Most people have heard of facelifts. Aside from breast augmentation and liposuction, facelifts are some of the most popular procedures performed by plastic surgeons - and they have just been increasing in popularity since the first facelift was performed, way back in 1901, by Eugene Hollander.

Most of the facelifts that are performed today are done on women who are trying to look their best and youngest, but don't discount those men - they too are going under the knife to look younger. Today, that knife can even mean endoscopy, using smaller cuts than a standard facelift.

Without endoscopy, the typical facelift is a standard incision facelift. This uses a lengthy incision around the ears and hairline, which can be used to peel back the skin and pull up excess tissues and connective matter and make them taut, removing wrinkles from the skin.

The other kinds of cuts that can be made for facelifts can be a bit less lengthy, but they all do the same thing underneath. Tissues, skin and other matter are still pulled and removed if needed, and then skin and tissues are stapled or sutured to leave a tight and smooth appearance. The incisions will scar over.

Patients who undergo facelift procedures usually have them done at a surgery center or hospital, because they will require anesthesia. The type of anesthesia used for a facelift is general anesthesia - due to the complexity of the surgery and the time required for surgery.

Recovery times for facelifts vary on the patient, the type of facelift and the amount of time that the surgery itself took. Each surgery is different, and each recovery time is different. Some people might spring right up form their surgery while others may take a long time to deal with the facelift.

Facelifts are not the most complex type of plastic surgery that is performed - but they are not the easiest either. Getting a facelift is still surgery, so it is important to consider all of the risks and options before deciding to go under the knife for a facelift - which is a permanent step.