What Is The Ponytail Lift™ Technique?

The Ponytail Lift™ Technique

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As you age, your face gradually loses volume, while your neck may develop excess skin and muscle banding. Many plastic surgeons address these signs of aging with a traditional facelift, which often results in noticeable scars in front of the ears, shortened sideburns, and alterations to the ear’s natural shape. Additionally, the traditional facelift technique involves separating the skin from the underlying fat and lifting the tissues off the muscle, which can disrupt the skin’s blood supply and damage the fat, potentially leaving you with an unnatural or prematurely aged look.

Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Kao has pioneered advanced techniques to rejuvenate your face using minimal incisions while preserving the natural blood supply to the skin and facial tissues. Dr. Kao’s Ponytail Lift™ and Ponytail Facelift™ techniques employ innovative sculpting and reshaping methods to refresh the face and neck, helping you achieve a youthful, revitalized appearance.

What’s the Difference?

Close-up of a woman with closed eyes, showing pre-surgery markings under her eye, as hands wearing white medical gloves gently position her head and face

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Non-Excisional Eyelid Lift

Non-Excisional Eyelid Lift rotates, lifts, and sculpts the brows and upper eyelid skin without the need for tissue removal. Dr. Kao employs sutures to shape the brows and injects healthy, regenerative “Super Fat” and fine “Powdered Sugar Fat” around the eyes to provide support and youthful fullness. He also relaxes the frowning muscles for a lasting “BOTOX® Cosmetic effect” and tightens the skin around the eyes using laser treatments.

Portrait of a mature, smiling woman with blonde hair and light blue eyes

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Endoscopic Jowl Lift

The S-shaped ogee curvature symbolizes youthful beauty. Dr. Kao’s Endo PSCS (Endoscopic Jowl Lift) enhances this contour, often paired with his Ponytail Lift™ or performed alone for younger patients. Minimally invasive incisions, hidden in the scalp and behind the ears, leave no visible scars. Using an endoscopic technique, Dr. Kao tightens sagging facial tissue, reshapes the jowls, and vertically redrapes the skin for a rejuvenated look.

Portrait of a woman with long, brown hair and a neutral expression

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Limited-Incision Neck Lift

Limited-Incision Neck Lift tightens the skin all the way down the neck and lifts the décolletage for a seamless flow of taut skin. Unlike traditional neck lifts, which often only tighten the jawline and can leave the lower neck skin lax, Dr. Kao addresses the entire neck by plicating the front neck muscles and performing a posterior corset he developed in 2015, resulting in a longer, leaner neck. He also sculpts the neck fat to ensure uniform thickness.

Close-up of a woman with natural curly hair, glowing skin, and a subtle smile, looking over her shoulder against a neutral gray background

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Facial Detailing/Bio-Grooming Regenerative Cells

This process involves repositioning the deeper layers of facial tissue, enhancing the middle layer with “Super Fat,” and improving the skin's texture, tone, and vibrancy with “Powdered Sugar Fat.” Dr. Kao’s Facial Detailing/Bio-Grooming with Regenerative Cells procedure offers comprehensive facial rejuvenation from top to bottom, with results that continue to improve over time.

What Are the Benefits?

The Science Behind The Results

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