Scarring is often the detail patients worry about most before facelift surgery, more than pain or recovery time. Dr. Andrew Jacono has addressed that concern directly through incision placement, describing his extended deep-plane facelift as “ponytail-friendly,” a term that reflects how little visible evidence the procedure leaves behind.
Shorter Cuts, Different Placement
Incisions in Dr. Andrew Jacono’s technique measure roughly a third the length of those used in traditional facelifts. They sit behind the ear and along the hairline, positions chosen so that hair worn up or pulled back does not reveal any trace of surgery. That placement is not simply a cosmetic afterthought, it follows from how the procedure itself works. Because the technique operates beneath the SMAS layer and repositions deeper tissue rather than relying on aggressive skin removal and tension, less incision length is needed to achieve the same lift.
Connecting Incisions to Technique
Standard facelifts separate skin from the SMAS and pull it upward and back under tension, an approach that often requires longer incisions to manage the excess skin created by that pull. Dr. Andrew Jacono’s method instead releases four facial ligaments and moves fat pads in the midface, jawline, and neck vertically, which means the skin itself does not need to bear the same load. Town & Country described the underlying philosophy well, noting that Jacono keeps the skin, muscle, and fat as one unit rather than treating them as separate layers to be individually adjusted.
The result is a procedure suited to patients who want to return to normal routines, including hairstyles that would otherwise expose scarring, without a long visible reminder of the surgery. Dr. Andrew Jacono first published outcomes from this approach in a 2011 study in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal covering 153 patients, and he now performs approximately 250 of these procedures each year at his Manhattan practice, a pace that has made the shorter, hidden incision pattern a routine part of the technique rather than an exception. Read this article for more information.
Learn more about Dr. Andrew Jacono on https://ceoworld.biz/2026/02/28/facelift-longevity-why-dr-andrew-jaconos-approach-lasts-over-a-decade/