I am 51 years old and see other women my age who look much better. There is less wrinkling and their skin seems smoother and younger. I would like a face lift but I have some concerns about the procedure. Do you actually pull the skin away from the underlying tissues of the face? Will there be scarring that shows?

A facelift procedure is performed to re-position jowls, facial skin, and neck tissues into a more youthful position. The incisions are designed to follow the natural creases of the ears, so that the incisions are well hidden. The “pull” that is needed to re-position these tissues is achieved from a deeper, stronger layer of tissue called the SMAS layer. There isn’t much (if any) “pull” or tension on the skin, as skin tends to not tolerate tension very well over the long term. By using the SMAS layer, we can achieve a more natural result that is longer lasting. While a facelift can improve the appearance of the skin, sometimes a skin resurfacing (such as a fractionated laser resurfacing) further improves the appearance of the skin and is often performed in conjunction with a facelift.