How many years will a facelift shave off?

If you're considering a facelift or other cosmetic surgery for a more youthful look, a new study may help you determine by just how many years the surgeon may reverse the clock.

If you're considering a facelift or other cosmetic surgery for a more youthful look, a new study may help you determine by just how many years the surgeon may reverse the clock. Turns out, it's less than you may think.

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The study, which was published online Monday in the journal Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, was designed to help patients better understand what to expect before going under the knife, according to lead author Dr. Nitin Chauhan, a plastic surgeon at the University of Toronto. On average, patients trimmed back 7.2 years from their face, depending on how much work they had done.

According to the study, a facelift or necklift can wipe away 5.7 years, while those who get their eyelids done wipe away two years. Include a forehead lift in the mix and you can shave off a total of 8.4 years.

The goal of the study was to find an "objective measure" for patients by asking 40 medical students to guess the ages of cosmetic surgery patients, mostly women ages 45 to 72, in before-and-after photos.

"It's nice to have an objective measure," Chauhan told Time magazine, adding that this study is one of the few that have tried to quantify cosmetic surgery results. "Some of our patients like to have concrete numbers to look at, and the more information you can provide, the more it facilitates decision-making."

For those considering nonsurgical procedures, facial injectables such as Botox can give you a wrinkle-free face -- but recent research also suggests some hefty negative social implications. Compared to women who rely on skin creams to smooth wrinkles, study participants viewed women who used Botox as vain and, worse, cold.