Many things in life, including drinking alcohol and obtaining a driver's license, have an age limit. The facelift is one thing that has never had a specific age requirement but has always been associated with a more mature demographic. Historically, women and men experiencing more advanced signs of aging have been the typical patients for the facial rejuvenation procedure. However, an increasing number of younger people are becoming interested in and receiving facelifts in their early forties.
This begs the question: Is it possible to be too young for a facelift?
People of all ages want to look their best, but women in their forties are in peak physical condition and want their appearances to reflect that. Then there's the power of social media. Furthermore, social media places a premium on beauty, which adds pressure to people who would otherwise be unconcerned about some early signs of aging.
As discussions about plastic surgery have become more common, we now have more access to before and after photos and procedure information than ever before. This mainstreaming has made patients more aware of what is possible in terms of rejuvenation and pre-juvenation. Women are more aware of the options available to them for achieving their desired appearance.
For many people, the first signs of visible facial aging appear around the jawline, chin, and neck in their early forties. Women begin to notice skin loosening and hanging, as well as jowls and, occasionally, crinkly, wrinkly, sun-damaged skin. These aging signs are more visible in thinner women or those who have recently lost weight through dieting. COVID-19 has, predictably, influenced procedure preferences. Women are noticing these facial changes more since the pandemic, thanks to Zoom calls and social media photographs, which has resulted in an increase in those in their forties getting a facelift.
Just because you reach the biological age of 40 does not guarantee that you will experience age-related changes that necessitate surgical intervention. We all age at different rates, and 40 does not look the same on everyone. Some women show few signs of aging, while others appear much older than they are due to sun damage, inelastic skin, and laxity.
As a result, your biological age should not be the reason for a facelift. Instead, go by the degree of looseness in the skin and neck. Facelifts aren't for everyone. When patients have early jowls, however, a facelift focusing on the neck and jawline is the gold standard.
All of these minimally invasive procedures have a place in the modern anti-aging routine. However, some patients believe they have gone as far as they can with those procedures and that the next step is required. When injectables like Botox and dermal fillers, as well as non-surgical skin-tightening treatments, are no longer effective, the best remaining option is often a facelift. Facelifts are used by patients because they are more effective than Botox or injectables in treating sagging skin in the neck, jowls, and face. If a patient is hesitant to have surgery, I often recommend that they begin with Botox, fillers, neck liposuction, or skin resurfacing.
Furthermore, the over-injected, puffy, unnatural face is out of style. Too many providers overfill their patients, which causes filler fatigue by premature aging of the tissue due to skin overextension. Furthermore, this unfavorable appearance frequently leads a woman in her forties to exclaim, 'Enough! I want a facelift, not fillers.'
The newfound reality is supported by research. According to a 2017 study published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, the average age of a facelift patient is decreasing. More than half of women in their forties who have a mini-facelift have previously had injectables, fillers, or lasers. According to the patients, they looked four years younger after these non-invasive treatments but nearly ten years younger after their facelift.
The fundamentals of a facelift on a younger and older patient are the same, but the execution is not. In younger patients, less manipulation is required. In theory, this should be easier, but it is not. Younger patients, in particular, can quickly appear overdone and over-pulled if not treated carefully. Younger patients are more concerned with the lower face and early neck aging. They are also adamant that they do not want to appear 'done' or fake.
Nonetheless, the quality of younger skin can make your cosmetic surgeon's life a little easier in the operating room. Good facelift results are easier to achieve in a younger patient because the skin retains elasticity and tone due to less sun damage and aging. And, in younger women, the dermis of the skin and the underlying muscle, which is tightened during a face and neck lift, are stronger, making it technically easier to achieve a better result.
Any skilled plastic surgeon understands the value of personalizing facial surgery. It is critical to tailor the face-neck lift procedure to the needs of the patients. No two faces are exactly alike, according to science and genetic principles, which is why no two facelifts are the same.
Facelifts today are not the same as they were in the past. The over-pulled, super-tight, wind tunnel-look that appears fake, narrow, and waxy has vanished. In its place are more extensive but minor surgeries that result in a refreshed, ‘still-you-but-better' appearance. Over the last decade, surgeons' techniques have made the results much more predictable, durable, and even faster to recover from.
The so-called mini-facelift is a modified, limited version of a traditional facelift that focuses on excess skin on the neck and jaw. Unless there is extreme weight loss, younger patients almost always have less skin laxity than older patients. Furthermore, the tissue in the cheek area has not lost as much volume or support, and these areas usually do not need to be corrected.
Facelifts in 40-year-olds typically have a smaller incision and a less dramatic pull. The incisions are made in front of and behind the ears and are smaller than traditional facelift incisions because less tissue and muscle manipulation is required. When there is less laxity, it is even more important to release the tissues and dissect more so that the incisions do not become too tense. This promotes faster healing. Furthermore, most women in their forties do not require as much skin removal, so the dissection is often deeper. The resulting scars will fade over time, allowing patients to continue wearing their hair up.
Other age-rejuvenating treatments may be included in the overall rejuvenation plan by some surgeons. Filler, particularly in the lower face and neck, should be viewed as a supplement rather than a primary treatment for lower face drooping. Suture suspensions or thread-lifting produce good results in this age group, achieving near-surgical results without the need for cutting. The inverso-suspension concept combines the relaxation of the lower face's frown muscles with minimal volume filler and thread lifting to the lower face and jawline.
Surgery is far more dramatic than non-surgical alternatives, and the results are usually visible much sooner. At the end of the day, everything works together to create a synergistic effect. An ‘early' facelift lasts about 12 years, but small ‘tweaks' with filler and other materials are frequently done along the way to optimize things.
Weight management and skincare are also important factors in achieving and maintaining good results. A solid, simple skincare regimen started at a young age prepares skin to age well.
If a facelift is at the top of your list of "Things to Do in My Forties," there may be an advantage to going under the knife while you are still a quadragenarian, as long as your plastic surgeon believes you are a good candidate. Having surgery early on, while age-related issues are still minor, eliminates the need for a more extensive restoration later on. Medical and surgical advances have also resulted in faster recovery times. Patients are no longer hospitalized for months at a time. Instead, they return to the office seven to fourteen days later.
And don't forget about the financial aspect. Younger patients who have a 'mini' facelift may pay less because the surgeon has less work and time to devote to them. Furthermore, some patients choose a lift because other modalities no longer provide an extreme enough result or have become too expensive to maintain.
The effects will last for years, regardless of your age. It is critical to remember that the face will continue to age, albeit at a different rate. Over time, the bones continue to change size and shape, the skin thins and loses elasticity, and the facial fat diminishes. Around the 10-year post-op mark, most patients begin to notice some relaxation of the skin and tissues. The face will still look better than it did before the surgery, but it will not return to its original shape.
Non-surgical solutions have their place, and for some facelift patients, they remain an important part of the anti-aging strategy, particularly for maintenance. After all, just because you have facial surgery at a younger age does not mean you will be immune to aging; you will not. A facelift will not stop the clock, but it will turn it backwards. It is also critical to understand that additional surgeries may be required in the future to maintain results. If a patient has a facelift in their early forties, they are very likely to want another one. This is the warning I give to any patient considering a facelift in their early forties. But, in the meantime, you'll look fantastic!
Call 9930998023 to book your consultation with Dr Siddharth Prakash.
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