For years, facelifts were largely associated with women looking to turn back the clock on aging, but plastic surgeons say the tables are starting to turn. More men are heading into the operating room for facial rejuvenation, and in many cases, husbands are booking that facelift appointment before their wives.
We spoke to plastic surgeons as well as men who have undergone facelifts to learn more about what’s driving the rise in male patients and why men are becoming more comfortable going under the knife.
Facelift Considerations Among Men
For a male patient of board-certified plastic surgeon and facial rejuvenation specialist Dr. Anthony Admire, the decision to get a facelift came down to a disconnect between how he felt and what he saw in the mirror. “Over time, I could see that my face and neck had changed more than I realized. I still felt young and active, but in photos I looked older and more tired than I felt,” he said.
For him, the goal wasn’t to erase every sign of aging but to restore a more rested, refreshed version of himself. “I wasn’t looking for a dramatic change or trying to look like I was 20 again. I wanted my outward appearance to better match how I actually felt,” he said.
This desire to look as youthful and energetic as they feel is something surgeons are hearing more frequently. “Many of my male patients are in fantastic physical shape, and they’ll tell me, ‘I feel 45, I’m active like I’m 45, but when I look in the mirror, my face and neck make me look 60 or older.’ That disconnect is a very powerful motivator,” Admire said.
When it comes to the specific signs of aging that bother men most, the neck and jawline tend to top the list, and treatments like Botox, filler and lasers can only go so far. “I had tried Botox and some filler, and while they helped with certain things, they couldn’t really address the skin laxity or the loss of definition and tightness in my lower face and neck. I eventually realized that continuing to do smaller treatments wasn’t going to correct what was actually bothering me,” said Admire’s patient.
And those concerns tend to be fairly specific. Rather than focusing on fine lines or wrinkles, men often notice structural changes that soften the lower face and make the once-distinct separation between the face and neck less defined. “The specific complaints are a jawline that has lost its border, fullness under the chin that persists regardless of weight or training, vertical banding in the neck and jowling that breaks the line between the jaw and the neck,” said board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Daniel Gould.
One of Gould’s male patients echoed this sentiment: “I’ve had some Botox before, and it helped some. I also had a few laser treatments, but there are certain things those treatments just don’t accomplish. I didn’t want to do filler or keep having to repeat procedures that didn’t really address what was a main structural issue. That’s why I decided I would have a facelift.”
Pre-Surgery Considerations
According to Admire, one of the biggest concerns men have before undergoing a facelift is whether the results will look obvious. “It’s probably their biggest psychological barrier to surgery. Men will frequently tell me, ‘I don’t want anyone to know I did this.’ They don’t want to walk into the office looking different. They don’t want their friends asking what happened to their face. They simply want people to think they look rested, healthier or maybe that they’ve lost some weight,” he said.
For his patient, ending up looking unnatural or noticeably different was a big factor. “I wasn’t trying to change the way I looked or have people immediately know I’d had cosmetic surgery. I wanted to still look like myself,” he said.
Achieving that kind of subtle result, however, has a lot to do with surgical technique. This shapes the operation in that there should be “no tension on the skin, incisions planned around the beard and the hairline rather than around convenience, conservative work at the lateral brow and restraint in the midface so the cheek doesn’t become rounded or full in a way that reads as feminine,” said Gould. “The goal is a jawline and neck that look structurally sound, with a face that still looks like it belongs to the same person.”
What Happens Post-Surgery
What happens in the days and weeks after a facelift can be just as important, particularly for men who are hoping to keep their surgery under the radar. “During the early recovery period, it’s difficult to picture exactly what the final result will look like because of the swelling and healing. As that started to resolve and I could see the result taking shape, I was really pleased that I looked refreshed without looking like a different person,” said Admire’s patient.
For many, the difference between a good facelift and a great one often comes down to whether people can pinpoint exactly what has changed. Admire’s patient noted how a couple of people who didn’t know about the surgery asked if he had been on vacation or commented that he looked happier or well rested. “What stood out to me was that no one asked if I’d had anything done. They could tell something was different, but they couldn’t identify what it was. To me, that was probably one of the best indications that the result looked natural.”
The same rings true for Gould’s patient: “The swelling wasn’t very extreme, so I actually went back to work in about two to two and a half weeks. No one really noticed anything. Usually, people might think that I lost weight or something.”
Ultimately, the rise in men getting facelifts reflects a larger shift in the way they think and talk about cosmetic surgery. They’re doing their own research, seeking out surgeons independently and becoming more comfortable admitting that they want to look as good as they feel.