Age isn’t the ultimate factor when it comes to determining if you’re ready for a facelift. The more relevant considerations are the issues each patient is dealing with and whether a facelift is the most effective, long-lasting way to treat them.
When I meet with patients considering a facelift at my Toronto practice, they often aren’t sure if they are ready. With the rise of injectable fillers and other nonsurgical options, people tend to put off a full surgical facelift for as long as possible. Many people believe they must reach a certain age to be considered ready for the procedure.
What Nonsurgical Treatments Can Do
BOTOX Cosmetic® can relax specific muscles in the face that cause lines after repeated contraction, helping with crow’s feet or glabellar lines between the eyebrows. Fillers plump up lines and restore lost volume. Used in the right areas, these products can provide support that lifts hollow cheeks or adds fullness to the temples for a more youthful look.
If you’re struggling with minor lines and wrinkles, or minimal lost volume in the cheeks, temples, or under-eye area, nonsurgical treatments may be sufficient. But while injectables are an appropriate option for some concerns, certain issues may develop that can’t be adequately treated by these methods. That’s where a facelift comes in.
What a Facelift Can Do
A facelift can address both the skin and the underlying layer of muscles and fat called the SMAS (superficial muscular aponeurotic system). It adjusts these without the need to excessively tighten skin, creating a natural-looking result that can turn back the clock by several years. Thanks to well-concealed incisions, it allows you to look younger without obvious signs of surgery. You’ll simply look more rested and refreshed.
At a certain point in the aging process, which is different for everyone, skin laxity increases and leads to issues that only a surgical facelift can properly treat. The most common concerns include a sagging neck or neck banding, the presence of jowls, loss of definition in the jawline, and deep folds or creases around the mouth. At this point, a surgical facelift is the best option.
What’s Driving the Shift Toward Earlier Facelifts
Earlier facelifts are being driven by a desire for natural, preventative correction rather than dramatic reversal. Patients are choosing surgery at the point where skin laxity and structural changes first appear, before aging becomes advanced, because results tend to look more subtle, last longer, and require less aggressive correction.
Several factors are fueling this shift. Today’s patients are more informed about facial anatomy and understand the limits of injectables over time. Overfilling with dermal fillers can distort facial proportions, particularly in the midface and jawline, prompting some patients to pursue a facelift sooner as a more anatomically sound solution. Advances in surgical techniques, including refined SMAS approaches and improved incision placement, have also made recovery more manageable and outcomes more natural than in decades past.
Equally important, younger facelift patients are not trying to “look different” or significantly younger: they want to maintain their appearance. Addressing early jowling, jawline softening, or neck laxity surgically can preserve facial harmony and often reduce the need for ongoing filler treatments in the future. For the right candidate, an earlier facelift can be a strategic, long-term investment rather than a last resort.
Facelift Options
At my Toronto practice, we perform several variations of the traditional facelift to best serve each patient’s needs.
- Full facelift: This rejuvenates the lower 2/3 of the face and creates the most significant transformation. During this procedure, I lift the upper layer of skin and the deeper SMAS layer as well.
- Mini facelift: Sometimes called a limited incision facelift, this option corrects early signs of aging in the lower face. The correction is not as comprehensive as a full facelift, but it is typically less invasive—with shorter recovery time.
- Endoscopic midface lift: This focuses on the region of the face from below the eyes down to the cheeks. It is often performed while the patient is under local anesthesia with sedation, and is the least invasive of the 3 approaches.
Ultimately, the best way to know if you’re ready for a facelift is to come in for a personal consultation. This way, I can examine your face and give my recommendation for the most appropriate treatment for you.
To get an idea of the transformation a facelift can create, please visit our before-and-after photo gallery.
Request Your Consultation
If you’re ready to take the next step with a facelift in Toronto, please contact us online or call (416) 925-7337 to schedule a consultation.
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