The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery indicates that over 600,000 facelift procedures were done worldwide in 2020, which makes it the 8th most performed cosmetic surgery. This cosmetic procedure consistently ranks as one of the most popular globally, with its demand steadily growing each year.
Women account for more than 84% of facelifts, demonstrating that facelifts are predominantly popular among women. Dr. Cem Berkay Sinaci, a double board-certified plastic surgeon based in Istanbul, Turkey, specializing in advanced facial rejuvenation and rhinoplasty, says that this rising tendency can be attributed to the appearance of smartphones and social media.
“I've been performing face rejuvenation for over 12 years now, and I believe that the smartphone and social media era is one of the strongest reasons for beautification and rejuvenation interventions. Generally, patients send their social media photos for consultation, and their aim is typically to have a face that matches the filtered versions from smartphone apps.”
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Ironically enough, Dr. Sinaci says that smartphones might be making us age faster. “Looking downward is now part of our daily lives. Even while walking, we watch our phones with a flexed neck. Doing this for years causes skin and muscle looseness under the chin, which has made the aging process for the lower face and neck much faster. And that area is one of the most common concerns for patients seeking face rejuvenation,” he explains.
Another interesting tendency Dr. Sinaci has noticed during the 12 years performing face rejuvenation procedures is that the majority of his older patients (45-60 years) choose facelifts for rejuvenation without wanting to drastically change their faces, just reverse time a few years, while his younger patients (25-45) want beautification instead of rejuvenation that changes their face characteristics. “They want much higher brows, a cat-eye look, and a different face altogether. This is, of course, another topic, but I find it very interesting.”
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When it comes to the growing popularity of facelifts, Dr. Sinaci sometimes finds that plastic surgeons are guilty of contributing to this. “Showing generally only the easy and good parts of surgeries on social media creates high demand for these interventions. Personally, I try to show the difficult parts as well, but generally, when you search for facelifts online, you'll find very smooth and fast surgery journeys, which are part of marketing. That creates some impulse in patients' minds and may cause disappointment after surgery.”
Other causes that contribute to the popularity of facelifts are advancements in the cosmetic surgery field during the last 10 years and the advent of the Internet, says Dr. Sinaci. “New facelift techniques give people a less 'operated' look after surgery—sometimes even plastic surgeons aren't able to recognize that a patient had facelift surgery. This is especially true with endoscopic techniques, where people don't have scars or classic stigmata of facelift surgery,” he explains.
“Finding everything online is very easy now, and this is also a contributing factor. Finding expert facelift surgeons around the world and reaching them takes just seconds, and I think that also increases the popularity of facelifts.”
Even though facelifts are getting more popular and are often shown as simple procedures online, the reality is quite different, says Dr. Sinaci.
“My most common surgery has been facelifts for more than 10 years, and I can say that I find this surgery more dangerous each day. Generally, the skin cuts are short and small, but the surgical field is the entire face, which represents serious trauma. After a facelift, the most feared complications are nerve injuries that can cause facial paralysis, skin necrosis that may result in permanent bad scarring, and asymmetries,” he tells us.
“My biggest warning for patients is about the recovery period," Dr. Sinaci stresses.
"As social media shows, they seem simple and fast, but the swollen and 'operated look' period generally lasts a month. I have surgery requests from around the world, and I feel like people in the USA underestimate this surgery more than in other locations, maybe because of social media marketing. Sometimes they ask to schedule a facelift surgery one week before wedding ceremonies or meetings, which I find impossible. Yes, they should be aware of the rare possible complications I mentioned, but the recovery period is very important and shouldn't be underestimated."
