In counseling my patients, I stress the importance of a natural look after a facelift.  I feel that you best achieve this by avoiding too much pull on the skin.  During the procedure, deep sutures are placed to suspend the sagging tissue of the face.  These need to be placed firmly.  Next, when the excess skin is then draped back and removed, there does not need to be too much tension and pull of the skin but rather a gentle lifting.  I believe this avoids the "plastic" look.