Is 40 Too Young for a Facelift?

20 years ago, this question would not have come up. It would have been considered inappropriate by most surgeons for a 40-year old to consider a facelift except perhaps in acne patients with skin laxity.

Now, especially for patients in the entertainment industry who make their living on air, it is more common than not that they undergo cosmetic surgery, including facelifting procedures.

20 years ago the typical facelift patient would have had been offered a facelift with high lateral pull causing loss of the sideburn and a Nike swoop effect due to uncompensated sagging of the midface, a coronal browlift causing significant elevation of the frontal hairline, and hyperelevation of the central brow causing a quizzical appearance. The significant and widespread resultant loss of hair could immediately create the appearance of age rather than youth. The mantra was often the tighter the better.

Facelift techniques have evolved. Accomplished facelift surgeons can now routinely perform gentle facelifts with preservation of all anatomic features. It is possible to preserve the sideburn, the tragus (bump in front of the ear), earlobe shape and cant, and posterior hairline, and to bury the scars so they are minimally apparent.

These advancements do not occur by accident, they occur in the planning stage before the first cut is ever made.  It is determined before the surgery starts how your outcome will be.

There are many ancillary procedures and techniques that were not available such as volume restoration with fat or LiveFill (nontraumatized fascial fat grafts); cheek and midface elevation techniques, fat preserving blepharoplasties, hairline sparing brow elevation techniques, many different lasers, lip lifts, etc. The face is now viewed three dimensionally (i.e. 360 Facelift concept) rather than as a surface to span skin across.

The net result for the patient is that the indications for facelift surgery are changing. It is now possible to offer patients significant improvements, even for patients in their early 40's. By no means is a facelift appropriate for every 40-year old; in fact the opposite is true. It is the select patient whose appearance often depends on projecting youth and vitality, who has anatomy favorable for facelifting techniques that becomes a candidate.

The differences after surgery are typically subtle. The media are full of examples of celebrities who have had ill conceived surgery. It is the work that you don't see that is most clever.

We all age differently, and at different rates, so your age alone should not prevent you from having a facelift. I’ve performed many facelift procedures on women and men in their 30s and 40s, especially when weight-loss or volume-loss has occurred. Other reasons for considering a facelift include significant acne scarring and early muscle looseness. My youngest face lift and neck lift patient was 36 and my oldest was 89.
Now more than ever, patients are becoming aware of the limitations of nonsurgical techniques in achieving their rejuvenation goals. It's hard to justify the cost, effort, and time involved with nonsurgical treatments in a 38 year old who has heavy jowling, neck muscle looseness, and excess skin, especially when he or she is looking for a surgical result. 
We all have different goals and patterns of aging. A good place to start would be to seek a consult from a surgeon who regularly performs facelift procedures on patients in your age range as well as a variety of other procedures (nonsurgical and surgical) that can address your needs so that your options are presented in an unbiased way. You should discuss your goals and concerns with your surgeon.

It all depends on your aging process and the resultant appearance of your face. No, it is not too early if you desire is to put the facial tissue in its normal position. Consider that there are 3 thirds to the face:
upper - forehead, eyebrows, upper lids
middle - lower lids, cheeks down to the marionette lines
lower-lower face and neck
You can rejuvenate each third separately or together. Upper third: endoscopic brow lift and/or upper blepharoplasty. Middle: Lower lids plus midface/malar lift. Lower: facelift and necklift. 
From your comments, you should think about the middle third. Think of your lateral corner of your mouth and eyelid on the same side...place your finder over lateral cheekbone and gently lift...this will lift your midface/decrease your marionette lines and remove the excess skin of your lower lids all through the lower lid incision! This is the malar/midface llift. It can be done alone or with the endobrow lift or the lateral face/neck lift. Also, Fraxel Laser ("repair") can be done at the end of the procedure, followed by microneedling with PRP (platelet rich plasma). These adjunctive procedures will also tighten the skin of the entire face/neck/decollate regions.
The malar lift sounds like an excellent procedure for you. I have done over 1100 malar lifts since 1991 and can tell you that it works! Good luck! 

Great question and this is something I am asked a lot. I always tell patients that they know its right for them when they are ready. When they are bothered enough and want to make a change. What I have found over the years is that younger is better. As you age you loose elasticity, you require more lifting and tightening and your results can be more dramatic. A lot of my patients do not want everyone to know they had a lift, and they prefer to do the procedure younger. With that being said, honestly, whenever you feel like you would like the procedure is a great start to know when you should have it done. 

The answer to this question can vary, and keep in mind it is based on the individual patient. However as a general rule, once you look in the mirror and dislike what you see, it’s time.  The tricky part is that sometimes people judge themselves too harshly.  That is why an ethical, reliable plastic surgeon should be consulted – someone who can say “no” if you are being too hard on yourself!  However, for the patients with severe facial laxity and early signs of aging – that’s the time to consider a facelift. For more subtle volume loss and more subtle facial sagging, there are nonsurgical options such as hyaluronic-acid-based filler injections, Botox, and laser treatments. For best results, please visit a board certified plastic surgeon with facelift experience and the ability to say “no” when needed!

Age is only a number. Some people need their facelift at an earlier age depending on the degree of tissue relaxation. It would have been nice to see a picture of you to tell you if you have another option. Fat grafting could be helpful. Try to find a board certified plastic surgeon to go over all your temporary and permanent options, but if you need a facelift, don't let the age be a factor in you decision making.

A Mini Facelift can usually be an option on most realistic patients anytime after the age of 35-40. It really depends on your anatomy and genetics. It is best to talk to your surgeon because everybody has different techniques and recovery time is usually based on a number of factors. 
If we are just talking about a short scar facelift, this can typically be done in the office under local anesthesia. Usually there are no drains, no outside stitches, and patients can go out in public the same day, although I usually recommend they low for the first couple days. Most of the initial swelling is from the numbing medicine and your body absorbs it within the first 4-6 hours. Obviously the body heals with swelling and inflammation and usually that maxes out at two days and then starts getting better. Most of these patients take no pain medicine and usually feel very comfortable going out in public within a few days.  I usually call my patients the night of surgery and check on them the next day. If everything is fine the next day, I then let them shower and they do not need a dressing over their incisions. They can usually start using make up after a few days.  At the two week check up, I usually have people start working out and then after six weeks they can do whatever they want. 
I routinely tell people to take a few days to a week off work and to hide out but some people are very nervous especially celebrities and I usually tell them to hide out for two weeks. As with any scar on the human body, initially scars are red, hard and raised and it typically takes six months to a year for them to become a soft thin white line. 
Additionally with recovery, there're many things we do to expedite healing such as nerve blocks during surgery, oral supplements, skin care and scar therapy recommendations, lymphatic massage sessions that are included in our pricing.
I strongly feel that it's very important to have an honest conversation with your surgeon about your particular situation, lifestyle, work environment and specifically which procedures you're having done so that you both have the most honest answer about your recovery and are realistic with expectations and results.
Surgery is not for everyone. In today's day and age, there are many nonsurgical options to consider although surgery usually gets the most improvement specifically of the jowls.
I would recommend that you see a board-certified plastic surgeon in your area that is a member of both ASPS & ASAPS and performs a lot of facelifts but also offers all the nonsurgical options such as injectables and laser treatments. Go over your concerns with them and make sure above all, you walk out of there with several options and an idea of the pros and cons to each of them as well as realistic expectations. 
I hope this helps and wish you all the best in your surgery and event. If it does, please take a moment to up vote this answer on the “respond” button on the top right.  

The answer is that it depends. Massive weight loss patients, avid long distance runners, and genetically predisposed people can benefit from an early facelift. A thorough evaluation, and realistic expectations are the key for any successful surgical intervention.Bet,Dr Results

There are a number of factors that go into determining whether you would be a good candidate for a facelift at the age of 40. Different people age differently and may require different treatments at different ages. The treatment must be individualized for the patient. Lost volume in the face can either be treated with fillers or autologous fat grafting. Lines in the face are best treated with chemical peels or laser resurfacing of the skin.  If you have sagging skin, with jowls and platysma bands in your neck a facelift would be the only option that would correct those. It is hard to give a definitive answer without at least photographs or at best an in person examination. Be sure you see a board-certified plastic surgeon, or several, to get the best advice. 

In some cases, 40 is not too young for a facelift. Patients age at different rates, especially given all of the different environmental and genetic factors that contribute to the aging process. Lasers and injectable treatments can be helpful for particular problem areas and in the right patient, but these treatments do not have the same results as a facelift. That being said, there are many things that can be improved with lasers and injectable treatments that cannot be fixed with surgery.
I think that each patient is unique and try not to put an age limit on most procedures - instead I think of the best treatment for each individual, regardless of age.
A consultation with a facial plastic surgeon or plastic surgeon specializing in facial aesthetics can be very helpful.
All the best,

Without an exam it is really hard to answer this question but one thing that does wonders in younger people is fat transfer. That is because often it is merely a volume loss compared to the combination of skin and volume loss. A great combo treatment is laser resurfacing with fat transfer/grafting to the areas to give a lift. It is worth doing some research on and I think you will find happy patients with solid results.Best of luck,DrC