A facelift at 28? Why young people are turning to cosmetic surgery

The facelift is moving into new territories.

A quick search on social media and my feed is flooded with posts from people in their 20s and 30s, discussing different types of facelifts – the mini, the ponytail, the deep lift.

Gone are the days when facelifts were reserved for the aging rich. Now, a growing number of young people are choosing to go under the knife.

Some happily share photos of their face before, after and the most bruised part in between – their recovery often very painful.

It’s no longer a procedure that’s talked about in secret, celebrities like Kris Jenner, Catt Sadler and Marc Jacobs have spoken openly about their treatment. Many others are said to have had one.

The facelift is often considered the last resort, the most important cosmetic surgery.

Are people becoming so insecure in an often fake online world that they are willing to pay thousands of euros for the operation?

Or have we had so many non-surgical treatments, such as Botox and fillers, that peeling our skin from our cheekbones and rearranging our facial tissues and fat seems like a logical — and more sustainable — next step?

For Emily, who had a facelift at 28, it was all about achieving a “snatched look”: a sculpted, sharp jawline, high cheekbones and fox-like eyes. She says having surgery in Türkiye “changed her life” and she doesn’t regret it.

“In total, I had six surgeries in one,” she explains. “Among them, I had a mid-face lift, lip lift and rhinoplasty. [nose job]”.

Describing the process, the businesswoman from Toronto, Canada, says the surgeon played her favorite song while she was under general anesthesia, then: “I fell asleep and woke up, threw up, and I had a new face and a new nose.”

The recovery process was long: the pain and bruising began to subside within the first few weeks, but it took Emily six months to regain feeling in parts of her cheeks.

Would she do it again? She hesitates.

“Since my operation, I have changed my life. I am healthier, I drink a lot less, I take care of my skin, I sleep. I think if I had known what I know now, I might not have done it.

“My mom didn’t even know until I told her about it a few days after the surgery.”

But then she stops and thinks.

“But I just wanted to be the best version of myself,” Emily says, “and now I think I am.”

Figures from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) show an 8% increase in facelifts over the last 12 months in the UK. They don’t break down the numbers by age, but many members report that demographics are changing.

This is reflected in other parts of the world, with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons seeing an increase in Generation X (ages 45 to 60) opting for a facelift.

Nora Nugent, president of BAAPS, believes there are many reasons for this change, including the rise of weight-loss drugs.

“Losing weight so quickly on these medications can leave a lot of excess skin. A facelift can help with that,” she says. “Techniques have developed massively – a facelift no longer means risking that ‘wind tunnel’ [an overly stretched face as a result of the skin being pulled back] effect on the face that we saw many years ago.

However, a facelift remains a major operation that should only be undertaken by a specialized, board-certified plastic surgeon at an approved facility with the appropriate equipment, she says.

At his Bristol clinic, consultant plastic surgeon Simon Lee has performed hundreds of facelifts – and shows me a video of them.

Throughout the procedure, the client is wide awake, having received low levels of local anesthetic injected into the skin and deeper tissues below.

He makes a series of small incisions on his face, before passing under the skin, fat and superficial fascia (SMAS) – the part of the face that controls our expressions – then reaching the deep plane where he repositions tissues and muscles to reshape the face.

In closing, the client, under the knife for four hours, smiles with relief.

One of the reasons the procedure has become more attractive, Mr. Lee says, is the ease with which face and neck lifts can now be performed. Previously reserved for a hospital block and requiring general anesthesia, he now performs face and neck lifts without sedation in his clinic.

It’s an “exciting time” for the industry, he says, with rapid developments. While the classic facelift – which focuses on the lower jaw and neck – is still popular, there are newer treatments that target the upper two-thirds of the face – where, he says, the aging process begins and is noticeable at younger ages.

The surgeon warns that the facelift is suitable for people over 40, but it would be very unusual to perform such a complex procedure on someone between 20 and 30 years old.

These types of procedures carry risks and complications, such as the development of a hematoma – a buildup of blood under the skin that, if left untreated, could lead to necrosis (death of surrounding tissue), infections, nerve damage and alopecia.

A facelift costs on average between £15,000 and £45,000 in the UK, but some clinics offer these procedures for as little as £5,000.

Experts say it’s important to do your research and choose a plastic surgeon who specializes in facelifts.

Julia Gilando, 34, decided she needed a facelift to correct the asymmetry in her face after having jaw alignment issues earlier in her life.

Although many of her friends said they didn’t see a problem with her face, she felt it, “trusted her instincts” and flew to Turkey for her procedure, which cost $8,000 (£6,000).

Despite warnings about the risks associated with cosmetic surgery in Türkiye, the practice has become increasingly popular, mainly due to falling prices.

“At first I thought this idea was crazy, but I did my research and decided to go for it,” says Ms. Gilando, a healthcare professional. “I was scared, I was in a foreign country, I was alone and I didn’t speak the language.

“After my operation, I spent two days in the hospital, then I had to fend for myself. I was so swollen that I couldn’t see.

“There were some dark moments, it was quite a roller coaster of mental emotions, you go through these ups and downs.”

Researchers question whether such cosmetic surgery procedures provide the self-esteem and confidence claimed by the industry.

“I think there is unprecedented pressure,” says Dr Kirsty Garbett, a body image expert at the University of West England’s Center for Appearance Research. “Especially when it comes to face: we see ourselves on video calls, on social media platforms, we compare ourselves to others so easily.”

And she says that what we see is not necessarily an accurate reflection of reality.

“AI and filters all play a role in creating a fake online world. And, at the same time, we are seeing an increasing standardization of cosmetic procedures.”

The fact that celebrities are speaking out more openly about these surgeries is, in some ways, a good thing, she says, but it also normalizes them – making them seem “like a part of life and that’s really worrying.”

Caroline Stanbury, TV presenter and one of the Real Housewives of Dubai, had a makeover two years ago at the age of 47, when everyone was telling her not to do it because she was too young.

“It was the best thing I ever did,” Caroline says. “Why do I want to wait until I’m 60 and be desperate and need it? I want to look and feel good now.”

After spending 20 years receiving regular Botox and fillers, she felt like she was “starting to look weird.” She paid $45,000 (£34,000) for a major facelift of the plane in the United States.

“I still look like myself and this procedure has kept me feeling good for another 20 years,” she says.

Alexis Verpaele, a plastic surgeon based in Belgium, with clients from all over the world, including the UK, says he is concerned about the growing number of young people coming for treatment.

He often talks at length to these clients about ways certain looks can be achieved without something as major as surgery.

“If they get a facelift in their 20s, and we know it can last 10, 15 years, let’s say.

“So by age 60, they might have had three facelifts,” says De Verpaele.

“That’s a lot of trauma for one face to endure – and it’s the best-case scenario, with no complications.”