Nonsurgical Millennial Makeover in Plastic Surgery

Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are the younger patients in a cosmetic surgery practice. Everyone wants to look their best regardless of age. Millennials have some overlapping and specific needs relative to other generations.

While they don’t need a facelift, plastic surgeons have seen more millennials coming to the office for a number of reasons. Some want to enhance their existing appearance, ex. bigger lips. Others may want to prevent future wrinkles, ex. forehead lines. Lastly, some natural age-related changes to the face may be present from a young age on certain individuals, ex. relative volume deficiency.

Certain surgical makeovers that are more common in millennials, ex. rhinoplasty, will be covered in a separate blog post. The nonsurgical treatments below are very popular among millennials.

Skin Care

Basic skin care promotes healthy skin regardless of age. Routine skin care helps prevent and treat wrinkles.

• daily sun protection
• maintain healthy diet
• get adequate sleep
• avoid smoking
• keep well hydrated
• be gentle

Read more on basic skin care in previous blog post.

Peels

Peels are next step toward vibrant skin after the basics. Peels are a method of skin resurfacing that removes the top layers of skin to promote newer, fresher, and healthier appearing skin. By exfoliating the skin, resurfacing can help improve skin surface irregularities, either from acne, wrinkles, or scars.

Common chemical peels include glycolic acid, alpha-hydroxy acid, and TCA. Peels vary on the depth of skin penetration. The deeper peels have more dramatic results, but longer recovery and downtime. Most millennials benefit from superficial skin peels, which can be performed regularly in a series. Results from these superficial peels are temporary and can be incorporated into an overall skin care regimen.

Read more about chemical peels in skin rejuvenation.

Wrinkle Relaxers

Wrinkle relaxers include the nonsurgical treatments of Botox®, Dysport®, and Xeomin®. Treatment takes a few minutes. Results develop gradually over several days and lasts about three months. Patients can go back to work the same day, as desired.

Plastic surgeons typically start Botox treatments for patients in their 20’s, but usually not younger. Millennial patients may start seeing wrinkles forming or want to prevent wrinkles and keep their skin looking its best. The glabella (in between eyebrows) and forehead are the most common areas treated with wrinkle relaxers in this age group.

Read more about what to expect during your first Botox visit.

Facial Fillers

As a person ages, fat is lost in certain areas of the face. This volume loss more commonly occurs in the late twenties and progresses variably in individuals. Other than natural aging, some patients may have more enhanced facial volume loss for a variety of reason, ex. genetics. Facial fillers can enhance volume to reduce shadows and “lift” areas. Example of facial fillers include Juvederm®, Restylane®, and Belotero®.

Common treatment areas with facial filler for millennials include

• under eye
• cheeks
• lips

Read more about under eye bag treatment with fillers.

Read more about lip enhancement with “lipstick in a syringe”.

Have questions? Share your thoughts below. Contact the office for a consultation.