Facelift research in plain words
What the studies show about each facial operation: how the techniques work, how safe they are and how long the results last. Each topic sums up the evidence, then lists the papers behind it.
Source: PubMed, updated 2026-09-30.
The facelift past, present and future
How the operation changed, why it is safer and what comes next, told from the research.
The modern facelift
What top surgeons do now, and why the results look natural
Why facelifts are safer now
What went wrong before, and what changed
The papers that changed the facelift
The surgeons and discoveries behind the operation
The future of the facelift
Who has facelifts now, and what is coming next
Research by topic
Each topic page says what the studies show in plain words, then lists the papers behind it.
Facelift
Deep plane facelift
The deep plane facelift releases the retaining ligaments and lifts skin and SMAS as one flap below the SMAS layer.
SMAS techniques
SMAS techniques reposition the superficial musculoaponeurotic system by plication, imbrication, excision or a raised flap.
Short scar and MACS lift
Short scar lifts shorten or remove the incision behind the ear; the MACS lift suspends tissue with purse-string sutures.
Facial anatomy
Anatomy papers map the layers, retaining ligaments, fat compartments and nerves that facelift techniques are built on.
Incisions and scars
Incision papers compare hairline, tragal and postauricular placements and the scars they leave.
Outcomes and longevity
Outcome papers measure how long a facelift lasts, how much younger patients look and how satisfied they are.
Secondary and revision facelift
Secondary facelift papers cover repeat and corrective operations after an earlier facelift.
Male facelift
Male facelift papers cover beard-bearing skin, hairline, bleeding risk and incision placement in men.
Weight loss and GLP-1
These papers address facial laxity after major weight loss, including GLP-1 medicines such as semaglutide.
History of the facelift
History papers trace the facelift from skin-only lifts in the early 1900s through SMAS, deep plane and today's techniques.
Brow and eyelid with facelift
Combined procedure papers cover brow lift, forehead lift and blepharoplasty done with a facelift.
Facelift technique, general
General technique papers describe a surgeon's facelift method, its steps and the results in a patient series.
Lasers, peels and energy devices
Adjunct papers pair facelift with laser resurfacing, peels and energy devices for the skin surface.
Threads and nonsurgical lifting
These papers test thread lifts, suture suspension and nonsurgical lifting against surgical facelift.
Fat grafting and volume
Fat grafting restores facial volume at the time of facelift or afterwards; the papers measure take, technique and longevity.
Imaging, measurement and AI
Measurement papers use 3D imaging, photography standards and machine learning to grade facelift results.
Training and education
Training papers cover how residents and fellows learn facelift and how surgical volume is measured.
Neck lift
Neck lift and platysma
A neck lift tightens the platysma muscle and removes excess fat and skin from the neck and jawline.
Submental fat and neck contouring
Neck contouring papers treat fat under the chin with liposuction, deoxycholic acid injections and cooling devices.
Deep neck: glands, fat, digastric
Deep neck surgery works below the platysma on subplatysmal fat, the digastric muscles and the submandibular glands.
Midface and cheek
Eyelid surgery
Lower blepharoplasty
Lower blepharoplasty treats lower eyelid bags by removing or moving fat through the skin or inside the lid.
Upper blepharoplasty
Upper blepharoplasty removes excess upper eyelid skin, and sometimes muscle and fat, through a crease incision.
Blepharoptosis repair
Ptosis papers raise a drooping upper eyelid by shortening or reattaching the levator or Muller muscle.
Canthoplasty and canthopexy
Canthal papers tighten or reset the outer corner of the eye to support the lower lid.
Eyelid surgery complications
These papers report dry eye, lid malposition, vision loss and revision surgery after eyelid surgery.
Asian eyelid and double eyelid surgery
Asian eyelid papers cover double eyelid surgery, epicanthoplasty and eyelid anatomy in East Asian patients.
Tear trough and lid-cheek junction
Tear trough papers treat the groove between the lower lid and the cheek with fat, fillers or ligament release.
Brow lift
Endoscopic brow lift
Endoscopic brow lift papers raise the brow through small scalp incisions and test how each fixation holds.
Brow position and measurement
Measurement papers define the ideal brow shape and measure how far a brow lift raises it and for how long.
Browpexy and direct brow lift
These papers fix the brow through the eyelid crease or lift it through an incision above the brow.
Temporal and lateral brow lift
Temporal lift papers raise the outer brow through incisions in the temple hair.
Hairline lowering and forehead reduction
Hairline papers shorten a tall forehead and lift the brow through an incision at the front hairline.
Skin resurfacing
CO2 laser resurfacing
CO2 laser papers resurface facial skin by vaporizing thin layers, fully or in fractional columns.
Fractional resurfacing
Fractional papers treat skin in columns and leave skin between them to speed healing.
TCA and medium-depth peels
Medium and superficial peel papers use trichloroacetic, glycolic, salicylic and Jessner's solutions.
Erbium laser resurfacing
Erbium papers resurface skin with the 2940 nm laser, which removes tissue with less heat than CO2.
Pigment and skin of color
These papers measure dark spots and light spots after resurfacing and how to treat darker skin types safely.
Acne scars
Acne scar papers compare lasers, peels, needling and subcision for pitted facial scars.
Dermabrasion
Dermabrasion papers sand the upper skin layers mechanically to smooth scars and wrinkles.
Phenol and croton oil peels
Deep peel papers use phenol and croton oil to resurface wrinkled and sun-damaged skin.
Perioral and periorbital wrinkles
These papers treat fine lines around the mouth and eyes with lasers and peels.
Lips, chin and fat
Facial fat grafting, nanofat and microfat
Fat grafting papers move processed fat into the face for volume, lips and skin quality.
Chin implant and genioplasty
Chin papers enlarge or move the chin with an implant or by cutting and moving the bone.
Buccal fat removal
Buccal fat papers remove part of the cheek fat pad through the mouth to slim the lower cheek.
Lip lift
Lip lift papers shorten the space between nose and lip with an incision under the nose.
Safety and recovery
Complications
Complication papers report the rates of hematoma, nerve injury, skin loss, infection, hair loss and scarring after facelift.
Facial nerve safety
Facial nerve papers measure where the branches run and how often they are injured during facelift.
Hematoma and hemostasis
Hematoma is the most common early facelift complication; these papers test blood pressure control, drains, sealants, tranexamic acid and the hemostatic net.
Anesthesia and recovery
Anesthesia papers compare sedation, general and total intravenous anesthesia, pain control and recovery after facelift.
Smoking and skin flap
Smoking and flap papers measure skin survival and the risk that nicotine and flap tension add.
Procedures
What each operation does and who it suits, with the research behind it.
Facelift
Brow and eyelid with facelift · Lasers, peels and energy devices · SMAS techniques · Facial anatomy
Neck lift
Neck lift and platysma · Submental fat and neck contouring · Deep neck: glands, fat, digastric
Midface and cheek
Midface and subperiosteal lift
Eyelid surgery
Lower blepharoplasty · Upper blepharoplasty · Blepharoptosis repair · Canthoplasty and canthopexy
Brow lift
Endoscopic brow lift · Brow position and measurement · Browpexy and direct brow lift · Temporal and lateral brow lift
Skin resurfacing
CO2 laser resurfacing · Fractional resurfacing · TCA and medium-depth peels · Erbium laser resurfacing
Lips, chin and fat
Facial fat grafting, nanofat and microfat · Chin implant and genioplasty · Buccal fat removal · Lip lift
The papers that changed the facelift
The anatomy and techniques the modern facelift is built on.
Newest papers
The latest studies on facial surgery. A paper marked plain summary opens a summary written for patients; the others open in PubMed.
More plain summaries
Plain summaries of papers outside the topic pages.
- Nonablative treatment of rhytids with intense pulsed light (Lasers Surg Med 2000)
- Corrugator supercilii muscle resection and migraine headaches (Plast Reconstr Surg 2000)
- Consensus recommendations on the use of botulinum toxin type a in facial aesthetics (Plast Reconstr Surg 2004)
- Changes associated with the aging face (Facial Plast Surg Clin North Am 2005)
- Facial sculpting and tissue augmentation (Dermatol Surg 2005)
- The prominent mandibular angle: preoperative management, operative technique, and results in 42 patients (Plast Reconstr Surg 1989)
- Hyaluronic acid, a promising skin rejuvenating biomedicine: A review of recent updates and pre-clinical and clinical investigations on cosmetic and nutricosmetic effects (Int J Biol Macromol 2018)
- Geographic and Socioeconomic Variation in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Pricing Across the United States: A State-Level Analysis of Income, Gross Domestic Product, and Real Economic Burden (Aesthet Surg J Open Forum 2026)
- Prehabilitation for Aesthetic Surgery: An Evidence-based Guide (Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2026)
- Blepharospasm surgery. An anatomical approach (Arch Ophthalmol 1981)
- A study of the supraorbital nerve (Plast Reconstr Surg 1995)
- The first clinical study using a new biodegradable implant for the treatment of lips, wrinkles, and folds (Aesthetic Plast Surg 1998)