When Is the Best Time to Start a Cosmetic Treatment?

When Is the Best Time to Start a Cosmetic Treatment?
When, ideally, should you start a cosmetic treatment?

It depends on both your age and the type of cosmetic treatment you want.

There’s two types of cosmetic treatment – invasive and non-invasive. Invasive treatment, like a facelift, require surgery; non-invasive treatment, like botox or soft-tissue fillers (like Juvederm), do not.

The best time to have a non-invasive cosmetic treatment pretty much depends only on your age, but it varies with the type of non-invasive you want; the best time to have an invasive (surgical) cosmetic treatment on the other hand depends on many more factors, age being but only one.

The Best Time to Have Botox Treatment

The Best Time to Have Botox Treatment
When it comes to botox (the most popular non-invasive treatment according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, or ASAPS), some experts recommend waiting until your late 30’s or early 40’s, when lines and wrinkles first become noticeable; however, because it takes years for habitual facial expressions to produce noticeable frown lines and crow’s feet, other experts recommend starting Botox around 25 years old, as a preventative measure.

The Best Time to Have a Soft-Tissue Filler Treatment

The Best Time to Have a Soft-Tissue Filler
For soft-tissue fillers (the second most popular non-invasive treatment according to ASAPS), most experts recommend starting no earlier than midlife, to fill in folds and raise sunken areas in the face.

Soft-tissues fillers are effective because some studies suggest that they stimulate the body’s own natural collagen production. There’s even evidence that suggests the more often one uses fillers, the less necessary they become over time.

The Best Time for Laser or IPL Treatment
The Best Time for Laser or IPL Treatment
For low-intensity laser light therapy, or intense pulsed light therapy, to improve the skin’s appearance, doctors generally recommend waiting until one is in their 30s or 40’s, when the negative effects of sun damage and age start to become visible.

Like soft-tissues filler that may trigger natural collagen production in the body, one study found that some light treatments seemed to alter gene expression in older skin so that it began to behave more like younger skin.

The Best Time to Have a Surgical Cosmetic Treatment

For surgical cosmetic treatments, like breast augmentation, nose reshaping, liposuction, eyelid surgery, and facelifts, you’ll need to consult with a qualified doctor as there are many factors other than age to take into consideration before deciding if a particular treatment is right for you. While there’s no hard age cutoff rule for many surgical treatments, one study (1) did find that the younger a patient was, the less happy they were with the outcome of their surgery.

References

1. Honigman R.J., Comm B., Phillips K.A, M.D., and Castle D.J. A Review of Psychosocial Outcomes for Patients Seeking Cosmetic Surgery. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2004 Apr 1; 113(4): 1229–1237.