Dr. Jacob D. Steiger is our guest on the Dr. Randi Show – Sponsored by NewBeauty 💄
World-renowned facial plastic surgeon Dr. Jacob Steiger, the master behind over 3,000 extraordinary facelifts with an unrivaled six-month waitlist for consultations, joins The Dr. Randi Show to reveal the artistry behind his specialized facelift technique. Our conversation highlights Dr. Steiger’s personal insights into his relentless drive for excellence, his heartfelt philosophy of treating every patient like family, and his unwavering commitment that has him working seven days a week.
Dr. Steiger’s name is synonymous with surgical brilliance and unparalleled results. Don’t miss this deep dive into the art, science, and passion fueling one of the top surgeons in the world.
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Episode FAQ
What should you look for in a facial plastic surgeon for a facelift?
On The Dr. Randi Show, Dr. Jacob Steiger, chief surgeon at Steiger Facial Plastic Surgery in Boca Raton, Florida, shared his path and philosophy as a face-only specialist. Dr. Steiger completed a six year honors medical program at the University of Miami, surgical training and a head and neck surgery residency at the University of Pennsylvania, and a facial plastic surgery fellowship at the University of Michigan. He is board certified in otolaryngology head and neck surgery and in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, and said he has performed over 3,000 facelifts, about 250 to 300 per year. Dr. Steiger emphasized choosing a surgeon who focuses on one area and is passionate about it, and described building an in-office surgical center with a long-tenured team over roughly 18 years. The host noted that consultations for a facelift with Dr. Steiger carry about a six month wait. This reflects Dr. Steiger’s clinical experience and is not medical advice.
How is a deep plane facelift different from a traditional SMAS facelift?
On The Dr. Randi Show, Dr. Jacob Steiger walked through how facelifts have evolved, from early skin-only lifts that pulled and tightened the skin, to the SMAS or muscle layer facelift, to the deep plane facelift he began performing around 2007. Dr. Steiger explained that the face has retaining ligaments that sag with age, and that a deep plane facelift releases those ligaments and restores them to their original position rather than pulling the skin or muscle to indirectly tug on them. He shared a patient’s comparison: an older style lift is like putting a belt on pants that do not fit, while a deep plane lift is like having a tailor refit the pants. Dr. Steiger said the deep plane approach also lifts the cheek and midface in a more vertical direction, which he sees as the natural path of aging and a way to avoid the swept look of repeated lateral pulling. He added that, in his experience, it works well for first time facelifts and for second or third facelifts. This reflects Dr. Steiger’s clinical experience and is not medical advice.
Is a deep plane facelift painful, and what is recovery like?
On The Dr. Randi Show, Dr. Jacob Steiger said that, in his experience, facelifts are not painful surgeries, and as a general rule his practice does not prescribe narcotics afterward. Dr. Steiger described using options such as Celebrex, Tylenol, and a mild calming medication like Valium, and said he stopped using drains because he feels they are worse for healing. He explained that patients usually feel tight in the neck the first night because of the bandage and swelling, that swelling peaks on the second day, and that people look and feel better each day after. Dr. Steiger said pain several days after surgery is unusual in his practice and is treated as a reason to come in and be checked. He credited the lack of tension on the skin and muscle in a deep plane facelift, compared with the SMAS facelifts he used to perform, for patients’ comfort. This reflects Dr. Steiger’s clinical experience and is not medical advice.
Does a facelift include the neck, and what is deep neck contouring?
On The Dr. Randi Show, Dr. Jacob Steiger explained that he considers his procedure a deep plane face and neck lift, because the cheeks, jowls, and neck age together. Dr. Steiger described the typical sequence he sees: the cheeks begin to fall in the late thirties or early forties, the jowls sag in the mid to late forties, and the neck falls into the fifties. To address neck bands, he makes a small incision under the chin and tightens the platysma muscle, a step called a platysmaplasty, which creates a supportive sling. Dr. Steiger said deep neck contouring is a separate, more advanced step in which he works beneath the platysma and may partially trim sagging submandibular salivary glands for a better neck contour, noting that the glands cannot and should not be fully removed. He said that over the past year or so he has performed deep neck contouring in about 20 to 25 percent of patients, and only when it is needed. This reflects Dr. Steiger’s clinical experience and is not medical advice.
What is the most common age to get a facelift?
On The Dr. Randi Show, Dr. Jacob Steiger said that when he started practicing around 2007 and 2008, most of his facelift patients were in their mid sixties to 70, and that the age has since dropped as facelifts have become more accepted. Dr. Steiger described the early fifties as the sweet spot, noting that many women tell him they noticed significant changes in their skin, ligaments, and muscles around menopause. He said he sometimes operates on patients around 45, but very rarely performs facelifts on people in their thirties, because in his view the ligaments have not fallen enough to warrant surgery and he does not believe in preventative surgery. Dr. Steiger also shared that about 20 to 25 percent of his facelift patients are men. This reflects Dr. Steiger’s clinical experience and is not medical advice.
Are the ponytail lift and filler fatigue good reasons to get a facelift younger?
On The Dr. Randi Show, the host asked Dr. Jacob Steiger about the social media trend called the ponytail lift, often promoted to women in their thirties. Dr. Steiger said the question is whether an approach is a long lasting, effective way to do surgery, and described the term as more of a marketing buzzword than a true procedure. He connected some of the interest in early surgery to filler fatigue, where people are tired of or worried about fillers, but stressed that fillers are not bad when used in the right person, at the right time, for the right reason. Dr. Steiger said his guiding rule is to treat each patient as he would treat his own family and to tell them honestly what he would or would not do in their position. This reflects Dr. Steiger’s clinical experience and is not medical advice.
What is recovery like after eyelid surgery, and what is scarless lower eyelid surgery?
On The Dr. Randi Show, Dr. Jacob Steiger called eyelid surgery the gateway to plastic surgery because, in his experience, it is a relatively quick procedure with fast healing. Dr. Steiger said he lets patients return to full activities once the stitches come out, and that most eyelid surgeries he performs, around 85 percent, involve very little downtime. He explained that he performs upper eyelid surgery under local anesthesia while the patient is awake, and performs lower eyelid surgery under anesthesia through the inside of the lid, an approach with no skin incisions that may involve repositioning or removing fat. The host shared that her husband had eyelid surgery with Dr. Steiger and reported no pain and a recovery of just a few days. This reflects Dr. Steiger’s clinical experience and is not medical advice.
Do exosomes help with healing after laser resurfacing or facelift surgery?
On The Dr. Randi Show, Dr. Jacob Steiger discussed regenerative medicine and his experience with exosomes. Dr. Steiger said he previously studied PRP, made from a patient’s own blood, and found it did not work that well for his patients. He described first using exosomes at a patient’s request, then offering them as an option for about six to eight months, during which roughly a quarter of patients chose them and, looking back, his team saw noticeably quicker healing, though he said he did not evaluate whether final results were better. Dr. Steiger now applies a concentrated, sterile exosome product after his ablative laser treatments and has patients use an at home product starting about a week after surgery. He clarified that exosomes are not stem cells but the growth factors and signals that stem cells release, and cautioned that new buzzwords can attract snake oil, so it is important to separate what works from what does not. He also mentioned that supplements like bromelain or arnica may or may not help, and that his team discusses nutrition to help patients heal. This reflects Dr. Steiger’s clinical experience and is not medical advice.
Can energy based devices like Sofwave or Ultherapy replace a facelift?
On The Dr. Randi Show, Dr. Jacob Steiger described energy based devices as tools that work best when matched to the right person. Dr. Steiger said his practice uses the CO2 laser, lighter lasers, Sofwave, and Ultherapy, and that he still relies on fractional CO2 because, in his experience, nothing has replaced it. He shared that he bought Ultherapy only after a rep treated his own brows and he saw a lift three months later. Dr. Steiger said these devices can work very well for many people in their thirties but may not be powerful enough for people in their fifties and sixties, and that his team is honest that a device like Sofwave gives nice results but is not a facelift. He added that devices able to target the facial ligaments may come in the future, but they do not exist yet. This reflects Dr. Steiger’s clinical experience and is not medical advice.
What is ultrasonic rhinoplasty, and does it mean less bruising?
On The Dr. Randi Show, Dr. Jacob Steiger explained that in many rhinoplasty patients he no longer breaks the nasal bones the traditional way and instead uses an ultrasonic device, often called ultrasonic rhinoplasty, that shapes bone while leaving the soft tissue underneath intact. Dr. Steiger described a demonstration in which the device cuts away an eggshell while leaving the membrane beneath it unharmed. He said that, in his experience, this approach allows for less bruising, less discomfort, and quicker healing. Dr. Steiger emphasized that ultrasonic rhinoplasty is a tool rather than a procedure in itself, and that who the surgeon is and how they perform the surgery matters most. This reflects Dr. Steiger’s clinical experience and is not medical advice.
