Hi. I’m Dr. Richard Balikian at Balikian Plastic Surgery, and I’m really excited to walk you through what I share with patients during our consultations, step by step.
For years, I’ve spent 30 to 45 minutes with each patient explaining everything, what we do, why we do it, and how we get the results we’re known for.
Today, I want to take you through the full philosophy behind the Artiste Lift™, what it is, how it works, and why it’s not just a facelift. It’s a carefully engineered, artistically designed process customized for your face. And now, you don’t have to wait until a consultation to understand it. I’m going to walk you through it right here.
We named it the Artiste Lift™ because, for me, this work is both engineering and art.
I was an art history major at Columbia before I went into medicine, and I’ve never let go of that mindset. I love being in the operating room, sculpting, shaping, and refining. Like any artist, I see beauty in subtlety and precision, and that’s what this lift delivers.
If you’d like to hear me walk through the entire Artiste Lift™ philosophy in my own words, you can watch the full video below.
When I look at a face, I break aging down into three main categories:
Understanding how these elements interact is what allows me to design a surgical plan that’s not just effective, but artfully customized for every face I treat.
It’s usually the first and most noticeable sign of aging, which is why it’s the foundation of every Artiste Lift™.
Most people come to me because of sagging in the lower face. You’ll often see bands forming in the neck, jowls starting to hang, and deep marionette or nasolabial folds. That’s gravity at work.
The old method, sub-SMAS facelift, just ties the muscle hammock back together. But the real issue is the “Velcro-like” attachments that hold those tissues down. If you don’t release them, you’re just pulling against resistance.
That’s why I use a deep plane facelift, where I go underneath those attachments, release them, and lift from the proper plane. This gives us the lift people see in the mirror when they pull up gently. No tight pulling. No tension. Just a natural repositioning.
The neck is just as important. I use a small, curved incision under the chin, unlike the straight incisions some surgeons use, which can leave a visible “double bubble” scar.
We then release everything pulling the muscle hammock down and lift vertically. That’s how we get those long, elegant, contoured necklines our patients love.
Meticulous incision placement is one of the most overlooked aspects of facelift surgery, yet it makes all the difference in how natural your results look, and how well they heal.
I take great care to design incisions that follow the natural curves of your face and neck, making them virtually undetectable once healed.
Our incision starts along the hairline, follows the natural crease of the ear, and is hidden behind the earlobe and up along the hairline.
No unnatural pulling. No visible scars. No distortion of the ears.
Traditional facelifts disrupt a large area of skin from the muscle. That leads to more swelling, more bruising, and a longer recovery. We avoid that with our three-pocket preservation technique.
We only lift the skin a little around the ears and under the chin. That means less trauma, no need for drains, and faster healing.
We use fibrin glue instead of deep skin stitches, which reduces irritation and inflammation.
Your skin reattaches evenly, which leads to less swelling, faster recovery, and beautiful, fine incision lines.
To create true facial harmony, we often need to address aging in the upper third of the face. This includes sagging in the temples and the outer brow, which can weigh down the eyes and distort facial balance.
When we lift the mid and lower face, the skin near the temples often bunches. Instead of cutting at the hairline (which I hate), we make a small incision about a centimeter behind the hairline. No shaving. No visible scar.
This lets us smooth out the upper face and gently lift the tail of the brow. It’s not a dramatic “surprised” look, just a youthful repositioning.
Some patients need a bit more lift. In those cases, we use a minimal access four-point brow lift.
We assess the natural shape and position of the brow and lift only where needed to restore harmony, not to hit a textbook ideal, but to make you look like the best version of yourself.
The eyes are the window to the soul, and one of the most telling features when it comes to aging. That’s why I approach eyelid surgery with precision, balance, and a focus on restoring natural harmony.
This isn’t just about removing excess skin. We’re careful with the incision placement so it hides beautifully in the crease and extends up into the crow’s feet for a seamless look.
I never remove underlying muscle or too much fat, we want fullness in the right places. The goal is a rested, natural look, not hollow or skeletonized eyes.
We usually address the upper and lower eyelids together for balance.
We go inside the eyelid, scarless blepharoplasty, to remove or reposition fat. If needed, we also do a fat transfer to correct hollowing and blend the transition from eyelid to cheek.
If the skin is crepey, we treat it with laser or chemical peels. If there’s excess, we use a hidden incision under the lash line to remove it with precision.
As we age, the upper lip gets longer and the pink lip rolls inward. Even a great facelift can be thrown off by this one detail.
We use a deep plane subnasal lip lift with a refined incision tucked under the nose. It allows the lip to roll naturally and restores proportion without tension. We also address asymmetries in the Cupid’s bow to ensure balance.
Many patients don’t think about the nose when considering facial rejuvenation, but the nose ages too. Cartilage separates. The tip can droop. And sometimes, the nose has always been a little off.
With my background in head and neck surgery, I perform rhinoplasty with both aesthetics and function in mind. It’s never about giving everyone the same nose. It’s about creating the best version of your own nose, refined, functional, and in harmony with the rest of your face.
I love what I do. I love working with patients, studying their faces, looking at old photos, and designing a surgical plan that brings out their natural beauty. The Artiste Lift™ is about delivering a result so natural that your friends just think you look refreshed, not different.
This is not a cookie-cutter facelift. It’s not just a surgery.
It’s a philosophy rooted in precision, nuance, and artistry.
Contact Balikian Plastic Surgery to schedule your consultation and learn how we can help you look like yourself, only brighter.
Dr. Richard Balikian is a renowned facial plastic surgeon known for his dedication to patients throughout Southern California.
With more than two decades of experience and double board certification in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, he brings together surgical precision and an artist’s eye.
Dr. Balikian is among a select group of specialists whose advanced training is devoted entirely to procedures of the face and neck.
Richard V. Balikian, MD, FACS
Double Board-Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon
Balikian Facial Plastic Surgery: Richard V. Balikian, MD, FACS
Tyler Frew, MD
Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon
How Blepharoplasty Rejuvenates the Eyes for Men and Women