The facelift boom has a dark side. A surgeon shared 5 red flags to watch out for.

""Nowadays, everyone gets so caught up in technique - 'oh, you had a deep plane, you had a SMAS,'" he said. "'But the main factor is actually the surgeon.' He said he's seen huge disparities in facelift results, for example, even if the procedure itself is the same.""

""To become a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, one needs to be certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgeons, a medical board that requires a medical school degree, about five years of general surgery training, and a minimum of three years of plastic surgery residency training (though some programs require six). It requires much less time and training to be certified as a cosmetic surgeon. Doctors with prior medical board certification, such as being licensed as an OB-GYN or bariatric surgeon, can get certified through the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, which is not a medical board; it focuses solely on elective cosmetic surgery. They must complete a minimum of one year of cosmetic surgery training, perform 300 individual procedures, and pass an exam.""

Plastic surgery functions as a Gen Z status symbol and a pathway to career advancement in corporate America. Facelifts and other procedures are rising among younger patients seeking to slow aging and among people who lost weight via medications and want excess skin removed. Surgical outcomes depend strongly on the individual surgeon rather than only on specific techniques. American Board of Plastic Surgeons certification requires medical school, roughly five years of general surgery training, and a minimum of three years of plastic surgery residency. Cosmetic surgery certification requires less training, can follow other specialties, mandates one year of cosmetic training, 300 procedures, and an exam, and is not a medical board. Consumers should recognize similar "board-certified" labels can be misleading.

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