If you think that facelifts are something only the rich and glamorous get, you might be surprised to know that it is a billion dollar a year industry in the United States.

More and more ordinary people like you and me are getting facelifts each year to counteract the ravages of aging.

As you get older, the skin on your face begins to sag. The flesh and muscle of your face becomes loose, and creases form around your nose and mouth. It can be quite disturbing when you look in the mirror one day and notice this.

Face lift surgery, or rhytidectomy, is a common plastic surgery procedure designed to tighten the muscles and remove excess skin on your face.

It should be noted that a face lift is not designed to get rid of wrinkles. Wrinkles have different causes, and there are different surgical procedures used to eliminate them. In some cases, wrinkles can be eliminated with over-the-counter medications and cream.

Getting A Face lift - The Procedure

Before getting a face lift, of course, you will see your doctor for a consultation. This is the most important part of the whole process. They will be able to give you an idea of what they can do, and what you can expect out of the operation afterwards. They can also help you assess the risks and discuss the recovery period.

During the procedure, your doctor will cut the skin around the temples, just behind the hairline. The incision is made somewhere around the ear, depending on the actual patient's features. The incision is usually made vertically, along a natural crease in the patient's skin so that the scars will not show.

First, the doctor will separate the muscles and skin from the facial tissue. The muscles and skin are the areas where sagging and loosening occurs. Your doctor will tighten the muscles and get rid of the extra skin. This will give your face a younger, perkier look.

For the operation, the doctor can use either local or complete anesthetic. It depends on your individual case, what your doctor thinks is best, and your preference. Some people would prefer to simply be put under during the operation.

Recovering From A Face lift

The procedure itself takes usually 2 hours or less, but the recovery period is quite long. It may be 4 to 6 weeks until you are completely back to normal. During the recovery period, your doctor will probably recommend that you refrain from any strenuous activity.

In many cases, there is swelling. When you leave the doctor, they will treat your face with a special dressing to keep down the initial swelling. A few days after this, they may give you a wrap to protect your face from further swelling. Still, some swelling is to be expected.

You may experience some facial discomfort. For this, your doctor will give you the proper medications.

Many face lift patients go back for secondary surgery sometime in the future. Because the process of aging always continues, you may find your face sagging again in places you don't want it to.

However, secondary facelifts are never as big a surgery as the first, and you may get by with as little as a "tuck."

No Smoking!

One very important point about your facelift operation, is that you are not allowed to smoke for a period of time before or after your operation.

Most doctors recommend a month and some go for longer. The reason is that smoking slows down the blood flow to your face. This can be a serious problem when your skin is healing.

To give you an idea of how serious this can be, if your skin does not get the blood it needs to heal following the operation, you may find yourself with dead skin around the incision points. This is unsightly and painful, and completely renders your facelift operation meaningless, so please don't smoke!

A facelift can make you look fresher and more youthful. There is no way to keep from aging of course, but a face lift can help slow the visible signs of aging .