Is it in your 40s? 50s? 60s? Can I get a facelift in my 70s? Should I get a facelift in my 30s? Just exactly when is the right time to get a facelift?
While there isn’t a cut-and-dry answer, there are certainly some helpful guidelines to help you know whether you’re a candidate for a facelift. Read below to learn all about facelifts and see whether this procedure is proper for you!
How Does A Facelift Work?
Here at Vinyard Institute of Plastic Surgery, Dr. William J. Vinyard, MD, FACS, has received advanced surgical training in the latest, safest, most personalized, and most aesthetically pleasing facelifts. While every facelift has a slightly different procedure, the general idea involves incisions in specific areas of the face to carefully pull the underlying facial tissues and muscles to create a tighter, smoother, and younger appearance. Next, excess skin, tissue, and muscle are trimmed, then the incision is closed again to finish the facelift. This procedure enhances the face, provides anti-aging results, and of course, provides a more alert “lifted” appearance.
What Kinds Of Facelifts Are There?
There are many different kinds of facelifts — and not all of them are surgical! At VIPS, we offer highly customizable facelifts. Since every person is unique, we believe in providing the most personalizable facelift options there are. This includes mixing in other procedures such as a neck lift, blepharoplasty (to enhance the eyes), or injectables. A few of the most popular facelift options are:
- The Full-Face Facelift: This facelift is usually the one that comes to people’s minds when they hear “facelift.” This procedure is considered the gold standard and can dramatically reduce the appearance of aging. The surgical procedure involves creating an incision near the hairline to the temples, then lifting the muscles/tissue while snipping excess skin. This facelift significantly reduces droopy skin, heavy wrinkles, and more.
- The Mid-Face Facelift: This facelift is a midway point between the mini facelift and the complete facelift. The Mid-Face Facelift focuses on the hollow and lax areas near the cheekbones and upper jaw. This procedure is often paired with a neck lift for a full, youthful lower half of the face with extra focus on the jowls, jawline, and lower cheek area. If you rest your hands on your cheeks with the very top of your wrist met together at your chin, you can mimic the effect that a mid-face facelift would have.
- The Lower-Face Facelift: This facelift focuses on the lower half of the face, similar to the Mid-Face facelift. However, it has more of an emphasis on the chin and neck area.
- The Mini-Facelift: This facelift creates subtle improvements to the mouth, jawline, and jowls via a small incision around the ears. The results provide a natural anti-aging appearance.
- Liquid Facelift: Unlike all the previous facelift techniques that use surgical methods, this facelift is exclusively done with injectables. It can involve BOTOX, wrinkle fillers, cheek fillers, lip fillers, and more to provide a younger appearance, maintain a youthful look, touch up previous facelifts, or provide a complete facelift.
At What Age Do People Get Facelifts?
In general, the mid-40s to 50s are the most popular age group that undergoes the traditional facelift. However, since different facelifts have different purposes, the “right age” for a facelift varies depending on goals, target area, concerns, and aesthetics. Here is a general guideline to help you as you consider which facelift is right for you:
- The Full-Face Facelift: Because of the intensity of this facelift, it’s most popular with older individuals in their 60s-70s who have especially saggy skin, lax muscles, and heavy wrinkles. However, some individuals in their 40s-50s have chosen to go with a complete facelift but less drastic results. Since Dr. Vinyard customizes all his procedures, his technique for treating an older patient will vary from treating a younger patient.
- The Mid-Face Facelift: The mid-face facelift tends to find appeal in patients in their 50s-70s who experience heavier jowls, a looser jawline, and saggier cheeks.
- The Lower-Face Facelift: This facelift also appeals to individuals in their 50s-70s. However, lately, younger patients in their 40s are gravitating toward the lower-face facelift to reduce “turkey chin.”
- The Mini-Facelift: This facelift appeals to patients as young as the 30s onward. Since it can reduce lines around the mouth, tighten the jawline, and provide a subtle result, many younger individuals (and older individuals) are drawn to this procedure.
- Liquid Facelift: The liquid facelift has grown popular with patients as young as their late 20s. Some patients look toward the liquid facelift to achieve a tighter, smoother, or more shaped facial aesthetic, while others turn to the liquid facelift as anti-aging preventative measures. However, the liquid facelift can be customized to provide nearly the same results as a general facelift: correcting wrinkles, sagginess, and laxity with older individuals.
Ultimately, people of all ages receive facelifts for different reasons and goals. There is no “right age” — instead, the “right age” is when the patient decides that they would benefit from a facelift. We here at VIPS love nothing more than to see a patient fully happy with their facial results.
What Facelifts Should I Avoid?
While there are many quack facelifts to avoid, one of the most concerning facelifts growing in popularity is the thread lift. This procedure involves threading a medical-grade thread material into the face, then “pulling” the skin by tightening the thread. Due to its lower cost (40% less expensive than traditional facelifts) and trendiness on social media, more people choose a thread lift as the cheaper alternative than the tried-and-true methods. There are minimal studies conducted on the safety and long-term efficacy of the thread lift. Moreover, the FDA rescinded their approval of the Contour Thread Lift system after reports of various problems.
Get the VIPS Experience
We here at VIPS pride ourselves in providing our patients with the highest-grade quality care and results in the plastic surgery industry. From your consultation until post-recovery, we will be with you every step of the way. We would love to help you choose which facelift is right for you in one of our complimentary consultations. Dr. Vinyard himself will meet with you, evaluate your skin, discuss various options with you, and create a fully customized plan for your facelift based all around YOU. After the comprehensive facial evaluation, he will use TouchMD technology to walk you through your facial aging process, your facial structure, and your various options.
So no matter what age you are, Dr. Vinyard would love to help you reach your aesthetic goals. Come see us!
Is it time for your facelift procedure?
Book A Complimentary ConsultationReady to give your face a lift? We here at VIPS prioritize patient experience and results, so we want to help you find the proper treatment for you. We also offer one-time payments or payment plans to help make things as convenient and hassle-free as possible. So come book a complimentary consultation with Dr. Vinyard to discuss more of what we can do for you!
More Articles
by Vinyard Institute of Plastic Surgery | Jun 15, 2023
Let’s break down the differences between CoolSculpting and Emsculpt and why we feel CoolSculpting is the superior option for your body contouring journey!
by Vinyard Institute of Plastic Surgery | May 10, 2023
In today’s article, we’ll explore why you should consider CoolSculpting Elite over Ozempic to achieve a slimmer, more toned physique!
by Vinyard Institute of Plastic Surgery | Apr 24, 2023
Enter Morpheus8 Body, the latest advancement in body contouring that smooths, tightens, and tones the skin like never before! We’ll explore everything one would need to know about cellulite, its causes, and how Morpheus8 Body can help women get closer to achieving the body of their dreams!
Read More ArticlesShare it!