A hardworking woman or man in his or her 70s who has never had any plastic surgery or “work” deserves a little pick up for their future. They have the option to select and follow through with a full facelift and benefit fully from the dramatic difference. But what about the younger men and women who are about to turn 40 or 50 who have noticed a few changes in the mirror? A decade or two ago, they may have enjoyed the process of going from looking like a little kid in college and right after, to being pleasantly surprised by their maturing and attractive features on their adult face as they entered the work force. But now that their kids are entering middle school, high school or even college, they wonder what the years have done to their faces and they want the time back — gradually. A 40 or 50 year old does not want or need a dramatic, full facelift just yet. A credible plastic surgeon would definitely explain and recommend the many surgical and non-surgical options available. A surgeon can make those incremental changes over several years rather than at once, in order to turn back the clock instead of jolting their appearance all at once. The facelift can be broken down to accommodate gradual changes to the different quadrants of the human face. The main quadrants that influence the height and overall youthful appearance of the face include the forehead, the two cheeks, and the mouth/chin area. Surgeons can make incremental changes to the position of the muscles and fat pockets within those sections of the face to uplift the face for long-term results. Surgeons have recognized over the years of study and practice that the difference between working on an older patient and middle aged one is the amount of sag and location of the sag at that stage in life. A 40 or 50-something man or woman seeing a plastic surgeon for the first time will more than likely have accelerated aging on one or two sections of the face. They usually begin to notice sagging and wrinkling in the forehead and around the mouth, which create the early stages of what is now referred to as jowls. A surgeon can either add eyelid surgery or leave it out for now because the brow lift will make enough of a difference. For lines and sagging around the mouth, either the cheek pads will have to be raised or the muscles influencing the face shape near the jaw line will have to be raised and repositioned. It is up to the patient to decide the amount of difference he or she wants to make now and in the future, but the full facelift is not for every age group.