There is no hard and fast rule. It is really going to depend on how your face ages and when you start to become bothered by those changes. In general, patients who have moderate to significant jowling or folds in the lower face are good candidates for a facelift. It is not inappropriate for a patient in the early 50’s to consider facial surgery if there are changes that they are bothered by. Trying to “fill” skin that has sagged significantly always produces an odd-looking result. Therefore, I am a proponent of “sooner rather than later” when it comes to the facelift. The younger the patient, the easier the recovery. Furthermore, the more elasticity you have in the skin, the better the result. And, most importantly, the sooner you have a facelift, the longer you get to enjoy your results!