Dr. Chance highlights that for someone who has “repeated low-duration facelifts”—and Jenner has reportedly had multiple facelifts over the years—with every intervention, the subcutaneous fat of the neck, which provides a cushion between the skin and the muscle, gets thinner and thinner, exposing the dynamic platysma as well as any internal scarring left by previous surgery. What does she mean by “low duration”? In her experience, the results of traditional SMAS lifts tend to “start to fade or fall at 3, 4, 5 years out.”

Generalizing SMAS lifts—like the one Jenner likely had—is tricky, because they exist on a broad spectrum. We can divide SMAS facelifts into two main categories, says Pierce Janssen, MD, an aesthetic plastic surgery fellow at the Cleveland Clinic. There are the extended SMAS techniques—which, like deep plane lifts, dissect under the muscle (“sub-SMAS”) and fully release the facial ligaments that tether soft tissue to bone. And there are SMAS procedures that do not go under the muscle or touch the ligaments (these include the SMASectomy and SMAS plication, which involves folding and stitching the SMAS). All methods can yield good results, notes Dr. Janssen, when performed by well-trained, experienced surgeons.

“Any good facelift—and there are many good types—involves opening the skin and doing something to the SMAS,” says Dino Elyassnia, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon in San Francisco. In his opinion, “treating the SMAS and diverting tension away from the skin is the hallmark of a good facelift.” What’s more, he reminds me, “there is no single study that has ever been published that says a deep plane facelift looks better or lasts longer [than a SMAS lift]. There's zero data. When surgeons did compare techniques back in the old days—I’m thinking of the twin study from the '90s, where the big facelift leaders from that time each did a different procedure—the results all basically looked the same.”

So yes, much of the hype on social media revolves around deep plane facelifts, which actually are not as new as all the buzz suggests—they date back to the 90s. And some plastic surgeons are apt to regale you with tales of their bespoke extended, vertical vector, composite flap, scarless, mystery, reset lift. (Love you all, but whew, our heads are spinning!) But IRL, the majority of American plastic surgeons are performing some version of a SMAS lift.

Despite the Instagram rhetoric, facelift technique names are “really the last thing people should worry about,” Dr. Elyassnia says. The terms “don’t mean much to a patient, because they are so technical and because anybody can say anything, so it's a hard thing to rely on when choosing a doctor,” he says. Ultimately, “I’d like to think that patients pick surgeons, not techniques,” he adds. “Try to focus on what matters—finding someone you trust and liking their results.” It helps to remember that the Kardashians famously filter their photos, and while Jenner’s facelift is a beautiful one, no plastic surgery outcome is ever perfect—if you choose to get cosmetic surgery, go in with realistic expectations.

To read more about facelifts:

• 13 People Get Real About Their Facelifts
• I’m 96 and I’ve Had 3 Facelifts—Here’s What I Learned
• The Newest Changes to the Facelift Procedure