A face lift is designed to give the face a more 'refreshed' look, rather than make a person appear younger.

It does this by changing the appearance of certain specific areas of the face: the nasolabial folds, jowls, and 'marionette lines' at the sides of the chin.

 

In a typical face lift incisions are made at the hairline, in front of and around behind the ears. Tissue lying deep below the skin is repositioned, then the skin replaced and any excess is removed. The surgery varies in duration, but can take up to 4 or 6 hours if it is combined with other procedures such as neck lift, brow lift or eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty). General anaesthesia (you sleep through the operation) is usually required, but in some cases you may be given a local anaesthetic and a sedative so the area being treated is numb and you feel drowsy but not asleep.

In most cases, you will go home the same day following the procedure. It may take 2-3 weeks for the worst of the swelling to disappear and up to 2 years for the scars to fade.