Surgery that repositions the deeper facial tissues and removes excess skin, addressing jowls and midface descent that no injectable or device can lift.
Also called: rhytidectomy, face lift, deep plane facelift, SMAS facelift, mini facelift
A facelift addresses a specific problem that nothing else genuinely addresses: the descent of deeper facial tissue with age, which produces jowls along the jawline, flattening of the midface, and looseness in the neck. Skin quality treatments improve the surface. Fillers restore volume. Neither lifts tissue that has moved downward, and understanding that distinction is most of what a consultation should clarify.
What the operation involves
Incisions are placed in front of and behind the ear, following natural contours and extending into the hairline, which is why well-healed facelift scars are difficult to spot. The surgeon then works beneath the skin on the deeper tissue layer, the SMAS, repositioning it upward and often releasing specific ligaments that tether the face down. Excess skin is trimmed and redraped without tension.
It runs three to six hours, usually under general anesthesia. A neck lift is frequently performed at the same time, and many patients add eyelid surgery or fat grafting.
Technique matters, but the surgeon matters more
You will encounter branded technique names in consultations. The meaningful distinction is between operations that tighten skin only, which produce the tight, pulled appearance people fear, and operations that reposition the deeper layer, which look natural because the lift comes from underneath.
Deep plane facelifts go furthest in that direction. They are technically demanding, and a surgeon who performs SMAS facelifts superbly will outperform one attempting deep plane work occasionally. Ask how many facelifts the surgeon does each year and which technique they favor and why.
What it costs
Nationally, $12,000 to $30,000 all in, with well-known surgeons in major metros charging considerably more. A mini lift runs lower, often $8,000 to $15,000, and covers less. Adding a neck lift, eyelid surgery, or fat grafting increases the total but costs less than staging them separately.
The wide range reflects genuinely different operations. When comparing quotes, compare the scope of surgery rather than the number.
Recovery
Days 1 to 3: significant swelling and bruising, drains sometimes in place, head elevated
Week 1: sutures begin coming out, bruising at its most colorful
Week 2: most swelling and bruising manageable with makeup, many people feel private-life normal
Weeks 3 to 4: presentable in public for most patients, back to desk work
Weeks 6 to 8: cleared for full exercise
Months 3 to 6: residual swelling resolves and the result settles into its final form
Numbness around the ears and cheeks is normal for weeks to months and resolves gradually.
Timing the decision
The common mistake is waiting too long. Facelifts performed on moderate laxity produce more natural results than those performed on severe laxity, because less needs to be moved. The other common mistake is going too early, when devices and injectables would still deliver what you want.
The honest test is whether pulling your skin gently upward and backward in front of a mirror produces the change you are after. If it does, surgery is the operation that achieves it. If it does not, the issue is volume or skin quality, and surgery is the wrong tool.
Repositions deep tissue rather than only tightening skin
Addresses jowls and neck laxity that devices and threads cannot lift
Results measured in years, not months
Often combined with eyelid surgery or fat grafting for a balanced result
Are you a good candidate?
People with visible jowling, midface descent, or neck laxity, typically from the late forties onward, with reasonable skin quality and good general health
By location
Find Facelift near you
1,648 practices across 283 cities list Facelift on ClinicCompass. 1,178 of them (71%) say on their own websites that they offer financing or payment plans;
ask about approval and interest before you book.
Nationally, $12,000 to $30,000 including surgeon, anesthesia, and facility. The range is wide because the operation varies enormously in scope, from a limited mini lift to a deep plane facelift with a neck lift and fat grafting. Surgeons with strong reputations in major metros routinely charge $40,000 and above. A quote well below the local market usually signals a more limited operation, so ask precisely which technique is included rather than comparing headline numbers.
What is a deep plane facelift and is it better?
Traditional SMAS facelifts tighten the fibrous layer beneath the skin. A deep plane facelift releases specific ligaments and repositions the deeper tissue as a unit, which many surgeons believe produces a more natural result that lasts longer, particularly in the midface. It is technically harder and fewer surgeons perform it well. The technique matters less than the surgeon's command of it, so choose the surgeon first and let them recommend the approach.
How long do results last?
Ten to fifteen years is the usual expectation, and the honest framing is that a facelift resets the clock rather than stopping it. You continue aging from a younger starting point. Most patients never have a second one. Those who do typically wait a decade or more, and secondary facelifts are generally smaller operations than the first.
Can threads or devices do the same thing?
No, and this is the most common false equivalence in aesthetics. PDO threads lift a small amount of tissue temporarily and last months. Radiofrequency and ultrasound devices tighten skin modestly and work best on mild laxity. Both are legitimate for early or mild changes, and neither repositions the deep tissue that creates jowls. If a consultation promises facelift results without surgery, it is describing a different and much smaller outcome.
What is the risk of looking pulled or unnatural?
That look comes from tension being placed on skin rather than on the deeper tissue layer, which is a technique problem rather than an inevitable consequence of surgery. Modern deep plane and SMAS techniques exist specifically to avoid it. It is the strongest argument for reviewing a surgeon's before and after gallery carefully, looking at patients several years post-operative if available, and choosing someone whose results look like people rather than like surgery.
Sources
Where this information comes from
Clinical facts on this page are checked against these primary sources.
1.Facelift Procedure, American Society of Plastic SurgeonsConfirms facelift anesthesia options are intravenous sedation or general anesthesia, that incisions are placed at the temples and around the ear into the hairline, and that the surgeon repositions the deeper facial tissue layer.
2.Facelift Candidates, American Society of Plastic SurgeonsConfirms good candidates are healthy nonsmokers with realistic expectations, matching the page's candidacy guidance.
3.Facelift Cost, American Society of Plastic SurgeonsStates the national average facelift surgeon fee is $11,395, which excludes anesthesia and facility costs, cited here as the ASPS national average alongside the page's own all-in cost range.
4.Facelift Risks and Safety Information, American Society of Plastic SurgeonsLists numbness or altered skin sensation as a recognized facelift risk, supporting the page's note that numbness around the ears and cheeks is normal and resolves gradually.
5.Thirty Years of Deep Plane Facelifts: Characterizing Outcomes and Longevity, PubMed, National Institutes of HealthIn a 30-year series of revision deep plane facelifts, the mean interval to a secondary lift was 10.9 years, supporting the page's statement that patients who need a second facelift typically wait a decade or more.
6.Cervicofacial Rhytidectomy, StatPearls, National Library of Medicine (National Institutes of Health)Describes the SMAS as the deeper fibrofatty tissue layer surgeons reposition and deep-plane dissection as releasing facial retaining ligaments, matching the page's description of working on the SMAS and releasing ligaments.
