Am I a Candidate for a Facelift?
What “Being a Candidate” Actually Means
Being a candidate for facial surgery means three things at once: you have a physical change that an operation can correct, you are healthy enough for that operation, and what you expect from it matches what it can do. Most people who write to me satisfy the first two easily; the third is where honest surgery is decided.
It also means being a candidate for the right operation. A large part of my assessment is not “yes or no” but “which one” — and that answer is frequently smaller than the operation the patient asked about.
Age Is the Wrong First Question
There is no best age for a facelift. I have operated on patients in their late thirties whose midface had descended early, and on patients in their seventies with excellent skin quality and a clear, achievable goal — and I have declined patients in their fifties whose anatomy did not call for surgery at all.
What age does tell us is which operation tends to fit. Patients in their forties more often need targeted work — the brow, the midface, volume — while patients from their mid-fifties onwards more often need the jawline and neck addressed properly. But these are tendencies, not rules, and your photographs override them.
What Your Photographs Show Me
Almost every complaint patients describe in words maps to a specific area on examination, and each area has an operation that treats it. This is the map I work from:
| What you notice | What has usually happened | The operation that treats it |
|---|---|---|
| Jowls, a softening jawline, loose neck skin | The deep tissues of the lower face and neck have descended | Extended deep plane facelift · neck lift |
| Heavy brow, tired or stern expression, frown lines | The brow has descended over the eye | Brow lift |
| The outer corner of the eye looks heavy, brow tail dropped | The outer brow and temple have descended | Temporal brow lift |
| Flat cheeks, hollow temples, early nasolabial folds | Midface descent, often with volume loss | Endoscopic facelift · facial fat transfer |
| A drawn, deflated look; hollows under the eyes | Volume loss rather than descent | Facial fat transfer |
| Hooded or crowded upper eyelids | Eyelid skin — or a brow pressing on it | Eyelid surgery, often with a brow lift |
| A previous facelift that did not last or did not look right | Previous surgery in the wrong plane, or too little released | Revision facelift |
Most patients recognise themselves in more than one row, which is normal — the face ages as a whole, and combined plans are the rule rather than the exception. What matters is that the plan starts from the row that bothers you most.
One operation is missing from that table on purpose. I do not perform mini facelifts. A mini lift tightens skin over tissues that have not been released, so it does less than patients are led to expect and it undoes itself sooner — which is why a meaningful share of the revision cases I see began as one. If your anatomy genuinely needs less surgery, the honest answer is a targeted operation on the area that has changed, not a smaller version of the wrong one.
Health, Weight and Smoking
Facial surgery is elective, so the health bar is the one that keeps an elective operation safe: controlled blood pressure, well-managed chronic conditions, an anaesthetic assessment you pass comfortably, and a realistic recovery plan at home. Your full medical history and medications are reviewed before you travel, not on the day of surgery.
Two things come up constantly. Weight: you do not need to be slim, but your weight should be stable — significant loss after surgery changes the face you have just had operated on, so if you are planning to lose a substantial amount, do that first. Smoking: smoking meaningfully increases the risk of skin healing problems after a facelift, which is one of the oldest and best-documented findings in this operation, and it is the one requirement I am inflexible about. Patients are asked to stop well before surgery and to stay stopped through healing.
When Surgery Is Not the Answer
Some faces do not need an operation. If the change you dislike is skin quality, pigmentation or fine lines rather than descent, surgery will not treat it and I will say so — those are the territory of non-surgical treatments, and no lift improves the surface of the skin.
I also decline when expectations belong to a different face. Surgery restores your own structure; it does not transfer someone else’s features onto you, and a photograph of another person is not a surgical plan. The most useful thing I can do in those consultations is to be clear rather than agreeable.
How to Photograph Yourself for an Assessment
Good photographs make a real assessment possible, and they take five minutes. In daylight, near a window, with your hair tied back and no make-up, take five views: straight ahead, both sides in profile, both sides at 45 degrees. Keep your expression neutral and your head level rather than tilted, and let the camera sit at eye height rather than above you.
Add one photograph looking slightly downwards, which shows the neck honestly, and one from about ten years ago if you have one — knowing how your face has changed is often more useful than knowing how it looks today. Send them over WhatsApp or through the form; I review them myself.
What Happens After You Send Them
You receive an assessment of what your anatomy calls for, which operation I would recommend, what it would and would not change, and an itemised quote. Where it is useful, we arrange an online consultation so that you can ask questions directly rather than through a coordinator.
Nothing is booked at this stage. If we go ahead, the practical side — travel dates, how long you stay, who should come with you — is set out in travelling to Istanbul.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best age for a facelift?
There isn't one. Candidacy is decided by how far your tissues have descended and how much elasticity your skin retains, not by a number — I have operated on patients in their late thirties and on patients in their seventies. Age influences which operation fits, not whether you qualify for one.
Am I a candidate if my problem is only the jawline and neck?
Very likely, and that is one of the clearest indications there is. Jowls and loose neck skin come from the deep tissues of the lower face and neck descending, which is what an extended deep plane facelift and a deep neck lift are designed to correct — no smaller operation and no injectable treats it.
Am I too young for a facelift?
Possibly, and I will tell you if you are. Early descent is real and sometimes deserves a targeted operation, but “young and unhappy with a photograph” is not the same as “has something surgery can fix” — and operating on a face that has not yet changed rarely satisfies anyone.
Do I need to lose weight before surgery?
You need to be at a stable weight rather than a particular one. Losing a significant amount after facial surgery changes the result you have just paid for, so if substantial weight loss is planned, it is better done before the operation than after it.
Can I have a facelift if I smoke?
Not while you are smoking. Smoking significantly increases the risk of skin healing problems after a facelift, and this is the requirement I am least flexible about — patients are asked to stop well before surgery and to remain stopped throughout healing.
Do you perform mini facelifts?
No. A mini facelift tightens skin over deep tissues that have not been released, so it achieves less than patients expect and the result fades sooner — a meaningful share of the revision cases I see started as one. Where less surgery is genuinely appropriate, I would rather do a targeted operation on the area that has actually changed.
I only want a small change — is a non-surgical treatment enough?
Sometimes, and I will say so. If what bothers you is skin quality or fine lines rather than tissue that has dropped, surgery is the wrong tool. If tissue has descended, no injectable will lift it back, and treating it with volume instead only makes the face heavier.
What photographs do you need?
Five views in daylight — front, both profiles and both at 45 degrees — with your hair back, no make-up and a neutral expression, plus one looking slightly down so I can see the neck. A photograph from about ten years ago is genuinely useful if you have one.
Will you tell me if I don't need surgery?
Yes, and it happens regularly. Recommending a smaller operation than the one a patient asked about, or none at all, costs me a case and prevents a disappointed patient — that trade is not a difficult one.
Do I have to travel to Istanbul for the assessment?
No. The assessment is done on your photographs, with an online consultation where it is useful, and nothing is booked until you have a plan and a quote. The in-person examination happens when you arrive, one or two days before surgery.
Send Your Photographs
The honest answer to “am I a candidate” cannot come from a page — it comes from your face. Send five photographs over WhatsApp or through the form and you will get my assessment of what your anatomy calls for, including the possibility that the answer is a smaller operation, or none.
Request a personal review See before & after results
Every enquiry is reviewed personally by Dr. Yilmaz; scheduling is handled by the patient coordination team.
About Dr. Muhsin Yilmaz
Written and medically reviewed by Muhsin Yilmaz, MD, FEBOPRAS — Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeon. Last reviewed: September 2026.
Dr. Muhsin Yilmaz is a double board-certified plastic surgeon (FEBOPRAS and the Turkish Board of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery) practising in Istanbul, Türkiye. His practice is focused on facial and neck rejuvenation, centred on the deep plane facelift, performed at Acıbadem Kartal Hospital. He is a member of TSPRAS and ISAPS, and is registered with the Turkish Ministry of Health for international health tourism. Read his full profile.
References
- Rees TD, Liverett DM, Guy CL. The effect of cigarette smoking on skin-flap survival in the face lift patient. Plast Reconstr Surg. 1984;73(6):911–915. doi:10.1097/00006534-198406000-00009
- Sørensen LT. Wound healing and infection in surgery: the pathophysiological impact of smoking, smoking cessation, and nicotine replacement therapy — a systematic review. Ann Surg. 2012;255(6):1069–1079. doi:10.1097/SLA.0b013e31824f632d