A face lift (rhytidectomy) is a surgical procedure designed to make the face appear more youthful by lifting up the facial skin and tissues and/or the underlying muscle, to make the face tauter and smoother. With age or excessive sun exposure, wrinkled creased skin can develop on the face, neck or forehead along with fat deposits and folds around the jaws and jowls. Face lift surgery cannot stop the aging process, but can improve the appearance, making patients look younger. The aim of a face lift is to provide you with a natural, more youthful appearance and should not produce a tight “windblown” looking face. The results of a facelift procedure will be good if you have good skin tone, your skin has not lost its elasticity and moves and stretches easily. The majority of patients that undergo face lift surgery do so in their early 50's and over, though patients in their 70’s and 80’s have had successful surgeries. A face lift procedure will normally not be necessary for people under 40 years of age, though occasionally patients with premature facial aging or who have had significant weight loss may undergo an earlier surgical face lift.