Readers Respond: Reasons for Getting a Face Lift (Surgical or Non-Surgical)

Responses: 25

From Natalie Kita, former About.com Guide

Updated April 02, 2010

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I just want to look my old self again and not see laugh lines when I'm not laughing. In general my face is not bad for a 56 year old person but I'm just not satisfied.
—Guest Linda

At 54 I had a surgical facelift, except for my forehead. Also had my upper and lower eyes down. While I look better, I still look old at my now age of 59. The surgery cost $14,000 and was a long recovery. Parts of my face are still numb and will be forever. I would suggest anyone seeking to look younger try the non-surgical approach before diving into a full facelift. The eye lid surgery was the biggest help though. My upper lids drooped and the lower had bags. Those are both fixed and look great. My cheeks were the biggest disappointment. Wanted them reduced and can't tell anything was done on them at all.
—Guest Larry V

If I can get the results I want today (at 52) using non-surgical methods it would be preferable. Surgery is a higher risk of infection and complications as well as triple the cost. Non-surgical seems safer to me.
—Guest V.

If I had the money, I'd have a face lift. I'm 52, and I NEVER thought I'd ever want a face lift. But now sometimes when I look in the mirror, I see how my facial skin has started to droop in places. I put my fingers on my temples and lift the skin back, and I look so much younger (or so it seems to me).
—Guest Nina

I find that, as I get into my late 30s, I don't feel like I look as much like 'me' as I used to--or what I look like as I age doesn't match what I think of when I think of 'me'. (I know, it might feel silly to some, but that's how I feel.) I've been looking at skin-tightening procedures because I think they can make a subtle, lasting difference without a major change.
—Guest Alyssa

I work in an office where most of the women are half my age. The workplace seems like a young person's game. I've thought about it for professional reasons, as a career investment. As much as we'd like to "be ourselves", it's a fact that better-looking people are treated better.
—Guest Susan

I didn't take as good a care of my skin in my younger days as I should have. I still look younger than my years - or so I'm told - but things are sagging a little. I'd just feel better if my outside matched my younger-feeling inside. But surgery scares me. I'm looking at non-surgical ways of all kinds to improve things a bit. I'm proud of my age but that doesn't mean I want every single year to show on my face!! But the cost and the cutting and the recovery involved in a traditional facelift doesn't appeal to me at all. I'm a wimp. Ha Ha
—Guest Leonna

I have hooded eyes - If I ever had any work on my face done, it would be mainly to lift my lids a bit. I mean, if they keep drooping, it will be affecting my sight in a few years!
—Guest Connie G.

Every time I pass by a mirror in the last couple of years, I am surprised by what I see. In my head, I keep thinking I am a young and vital woman, but the mirror keeps shocking me back to a reality I don't like much. So I started doing some research online, and I saw a few before and after photos from the non-surgical face lift. I was truly astonished at what can be accomplished without any surgery. I know there are no guarantees, but it seems like a lot less risk than surgery, and it also costs a lot less, which is important to me right now.
—Guest Bernadette

After my divorce and sending my last kid off to college, I just want a fresh start with a fresh face. I am entering the dating world again, and I feel like my "old" face has seen too much drama, and carries too much baggage. I am still a bit scared of surgery, but I am seriously considering something like Thermage or Titan, because it doesn't involve anesthesia or as much risk. Plus, with a less invasive procedure, I don't fear that I'll end up not looking like myself. I want to look like ME, just fresher.
—Guest Nancy

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