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Renew You

What a facelift can and cannot do: the difference between a SMAS and a deep-plane lift, how long the results last, and the recovery nobody quite describes.

A facelift, from the consultation to the result months on.

Resources

When you are researching a facelift, almost everything that ranks well is written by someone who wants to operate on you. That is not a reason to distrust surgeons, but it is a reason to read them alongside sources with nothing to sell. The bodies below set standards, publish evidence, or explain procedures without a booking form attached. Use them to sanity-check anything you read here or anywhere else.

Professional bodies and standards

  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), plasticsurgery.org: patient guidance on facelift and facial rejuvenation, procedure explanations, and a tool for verifying that a surgeon is board certified.
  • International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS): a global professional body publishing international standards and worldwide procedure data, useful for seeing how practice and volumes compare across countries.
  • British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS): UK-focused guidance and safety commentary on cosmetic surgery, with a strong line on realistic expectations and choosing a qualified surgeon.

Independent health information

  • NHS: plain, non-commercial explanations of the facelift (rhytidectomy), the risks, and the questions to ask before any cosmetic procedure, written for patients rather than to win a booking.
  • Cleveland Clinic: clear, well-referenced patient articles on rhytidectomy, recovery, and the eyelid and brow procedures often considered alongside a lift.

The underlying evidence

  • Peer-reviewed plastic-surgery literature: where the figures on this site actually come from. Journals reporting on facelift techniques, longevity, and complication rates are the layer beneath the patient pages, and are worth reaching for when a claim sounds too tidy.

A word on what these are for

These are references for understanding, not a referral list. None of them can tell you whether a facelift is right for your face; only a surgeon who examines you can do that. Read them with the Medical Disclaimer in mind, and treat any single glowing before-and-after, wherever it appears, with the caution it deserves.