Am I Too Young For A Facelift?

To find out today's average age of a facelift candidate, we went straight to New York City plastic surgeon Melissa Doft, MD, who is known for her "less-is-more" approach. Her practice, Doft Plastic Surgery, located on Upper East Side’s Park Avenue, is an elegant and private retreat for personalized care with utmost discretion. Dr. Doft combines today’s most advanced noninvasive technologies with traditionally proven surgical methods to achieve the most natural-looking results possible. You'd be surprised at what a "facelift" means (it's not just pulling the skin taught), and at what age you could consider the procedure.

Q — CHARLOTTE’S BOOK READER

I've been wondering—how young is too young for a facelift? What's the average age of a person who asks for a first-time lift?

A — DR. MELISSA DOFT, SURGEON, DOFT PLASTIC SURGERY

Today, women are getting face lifts at a younger and younger age. It used to be that women waited until their 70's to go in for a face lift. Now, I have women in their late 50's to early 60's who are ready for what I call a "mini" face lift. This lighter version of a face lift is less about stretching slack skin so it's abnormally taught, but more about making smaller incisions, pulling less and using non-invasive cosmetic procedures to create very natural looking results. I often use lasers to reduce age spots and wrinkles, and fat grafting or dermal fillers to help fill out areas that have lost volume. The end result is less drastic and more natural looking. The recovery period is also faster. Then if they want to get a touch up in their 70's, it's not as severe of a procedure.

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Here are a few other procedures you might consider in your 50s and 60s. Plus: read these 7 ground rules before you lift or fill. 

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