WHY FACELIFTS ARE GROWING MORE POPULAR WITH YOUNGER PEOPLE
Facelifts have traditionally been considered treatments for older people—those in their 60s and 70s with seriously sagging and wrinkled facial skin. But the current trend is shifting facelifts to a younger crowd—people in their 30s and 40s who are seeking more subtle changes to retain a youthful appearance. A third of the facelifts performed in 2019 were on people under the age of 54.
What’s going on here? Have people changed in their desire for plastic surgery? Or, have facelifts changed to be more attractive to younger patients? It turns out to be a bit of both.
FACELIFTS HAVE IMPROVED
Our concept of facelifts as an option for older people is tied to an outdated misconception of a facelift as solely a skin tightening procedure. It’s true that early facelifts—through the 1950s and 60s—simply tightened facial skin. And those early procedures gave facelifts a bad rep for a while, producing a stretched, windblown look when performed too aggressively. But modern facelifts sculpt and refresh the face by working on deeper layers of tissue. Today’s facelifts tighten and raise underlying muscles and connective tissue. They also redistribute and replace facial fat where it has thinned to restore the rounder, fuller contours of a younger-looking face. These new techniques enable subtler and more customized changes and produce much more natural-looking results. Today, a facelift can set the facial aging clock back a few years in ways that don’t broadcast that you’ve had surgery.
Recovery from facelifts is also faster and less uncomfortable than it was in years past. Most patients feel great and look beautiful within a couple of weeks. For younger patients, the recovery time can be as short as a week.
THE ATTRACTION OF FACELIFTS FOR YOUNGER PATIENTS
Faster recovery time for younger patients is one attraction. There are other benefits to getting a facelift at a younger age. One of the most important is that the changes needed are typically smaller and the improvements more subtle. Correcting sagging skin or getting rid of jowls in the early stages requires less dramatic surgery than is needed when making those corrections at a more advanced stage of the aging process. Smaller incisions can be used and less excess skin removed. Minor shifts of underlying muscles and fat produce beautiful results. Younger facelift patients look beautiful after the procedure—younger, fresher, and more vibrant—without undergoing such a big change in appearance that people ask what they’ve had done. They look like they’ve had a wonderful vacation, not surgery.
Facelifts for younger people can also be less expensive, in the long run, than repeated injections with dermal fillers or other non-surgical—and less permanent—treatments. If you’ve tried fillers, Botox, or non-surgical skin-tightening treatments such as FaceTite, and feel like you’re getting diminishing returns on those procedures, it may be worth the one-time investment in a facelift. You’ll see real improvement that will last for years.
The human body doesn’t age on a precise and uniform schedule. Some people experience sagging cheeks and jowls in their 60s, while others see those changes in their 30s. So there’s no “right” age for a facelift. It all depends on you: your genetics, your unique facial features, and how you feel about yourself when you look in the mirror.
LEARN MORE ABOUT FACELIFTS IN NEW ORLEANS
Dr. Parker Velargo at the New Orleans Center for Aesthetics and Plastic Surgery is a double board-certified plastic surgeon with special expertise in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of the face and neck. Dr. Velargo has developed an advanced facelift technique, the Renaissance Lift™, that combines facelift surgery with nano-fat grafting and skin resurfacing to fully restore a youthful facial appearance. Call us at (504) 533-8848 or contact us today to schedule a consultation.
