A facelift at 28? Why young people are turning to plastic surgery

The facelift is moving into new territory.

A quick search on socials and my feed is inundated with posts from people in their late 20s, 30s, discussing different types of facelift - the mini, the ponytail, the deep plane.

Gone are the days when facelifts were reserved for the ageing wealthy - now an increasing number of younger people are opting to go under the knife.

Some happily share pictures of their face before, after and the very bruised bit in between - their often very painful recovery.

It's no longer a procedure that's spoken about in secret, celebrities like Kris Jenner, Catt Sadler and Marc Jacobs have spoken openly about their treatment. Many more are rumoured to have had one.

The facelift is often seen as the last resort, the most major of cosmetic surgeries.

Are people becoming so insecure in an often fake online world that they will pay thousands of pounds for the operation?

Or have we had so many non-surgical treatments, such as Botox and fillers, that having our skin peeled from our cheekbones and our facial tissues and fat rearranged feels like a logical - and longer lasting - next step?

For Emily, who had a facelift at 28, it was about getting a "snatched look" - a sculpted, sharp jaw, high cheekbones and fox eyes. She says having surgery in Turkey was "life-changing" and she does not regret it.

"In total I had six surgeries rolled into one," she explains. "Among them I had a mid- face lift, a lip lift and a rhinoplasty [nose job]."

Describing the process, the businesswoman from Toronto, Canada, says the surgeon played her favourite song as she went under general anaesthetic and then: "I fell asleep and I woke up, threw up, and I had a new face and a new nose."

The recovery process was long - the pain and bruising began to subside over the first few weeks, but it took six months for Emily to regain feeling in parts of her cheeks.

Would she do it again? She hesitates.

"Since my surgery, I've changed my life. I'm healthier, I drink a lot less, I look after my skin, I sleep. I think if I knew what I know now I might not have gone through with it.

"My mum didn't even know until I told her a couple of days after surgery."

But then she stops and reflects.

"But I just wanted to be the best version of myself," Emily says, "and now I think I am."

Figures from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) show an 8% increase in facelifts over the past 12 months in the UK - they don't break down the figures by age, but many members report that the demographic is shifting.

This is reflected in other parts of the world, with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons seeing a rise in Gen X (ages 45 to 60) opting for a facelift.

Nora Nugent, president of BAAPS, believes there are a host of reasons for the change - including the rise of weight-loss medications.

"Losing weight so quickly on these drugs can leave a lot of excess skin. A facelift can help with that," she says. "Techniques have developed massively - a facelift no longer means risking that 'wind tunnel' [an overly stretched face as a result of the skin being pulled back] effect on the face we saw many years ago."

However, a facelift is still a significant operation that should only be undertaken by a specialist, registered plastic surgeon in a registered facility with proper equipment, she says.

At his clinic in Bristol, consultant plastic surgeon Simon Lee has carried out hundreds of facelifts - and shows me a video of one.

For the duration of the procedure the client is wide awake, having had low levels of local anaesthetic injected into the skin and the deeper tissue beneath.

He makes a series of small incisions in her face, before going under the skin, the fat and the superficial fascia (SMAS) - the part of the face which controls our expressions - then reaching the deep plane where he repositions tissue and muscles to reshape the face.

As he finishes, the client, who has been under the knife for four hours, smiles in relief.

One of the reasons it's become more appealing, Mr Lee says, is the ease with which face and neck lifts can now be carried out. Once reserved for a hospital theatre and requiring a general anaesthetic, he now carries the face and neck lift without sedation in his clinic.

It's an "exciting time" in the industry, he says, with developments happening at speed. While the classic facelift - which focuses on the lower jaw and neck is still popular, there are newer treatments which target the upper two thirds of the face - where he says, the ageing process begins and is noticeable at a younger age.

The surgeon caveats this saying a facelift is suitable for those over 40, but it would be very unusual to carry out such a complex procedure on someone in their 20s and 30s.

There are risks and complications involved in these kind of procedures, such as developing a hematoma - a collection of blood under the skin which, if not treated, could lead to necrosis (death of surrounding tissues), infections, nerve injury and alopecia.

A facelift costs, on average, £15,000-£45,000 in the UK, but there are clinics offering these procedures for as little as £5,000.

Experts say it is important to do your research and choose a plastic surgeon who specialises in facelifts.

Julia Gilando, 34, decided she needed a facelift to fix asymmetry in her face after having issues with the jaw alignment earlier in her life.

Although many of her friends said they couldn't see a problem with her face, she felt it, "trusted her gut", and flew to Turkey for her procedure, which cost $8,000 (£6,000).

Despite warnings about the risks associated with having cosmetic surgery in Turkey it has become increasingly popular to do so, mainly due to lower prices.

"At first I thought this whole idea was crazy, but I did my research and I decided to go for it," Ms Gilando, a healthcare professional, says. "I was scared, I was in a foreign country, I was alone, and I didn't speak the language.

"After my surgery I spent two days in hospital and then had to fend for myself. I was so swollen I couldn't see.

"There were some dark times, it was a whole mental rollercoaster of emotions, you go through these highs and lows."

There are concerns from researchers about whether such cosmetic surgery procedures give the self-esteem and confidence the industry advertises.

"I think there's an unprecedented pressure," Dr Kirsty Garbett, a body image expert from the Centre of Appearance Research at the University of West England, explains. "Especially when it comes to the face - we see ourselves on video calls, social media platforms, we compare ourselves to others so easily."

And she says, what we see isn't necessarily a true reflection of reality.

"AI, filters - all play a part in creating a fake online world. And, at the same time, we are seeing a rise in the normalisation of cosmetic procedures."

Celebrities being more outspoken about having these operations is, in some ways, a good thing, she says, but it also normalises them - making them appear "just a part of life and that is really worrying".

Caroline Stanbury, TV presenter and one of the Real Housewives of Dubai, had a facelift two years ago aged 47, despite everyone telling her not to do it because she was too young.

"It was the best thing I have ever had done," Caroline says. "Why do I want to wait until I am in my 60s, desperate and need it? I want to look and feel amazing now."

Having spent 20 years getting regular Botox and fillers, she felt like she was "beginning to look weird". She paid $45,000 (£34,000) for a deep plane facelift in the US.

"I still look like me, and this procedure has given me another 20 years of feeling great," she says.

Alexis Verpaele, a plastic surgeon based in Belgium, with clients from all over the world including the UK, says he's worried about the increasing number of younger people coming for the treatment.

He often talks to these clients at length about ways certain looks can be achieved without something as major as surgery.

"If they have a facelift in their 20s, and we know it can last 10, 15 years say.

"So by the time they are 60, they might have had three facelifts," De Verpaele says.

"That's a lot of trauma for one face to endure - and that's the best case scenario without any complications."