The facelift ventures into new territories.
A quick search on social media and my account is flooded with posts from people in their 20s and 30s talking about different types of facelifts: the mini, the ponytail, the deep plane.
Gone are the days when facelifts were reserved for wealthy seniors – now a growing number of younger people are opting to go under the knife.
Some happily share before and after photos of their face. Also from the intermediate section: their often very painful recovery in which they look bruised. It is no longer a procedure that is talked about in secret; Celebrities such as Kris Jenner, Catt Sadler and Marc Jacobs have spoken openly about their treatment. Many more celebrities are rumored to have undergone these treatments.
The facelift is often seen as the last resort, the most important of cosmetic surgeries.
Have people become so insecure in this digital world full of falsehoods that they are willing to pay thousands of dollars for this operation? Or have non-surgical treatments, such as Botox and fillers, become so widespread that having the skin separated from our cheekbones and reorganized facial tissues and fat is perceived as a logical and longer-lasting next step?
For Emily, who had a facelift at age 28, it was all about achieving a “slender look”: a sharp, sculpted jawline, high cheekbones and what many young people know as fox eyes.
He affirms that having surgery in Türkiye has been “a change of life” and he has no regrets.
“In total I had six surgeries combined in one,” he explains. “Among them, I had a mid-facelift, a lip lift, and a rhinoplasty.” [cirugía de nariz]”.
Describing the process, this businesswoman from Toronto, Canada, says that the surgeon played her favorite song while she was given general anesthesia and then: “I fell asleep and woke up, vomited, and had a new face and nose.”
The recovery process was long: the pain and bruising began to subside within the first few weeks, but it took Emily six months to regain feeling in parts of her cheeks.
Would I do it again? Doubt.
“Since my surgery, I’ve changed my life. I’m healthier, I drink a lot less, I take care of my skin, I sleep. I think if I knew what I know now, maybe I wouldn’t have done it.”
“My mom didn’t even know until I told her a couple days after the surgery.”
But then he stops and reflects.
“But I just wanted to be the best version of myself,” Emily says, “and now I think I am.”
A changing profile
Figures from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) show an 8% increase in facelifts over the past 12 months in the UK. While they don’t break down the numbers by age, many surgeons report that the demographic profile is changing.
The same thing happens in other parts of the world. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has seen an increase in Generation X people (ages 45 to 60) opting for a facelift.
Nora Nugent, president of BAAPS, believes there are a number of reasons for this change, including the rise of weight-loss drugs.
“Losing weight so quickly on these medications can leave a lot of excess skin. A facelift can help with that,” he says. “Techniques have developed enormously: a facelift no longer means risking that ‘wind tunnel’ effect [un rostro excesivamente estirado como resultado de tirar la piel hacia atrás] that we saw many years ago.”
However, a facelift is still a major operation that should only be carried out by a registered specialist plastic surgeon at a registered center and with the appropriate equipment, she says.
At his clinic in Bristol, plastic surgeon Simon Lee has performed hundreds of facelifts and shows me a video of one.
For the duration of the procedure, the client is fully awake as low levels of local anesthetic have been injected into the skin and underlying deeper tissue.
He makes a series of small incisions on your face before going beneath the skin, fat and superficial fascia – the part of the face that controls our expressions – and then reaching the deep plane where he repositions tissue and muscles to reshape the face.
As he finishes, the client, who has been under the knife for four hours, smiles with relief.
Simon Lee says one of the reasons this surgery has become more attractive is the ease with which face and neck lifts can now be carried out. Once reserved for a hospital operating room and requiring general anesthesia, you can now perform facelifts without sedation in your clinic.
It is an “exciting time” in a rapidly developing industry, he says. While the classic facelift — which focuses on the lower jaw and neck — remains popular, there are newer treatments that target the upper two-thirds of the face, where he says the aging process begins and is noticeable at a younger age.
The surgeon qualifies this by saying that a facelift is suitable for those over 40, but it would be very unusual to perform such a complex procedure on someone in their twenties or thirties.
There are risks and complications associated with these types of procedures, such as developing a hematoma (a collection of blood under the skin that, if left untreated, could lead to necrosis or death of surrounding tissues), infections, nerve injuries, and alopecia.
A facelift costs, on average, between $20,000 and $60,000 in the UK, although there are clinics that offer these procedures for as little as $6,660.
Experts say it’s important to do your research and choose a plastic surgeon who specializes in facelifts.
Julia Gilando, 34, decided she needed a facelift to correct an asymmetry in her face, after having problems with jaw alignment early in her life.
Although many of her friends told her they saw no problem with her face, she was sorry, “trusted her instincts,” and flew to Türkiye for her procedure, which cost her $8,000.
Despite warnings about the risks associated with cosmetic surgery in Türkiye, it has become increasingly popular to have it done there, mainly because of the lower prices.
“At first I thought this whole idea was crazy, but I did my research and decided to do it,” says Mrs. Gilando, a health professional. “I was scared, I was in a foreign country, alone and I didn’t speak the language.”
“After my surgery I spent two days in the hospital and then had to fend for myself. I was so swollen I couldn’t see.”
“There were dark moments, it was a mental rollercoaster of emotions, you go through those ups and downs.”
There are concerns from researchers about whether such cosmetic surgery procedures really provide the self-esteem and confidence that the industry advertises.
“I think there is unprecedented pressure,” explains Dr Kirsty Garbett, a body image expert at the Appearance Research Center at the University of West England. “Especially when it comes to face: we see ourselves on video calls, on social media platforms, we compare ourselves to others very easily.”
And, according to her, what we see is not necessarily a true reflection of reality.
“Artificial intelligence and filters play a role in creating a fake online world. And at the same time, we are seeing an increase in the normalization of cosmetic procedures.”
Celebrities speaking more openly about these operations is, in some ways, a good thing, she says, but it also normalizes them, making them seem “just a part of life, and that’s really worrying.”
Caroline Stanbury, a television host and participant in a popular reality show, underwent a facelift two years ago, at the age of 47, despite everyone telling her not to because she was too young.
“It was the best thing I ever did,” Caroline says. “Why would I wait until I’m 60, desperate and in need? I want to look and feel amazing now.”
After spending 20 years regularly getting Botox and fillers, she felt like she was “starting to look weird.” He paid $45,000 for a deep plane facelift in the United States.
“I still look like me, and this procedure has given me another 20 years of feeling great,” she says.
Alexis Verpaele, a plastic surgeon based in Belgium, with clients from all over the world, including the UK, says he is concerned about the growing number of younger people coming to him for this treatment.
He often talks at length with these clients about how certain aspects can be achieved without something as major as surgery.
“If they get a facelift at age 20, and we know it can last, say, 10 or 15 years… By the time they’re 60, they could have had 3,” De Verpaele says.
“That’s a lot of trauma for a face; even in the best possible scenario, without any complications.”
Keep reading:
* 14-year-old teenager dies after cosmetic surgery in Mexico
* The obsession with cosmetic surgery: my experience with more than 100 operations
* Trends in cosmetic surgery in the United States: the 5 most requested
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