October 21, 2026 | Facelift, Facial Procedures, Scar Healing
Salma Hayek says no surgery, no filler. A reel this week says scars. I have not examined her. Here is my incision map.
The Open Deep Plane Facelift
“In your case, you do have a lot of loose skin. So we would put a scar here. It would go here behind the tragus. And then it would continue behind the ear. Really, once the scar is healed, you really can’t see it.”
“The scar’s gonna be here, so they’re gonna be behind the hair, so you’re not gonna see those. But you are gonna have one scar here, and then it’s gonna go behind the ear, and hug in the hairline. So everything hides really, really well. I can’t do it without any scars in front of the ear. I’m afraid, because we do have to lift significantly, you’re gonna have these wrinkles here if I don’t take out your skin.”
“What I would do is an incision that goes around the sideburn right here. Then it goes here and behind the ear. And then it goes towards the back. This back part we do with the neck anyway. And then I do a little incision here.”
Tragus, lobe, hairline, and a short one under the chin for the neck. That is the open facelift.
The Ponytail Lift: Nothing in Front of the Ear
“So the ponytail, I make the incision here and here. And I’m still able to pull here, and I’m able to pull here, but without putting a scar in front of the ear. So that’s really nice.”
“So we do the ponytail endoscopic. There’s no scar in front of the ear. And you get the same result, but no scar.”
“I can do that through an endoscope. So I just make two tiny incisions here and here, and with that I can treat the temple area. Here, you have a lot of skin. So if I just pull, then you’re gonna have all this folds here. So I do have to make an incision that goes here, and then towards the back. Those hide really well, and they’re very hard to see afterwards.”
Which Face Gets Which
“The differentiator is how much excess skin there is. If there’s substantial excess skin, then we do a deep plane open facelift with an incision in front of the ear. If there’s not a lot of excess skin, we can get away with doing everything through the incisions behind the hairline. Nevertheless, a full facelift is always going to have the endoscopic portion of the forehead and brows.”
| Facelift | Incisions | Visible in front of the ear? |
|---|---|---|
| Ponytail (endoscopic deep plane) | Two small ones in the scalp, sometimes one behind the ear | No |
| Open deep plane, short scar | Behind the tragus, around the lobe, into the hairline | Barely, once healed |
| Open deep plane with neck lift | The above plus a short incision under the chin | Barely |
| Older skin-only lifts | In front of the ear, often under tension | Often, as a line or a pulled lobe |
“I think he’s doing open. He makes bigger scars. He still makes two here, but then he also opens up in front of the ear.”
Technique decides the scar.
What a Photo Shows
| Seen by the ear | Can be |
|---|---|
| A fine line | A healed scar, a skin crease, the tragus shadow, a camera angle |
| No line | No surgery, a ponytail lift, or a scar behind the tragus |
Same checklist as the Kristen Wiig photos. An exam decides. A photo does not.
The commentary version is on drworldwide.com. The no-incision options are on the Southwest Plastic Surgery post. Pricing by tier is in the facelift cost post.
Why Choose Dr. Agullo
Dr. Agullo is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery, completed his plastic surgery fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, and serves as Clinical Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He has been a Castle Connolly Top Doctor for thirteen consecutive years, 2014 through 2026. He trained in the ponytail and deep plane techniques at the Ponytail Academy courses in Pittsburgh and Santa Monica.
Ready to Talk?
Pull your hair back in the mirror. Then come let me draw the map on you.
Call (915) 590-7900, text 1-866-814-0038, or book online at agulloplasticsurgery.com. #StayBeautiful
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