Age is just a number. Here, plastic surgeons share exactly how to know if it’s time to go under the knife.
It’s an unequivocally good thing that we—the Kardashian-Jenners and society at large—have become more open and honest about plastic surgery. But anytime a beauty procedure breaks containment and spreads across algorithms, some important details get lost in the discourse. The talk of the town right now is facelifts, of course, with more women than ever taking to social media to post about their experiences, facelift financial funds, or their desire to get one.
Nobody needs a facelift, but they are the gold standard of aesthetic facial surgery for a reason. So if you’re someone who’s been noodling on the idea of going under the knife ever since you saw some celebrity’s before-and-after photo, you’re probably asking: Is it time? How do I know when it’s time? Should I get a facelift? Will I ever feel ready?
Let’s start at age. Is there a magic number at which one should consider a facelift? “It’s really a combination of anatomy and what is bothering the patient—not a particular age,” says Leslie Kim, a double-board-certified otolaryngologist and facial plastic surgeon in Ohio . “Many patients say they first started noticing that they looked tired even when they felt great, or that the person they saw in photos no longer matched how they felt internally.”
Plastic surgeons are seeing more patients for consultations at a younger age, but it’s not necessarily because of social media. “With the rise of GLP-1 medications and the significant weight loss they can cause, some patients are seeking facelifts at a younger age because they develop excess skin and loss of facial volume sooner,” says Lyle Leipziger, chief of plastic surgery at North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center. “ In some cases, patients may even become candidates for a face and neck lift before they would have otherwise considered one.”
The other benefit of going in for a lift sooner rather than later, surgeons say, is that your skin quality (collagen and elastin) tends to be better, leading to quicker healing and better results. “Facelifts get their best result when the quality of the facial tissues are at their best stage possible for each person,” says Sherrell Jerone Aston, a double-board-certified plastic surgeon in New York City. “Keep in mind skin quality does not get better with the passage of time.”
The majority of facelift patients, however, are in their forties or fifties, says Luis Macias , a double-board-certified plastic surgeon in Los Angeles. “ It’s when the anatomy starts to change in a way that nonsurgical treatments can’t really correct anymore,” he adds. “You start seeing descent of the cheeks, jowling, loss of the jawline, or laxity in the neck and start pulling your face up and back in front of the mirror.”
Regardless of whether you’re 35 or 85, health is the next factor to consider. Are you healthy enough—mentally and physically—to endure the surgery and recovery? While uncontrolled diabetes, blood-clotting disorders, and high blood pressure are contraindications to elective surgery, “most of what disqualifies a patient is fixable rather than permanent,” says Krishna Vyas, a plastic surgeon at Blechman Plastic Surgery in New York City. “Nicotine is the big one. It restricts blood flow to healing tissue and raises the risk of skin-flap problems, so I require patients to quit at least four weeks or more before surgery.” Vyas also has p…