What is the best age for a facelift?

When we talk about a facelift, there is something important to understand from the start:

It is not a skin treatment. It is a procedure that repositions the deep tissues of the face to where they were when the face was young, before they dropped because of gravity, lifestyle or genetics. A facelift consists of returning these tissues to their original position and redraping the skin over them, removing the excess, without needing to pull it tight, which avoids distorted-looking faces

Problems it corrects:

• Sagging in the cheeks and jawline
• Pronounced nasolabial folds
• Loss of facial contour
• Double chin or excess skin on the neck
• Descent of the facial tissues

Important: it does not improve skin quality (dark spots, texture), but the structure.

Marked loss of jawline definition

When you start to see the so-called:

• “double chin effect”
• “marionette line”

This indicates that the tissues have dropped, not just lost volume.

Excess skin on the neck

The neck often gives away your age before the face does.

It is recommended when there is:

• Sagging skin
• Visible platysmal bands

Biological age vs. chronological age

It does not depend on age alone, but generally:

• Between 40 and 55 → the first candidates
• 55+ → more evident cases

The key is not age, but the degree of structural aging.

Deep nasolabial fold

When

• The fold is very deep and pronounced even at rest
• There is facial sagging (ptosis) in the cheeks or midface
• Hyaluronic acid fillers no longer correct it or last a very short time
• There is excess skin or visible sagging

Marionette lines

• The lines are deep and visible even at rest
• There is sagging along the jawline (double chin or “jowls”)
• The corners of the mouth are downturned
• Fillers no longer work well or last a very short time
• You are looking for a long-lasting result (years)

Bands in the submental area (under the chin)

You should consider a neck lift when:

• The bands are very visible at rest, not just when you make facial expressions

• There is marked sagging in the neck and under the chin

• The jaw angle has been lost (a poorly defined neck)
• The skin is lax or there is excess skin
• Non-surgical treatments no longer work or do not last long

Double chin caused by excess fat

• There is fat + significant skin laxity
• The neck is sagging and the jawline lacks definition
• There is excess skin after weight loss or due to age

When the problem is only skin aging; in that case, what needs treating are the fine wrinkles, through aesthetic medicine procedures and mesotherapy

Cases where it is not recommended:

• Mild or early sagging
• Volume loss only (fillers are better)
• Skin quality problems (laser, peels)
• Unrealistic expectations
• In these cases, a less invasive approach is ideal.

The line between aesthetic medicine and facial cosmetic surgery is defined mainly by the degree of invasiveness, the use of an operating room and how deep the procedure goes into the tissues.

“The face is like a car that, after many years of use, shows dents, scratches and chipped paint. Instituto de Benito is like the garage where you take the car to be fixed: normally, when there are dents and bodywork problems, the body repair technician goes first (in this case the surgeon), and the paintwork, the scratches... are looked after by the aesthetic medicine department. ”-Dr. Javier de Benito

It depends on how much the face and neck have deteriorated. When the first signs of aging appear, they are very often treated with aesthetic medicine, such as:

Before surgery, the following can be considered:

• Botulinum toxin
• Biostimulators (collagen)
• Polynucleotides
• Exosomes
• Radiofrequency
• Device-based treatments

They work best in the early stages of aging.

The answer to this question depends on two people. One is the surgeon, who either sees that the defect clearly calls for correction with a facelift or tells you that you can wait. The other is the patient, whose answer counts when they feel that it is very noticeable, that it lowers their quality of life and that they would be much happier without it.

The severity of the defect is always judged by the brain -Dr. Javier de Benito