injectables are temporary, they work best as a tune-up rather than a replacement for surgery when sagging is significant.
Dr. Torkian Helps You Look Refreshed, Not "Done"
An overdone facelift is a technique problem, not a surgical inevitability. Dr. Torkian's double board certification, his fellowship through the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and a career devoted exclusively to the face and neck give him a deep understanding of the anatomy that determines whether a result looks natural. His patients often tell him that others cannot pinpoint what they had done, only that they look rested.
Surgery takes place in the AAAHC-accredited surgery center at The Lasky Clinic, directly adjacent to his office. To learn whether a deep-plane vertical facelift in Beverly Hills aligns with your goals, schedule a consultation with Dr. Torkian and preview your potential results with Vectra 3D imaging.
Disclaimer: 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
- Rohrich RJ, Pessa JE. "The Fat Compartments of the Face: Anatomy and Clinical Implications for Cosmetic Surgery." Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2007. https://utsouthwestern.elsevierpure.com/en/publications/the-fat-compartments-of-the-face-anatomy-and-clinical-implication
- "Deep Plane Facelift." StatPearls, National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545277/
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons. "Lift Procedures Led Growth as Demand for Restoration Drove Plastic Surgery in 2025." https://www.plasticsurgery.org/news/press-releases/lift-procedures-led-growth-as-demand-for-restoration-drove-plastic-surgery-in-2025-new-asps-report-reveals
- Wong VW, Beasley B, Zepeda J, Dauskardt RH, Yock PG, Longaker MT, Gurtner GC. "A Mechanomodulatory Device to Minimize Incisional Scar Formation." Advances in Wound Care, 2013;2(4):185-194. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3656628
- Torkian BA, Yeh AT, Engel R, Sun CH, Tromberg BJ, Wong BJF. "Modeling Aberrant Wound Healing Using Tissue-Engineered Skin Constructs and Multiphoton Microscopy." Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, 2004. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5zj2t857
