While Hollywood swirls with not-so-silent speculation of stars in their 30s and 40s getting facelifts, doctors like Nashville, TN plastic surgeon Daniel Hatef, MD, aren’t all that surprised.
While the average facelift patient age at his practice is in the 53 to 54 range, he now has a lot more patients in their 40s inquiring about the surgery, and he sees some clear advantages with that shift.
“I think that the best part of doing a facelift at a younger age is that we can move the soft tissues to the optimal position without creating dramatic, obvious or unfixable distortions adjacent to the area of fixation,” Dr. Hatef explains. “In a 55-year-old patient with severe nasolabial folds, if I correct that to its optimal position, the patient will have ridging and convexities at the temple, and it will distort the lower eyelid shape. In a fortysomething-year-old patient, that does not happen.”
It’s the tissue factor that Encino, CA, plastic surgeon George Sanders, MD, also specifically calls out. While he stresses that there is no “ideal age for a facelift,” he does point out that considering the quality of the patient’s tissue is key when discussing a facelift. “If the tissues cannot hold the suspension that we achieve with surgery, the results are going to be disappointing,” he says. “If the patient is young, they may also be well-served by a more limited facial lift, as opposed to the traditional facelift.”
Also on the benefit list, according to Dr. Sanders, is improved recovery. “There are definitely benefits to having surgery done at a younger age. These would include things such as stronger tissues that hold the lift better, a more rapid recovery and a less dramatic change with the operation that allows one to never appear as though surgery was done. Also, the younger you are when you have the surgery done, the longer you’re going to have to enjoy the results!”
It’s that quicker recovery, coupled with less emphasis on “reversal,” that New York facial plastic surgeon Konstantin Vasyukevich, MD, likes as well.
“One of the main benefits of having a facelift at a younger age is the ability to address early signs of aging before they become more pronounced,” he says. “It’s less about reversing the clock and more about maintaining a youthful appearance over time. When a facelift is done before significant laxity sets in, the results tend to be more natural, more subtle and longer-lasting. Recovery is often quicker, and the skin responds better to repositioning. Younger patients often say they don’t want a dramatic change, just to look like a fresher version of themselves. It also allows them to avoid spending excess time and money on temporary treatments that ultimately fall short of what they’re looking for.”
Plus, Dr. Vasyukevich stresses that subtle is always in style, and can tie back to your age.
“In the past, it was more common to see patients starting in their 50s and 60s. Now we’re seeing more individuals in their 30s and early to mid-40s who are choosing to address early aging before it progresses. Many don’t see the point in waiting until the signs of aging are more advanced. They’d rather make a subtle, meaningful change now and enjoy the benefits in real time instead of playing catch-up later.”
Regardless of timing, Dr. Vasyukevich is quick to say he also does not believe there’s a “one-size-fits-all age” for a facelift. “It depends on the individual’s anatomy, genetics and goals. The ‘sweet spot’ for many tends to be when the first noticeable signs of aging begin to set in, but skin elasticity is still relatively good. As far as [being] too young, if someone has minimal signs of aging or is primarily influenced by trends or external pressure, that’s when I’d recommend waiting or exploring less-invasive options first.”
Similarly, Dr. Sanders sees many younger patients come through his door who ask for facial lifting, but that doesn’t automatically equate to a traditional facelift.
“Many times, what they need is not a facelift, but something that involves less than a full facelift, or even a non-surgical option such as fillers, non-surgical skin tightening, etc.,” he says. “On the other hand, sometimes even a young patient is asking for improvement of the cheek, jawline and neck that can only be achieved with a facelift.”
Case in point, Dr. Sanders says: “If the patient has a problem that is going to respond well to a facelift, I don’t think that there is a minimum age. In the same way, I don’t believe that there is a maximum age, assuming the patient is in good health and has realistic expectations. I had a patient several years ago who was 100 years old when she underwent a facelift. She was thrilled with the results and went back to chopping wood afterward!”
The bottom line, stresses La Jolla, CA plastic surgeon Robert Singer, MD: “The best time to fix something is when it bothers you,” he says. “There’s no universal procedure and no universal age, and what you gain from a facelift isn’t lost as time goes on.”
