The procedure consists of removing excess skin and fatty tissues, as well as correcting sagging facial muscles, especially in the areas of the temples, cheeks, jowls and neck. 

Facial aging affects everyone differently and depends on a number of factors such as skin quality (thickness, genetic factors, sun damage or exposure, smoking history, etc.) and facial volume (loss or gain of facial and neck fat deposits). Thus, although facial ‘lifting’ is commonly thought to involve surgical removal of sagging skin (most often seen in the jowl and neck regions), a modern face lift addresses all aspects of facial aging.

To that end, a facelift may include the typical skin excision to address skin descent and deep wrinkles, with scars that are neatly concealed around the ears and in the hairline. It may also include fat grafting to restore volume to cheeks, the cheek/eyelid junction (also known as tear trough) and lower face. A facelift surgery can be combined with other procedures targeting specific areas of the face, such as a blepharoplasty for instance. Furthermore, it is possible to add laser or resurfacing techniques to the procedure in order to improve fine wrinkles, texture and pigmentary changes, such as unwanted brown or aging spots.