Why is there no way to make a 50 year old look like a 35 year old again if some type of facelift was to be done?

Thank you for your question.  Unfortunately, a facelift improves your appearance making you look fresher and good for your age.  When you start to remove every line making you look 20-30 years younger to start to distort your facial features.  Your eyes and mouth start looking pulled and an natural.  Patient that have a facelift need to have realistic expectation of the result or they will be disappointed.  All The Best 

Thanks for your question. While a facelift performed by an experienced board-certified plastic surgeon can offer very natural-looking results that can make you look a decade younger, there is no surgery, supplement or magic potion that can transform a 60-year-old into a 30-year-old again. As we age, structural changes to our bodies and skin occur, which simply can’t be stopped or permanently reversed.
If you’re thinking about getting a facelift, make sure you go into the procedure with realistic expectations. You won’t come out looking like you’re in your 30s again, but you could look significantly younger while still looking like yourself.

Hi there, Thank you for your question. Whilst the exact turning back of the clock to 35 is impossible. These days through a combination of fat grafting and harnessing the stem cell benefits, volume replenishment, anatomical facial rejuvenation surgery to the face, neck and eyelids as well as botulinum toxin its possible to achieve outstanding results. We routinely have these performed on ladies their 70s who after surgery are often through to be in their 50s and similar those in their 50s thought to be in their 30s. 

 Hi, I have performed many facelifts for over 30 years and have performed many minimally, invasive SMAS facelifts.  Non smiling photos of your face from the front and side would help in the evaluation.   The reality is that there are many different ways to perform a facelift from incision length, incision placement, level of tissue dissection (skin only, SMAS, Deep Plane, Subperiosteal), different degrees of tissue undermining, how to lift and support (imbrication versus plication of the SMAS layer), how much excess skin to trim, is excess fat going to be reduced and finally will the overall shape of the face be made more feminine or masculine (while avoiding the over pulled, windswept appearance).  
 In my experience when evaluating the face, it's key to determine the following:  Are the cheeks, chin and lips the ideal aesthetic shape?  Are "jowls" present and is there excess fat and skin in the face and neck.  Once these factors are determined, the proper aesthetic plan can be determined to make the face balanced, (for women) feminine and more naturally youthful and beautiful (while for men creating a more chiseled, angular and handsome face).  While this might not make a 50 something look 35, you will be the softest, most feminine and attractive version of "you" possible.  Isn't that enough?
 Following my beauty principles, women look the most feminine, youthful and attractive with heart shaped faces.  Heart shaped faces have cheeks that are full and round in the front.  If the cheeks are flat or concave ninth front, Cheek augmentation with a dermal filler or using cheek implants for a permanent enhancement will create full, round cheeks that will feminize the entire face.
 A weak chin creates an imbalance making the nose appear larger, the mid face top heavy and the lower face look short that de-emphasizes the lips and allows early formation of a double chin.  Chin augmentation using a chin implant will add projection to the chin creating harmony and balance to the lower face.  I have found placement of a silastic chin implant, through a small curved incision under the chin (also allows excess skin removal) to be very safe, quick and highly effective.
 If you have "jowls” these are sagging facial tissues and the main indication for some form of a SMAS facelift.  The underlying SMAS layer, of the face, must be dissected, lifted, trimmed and re-sutured (not merely folded or suspended with threads or sutures that will not last).  The excess skin is then removed and the facelift incisions closed.
My most popular SMAS facelift is the minimally invasive, short incision SMAS facelift that has all the benefits of more invasive facelifts (traditional, mid-face, deep plane, cheek lift and subperiosteal facelifts) but with these added benefits:
very small incisions and no incisions extend or are placed within the hair.
minimal tissue dissection = less bruising and swelling = rapid recovery ( several days instead of weeks or months with the more invasive type facelifts mentioned)
can be performed in 90 minutes or less, with or without general anesthesia
no incisions within the hair = no hair loss
excess fat can be removed from the face and neck
excess skin removed from the face and neck
cheeks, chin and jaw line can be augmented with dermal fillers (I prefer Restylane Lyft) or facial implants
most patients fly back home to parts all over the world in as little as 3 days post-op
I combine facial shaping with every facelift procedure.  When jowls are present, these should be done in concert and not alone or separately in order to create a naturally, more attractive face.
Hope this helps.

A full face lift, with added botox and fillers can take many years off the face. The amount of years, or the age one looks afterwards is somewhat in the eye of the beholder because some people the same age often look like they are completely different ages depending on how they have aged. If your skin is in good condition entering the procedures this might be achievable. An in person consultation with a reliable and honest surgeon will give you the best estimate.