Facelift at Age 45 - Will I Need a Redo Later?

As each person is unique and displays aging according to their anatomy and heredity, there is no ideal time for a face lift.  When your appearance is concerning you, then it is the appropriate time for you to consider it.  A face lift should "last" about 7 - 10 years but this also depends on several factors such as smoking history, sun exposure etc.  To continue to appear rejuvenated, you likely will need additional work done in the future.  This may only be volume restoration with fillers to maintain the plump full look of youth

There isn't a perfect age for doing a first face lift.  But weigh these options and considerations:

The earlier you do your lift, the more years you have to enjoy it.

Unanticipated medical issues may be in your future, and you may not medically "qualify" as a patient.  I have had patients who waited till the "right age" and then they needed to be placed on blood thinners for a medical concern.  After that, all we can do in injections.

Do it now, it goes "under the radar" of your friends.  It's easier to keep private issues private.  

I was trained in the east and west coasts, and the mentality is different from east to west.  We do things earlier here (West) and I happen to agree with that mentality.

The answer to your question is yes and no.  Yes, you will probably "need" another facelift in the future if you desire to continue looking good and agin gracefully.  Your face will not stop aging and so you will eventually probably get to the point of dissatisfaction but every patient is different.  No, you will necessarily "have" to do another one just because of a previous one.  You will continue to age normally and can let your appearance go if you no longer have an issue with it.

On average the surgical #results last between 4 and 7 years. However, people vary so much from one another, an exact time is difficult to provide. If you wish, you may repeat the procedure at that time. There is always an improvement compared to not having the procedure as the #aging process continues to progress throughout the future. Patients, with very loose skin will occasionally experience sagging earlier and it may be seen as soon as one  year later. Such may require a secondary procedure to tighten the loose skin. 

Facelift results can last for ten years or
beyond if you take good care of your skin and lead a healthy lifestyle. The
face does continue to age, but generally, if you have a facelift at 45 you will
still look younger and better at 55 than you would had you not had the
facelift. If you feel that the effects of age are too much, you may decide to
have a second facelift in five, ten, or fifteen years, but the choice is
entirely yours. If you are a candidate for a facelift and are psychologically
ready for it at 45, there is no reason to wait until after menopause. I suggest
visiting a board-certified, expert facial plastic surgeon for an in-person
consultation to discuss your goals and come up with the best treatment plan.

The number
of patients requesting facelifts in their forties definitely appears to be
increasing. Patients in their forties just don’t perceive themselves as old and
clearly don’t want to look older than they feel. Age should not determine
whether a facelift in indicated, instead the physical changes associated with
facial aging should make this determination. Procedures are usually less
aggressive at this age, with shorter recoveries and fewer complication rates.
Patients undergoing early intervention for facial aging report high
satisfaction rates. A variety of factors affect how long
a facelift lasts. These include the type of procedure performed, the skill of
the surgeon, genetics, sun damage and lifestyle decisions. All of these factors
impact the result of facelift procedures and their longevity.Its important to realize that
facelifts turn the clock back, but don’t stop the clock from ticking. Most
surgeons will tell you that the procedure will generally last about ten years.
I feel that if a facelift makes you look 15 years younger you should be back to
your original starting point in approximately 15 years. For this reason,
patients who undergo facelifts at a younger age may ultimately require a
secondary facelift when they’re older.If you’re considering facelift
surgery, consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon is appropriate.
This surgeon should be able to formulate a treatment plan that addresses your
concerns.

There is no need to wait until after menopause to have a facelift. If you are concerned about your appearance right now, then you can certainly proceed with surgery. A good facelift is designed to give you a younger appearance that looks natural. Therefore, the effects of aging after surgery will appear natural as well, but they will appear since you can't resist the signs of aging. You'll always look younger after your facelift than if you hadn't had a facelift in the first place.

A facelift procedure rejuvenates the
face by lifting facial soft tissues that have descended with facial ageing
as a consequence of descent of soft tissues, laxity in soft tissues of face and
skin and facial volume loss.

The indications
for a facelift are to treat characteristics of the face including:

Deep Nasolabial lines that run from the nose towards the
outside corners of the lips

Jowls, soft tissue that has descended below
the jaw line resulting in loss of a smooth jaw line

Excess skin or vertical bands in the neck
(secondary to laxity in the platysma muscle)

Marionette lines from the corner of the mouth to the
chin region



How long a facelift procedure lasts is
dependent on several factors: The facelift technique, Additional procedures,
Environmental factors and Genetics.

Facelift techniques vary from mini facelifts, to complete
face and neck lifting techniques and most surgeons will use different surgical
techniques dependent on the patient and their individual ageing. More extensive
techniques are usually required as a result of further ageing. True facelift
techniques take several hours to complete, and last for a period of years
usually between 5-8 years. Dr. De Silva’s preference is to use deep plane
facelift techniques in suitable patients which is considered to last for a
longer period of time. Threadlifts, minilifts, 1-hour facelifts and other
similar procedures often have a much shorter duration of between 6months and 1
year.

Additional procedures used in conjunction with facelift
surgery will enhance the effectiveness and longevity of the surgery. Fat
transfer to restore volume loss and skin resurfacing to restore sun damaged
skin are two common procedures that will enhance the facelift procedure

Environmental factors that will speed up facial ageing and
reduce the longevity of a facelift include: smoking, sun exposure, poor
nutrition and stress.

Genetic and ethnicity both influence facial ageing and
longevity of a facelift, a useful indicator for genetics is looking at how your
parents have aged relative to their peers.



Facelift surgery generally lasts for 5-8
years depending the factors above. A person who has undergone a facelift will
always look younger that if they had not had a facelift, however with time to
maintain that look a further facelift may be required. Patients working in
professions where appearance is key to career prospects commonly undergo
multiple facelift procedures to maintain their appearance over multiple
decades.

People are choosing facelifts earlier because the result is better, and they don't want to wait for advanced aging changes to come before doing something about it.

After a facelifting procedure, most people wait 5 to15 years before deciding to do another lift or a tuck-up.  There are exceptions to this, depending on the patient's expectations, procedure performed, weight gain/loss, and patient's lifestyle.  Just as we have growth spurts, we also have aging spurts.  A tough time in our life, divorce, loss of a loved one, or dealing with cancer all contribute to aging spurts.  Patients tell us, "all of these changes just came to my face recently!"

Some patients may come for a touch-up in 1 year, some wait 20 years.  Many variables go into this decision.

As always, the MOST important decision that you will make is the Artist/Surgeon that you choose.  Best of luck, and please let us know if you have any additional questions.

Most facelifts will last 10-15 years.  there are obviously variables such as menopause, genetic and environmental exposures.  Mid 40's is a good time if there are signs of jowling and neck laxity as you will have a better elasticity and as a result more natural outcome

There truly is no rule of thumb as to a particular age when a facelift is best done. The time to consider a facelift is when YOU look at yourself in the mirror and always notice the same things that bother a lot about how you look. If you are constantly thinking about the same issues with your facial appearance in photos and/or the mirror you might be ready to consider a facelift. This can happen at ANY age. 

As for how long it lasts and if you will need another one in your lifetime, again, there is no rule here. The results will very likely give you a nice improvement. How long that improvement will last depends upon your skin, your tissue and your genetics with aging. Some patients look great 20 years after a facelift and others might want to consider a touch up after a few years. There is no way to predict which of those you might be. My best advice is to make the right choice for you now and enjoy your nice results. If you feel that you would like more improvement in the future that will always be an option. But I would not put off a procedure that you really want to have (assuming you're a good candidate) because you're concerned about how time will affect your results. In the end it is a very personal decision. You should think about how you really feel about your appearance now and how much you would like to improve it at this point in time. If you feel strongly about making a change, the future is not nearly as important.

I hope this info helps!