The Psychology of the Facelift In his new book, The Art of a Facelift, Plastic Surgeon DR JACK ZOUMARAS gives us an insight into the psyche of his patients.
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sychology is involved in every decision we make as humans whether good or bad, right or wrong. Plastic surgery and Facelift surgery are no different. While patients have a facelift to lift their skin, their jowls and smooth the face, the reason for having a Facelift are far more etched into the psyche than simple lifting. Even the result of looking rejuvenated and more youthful doesn’t explain the reasoning for a Facelift. Not everyone who has jowls and loose skin seeks a facelift. Patients have a facelift because of an internal calling that has everything to do with psychology and nothing to do with the actual plastic surgery and its effects. Many would be surprised to know that the major reason for patients requesting a Facelift, is not to look younger. In fact, only 20% of all of my patients that present for a Facelift say they want a Facelift to look younger. Now, there is no doubt that you will look more youthful, but this is not the primary motivator in the majority of patients. Humans are complicated, and we do things for various reasons that are intricate to the internal and external environment that we are coming from. It is important to understand, acknowledge and work with this as a Plastic Surgeon, this way, when I consult with my patient, we can both be on the same page about what they want in/with their facelift, so that it will be an empowered choice, which is ultimately fulfilling.
Thankfully I can report that 100% of my Facelift patients are incredibly happy that they had the surgery and that the procedure has in fact empowered them with confidence.
But why do some want a facelift and others do not? This question is complex but comes down to what you as an individual value in your life. A facelift empowers and gives confidence. Many patients value the way they look and it forms an important part of who they are, others have reached a point in their life where they want to do something for themselves and be confident. A facelift is a pathway for this to happen. Much like we dream of upgrading our cars, buying our dream house, renovating our kitchen, that promotion to our ideal job; the patients I see, want to improve on themselves. They want to refresh the way they look on the outside, to match how they feel on the inside. They want their confidence back. As a Facelift Plastic Surgeon, I have found that the main motivators for a facelift vary from wanting to feel better about themselves, look better/ fresher, look younger and rejuvenated, and wanting to stay relevant in the workforce. Other reasons I come across regularly are patients that suddenly face a major life change or milestone, including separation from a life partner, marriage of a child, celebrating a milestone birthday, or having children. These major life events matter, because of the way they make you feel, and let’s just get down to psychology 101, no one should ever disregard or discount anyone else’s feelings. My patients want to feel empowered; they want to look the way they feel, and they want to feel great. They want to look and feel refreshed, and remove that “you look tired” look. This is a great reason to have a facelift. However, wanting a “revenge” facelift, to get back at someone or prove a point, is the wrong motivating factor for a facelift, and will not result in empowerment,
“They want to refresh the way they look on the outside, to match how they feel on the inside. They want their confidence back.”
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