A breast refresh can be rejuvenating at any age, but once you’re over 50, it can be life-changing in a whole new way. Your body has changed, potentially through pregnancy, menopause, weight shifts and life changes, and it’s normal for your breasts to not be what they once were. If you still love your breasts, more power to you, but if you’re looking for a refresh and not sure where to start, we asked the experts to share some guidance.
“In women over 50, I first understand that they are experiencing a big change in their life and body. They are often perimenopausal or post-menopausal and a lot is changing,” says Louisville, KY plastic surgeon M. Bradley Calobrace, MD. It makes sense that women at this stage of life would be seeking a way to make their bodies feel more like their own. Generally, women over 50 are not looking for a huge change but rather a reversing of the clock. “I find that women over 50 are more commonly requesting to be restored rather than substantially enlarged,” says Wichita, KS plastic surgeon Amy Sprole, MD.
Featured Experts
- M. Bradley Calobrace, MD, is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Louisville, KY
- Amy Sprole, MD is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Wichita, KS
- Olga Bachilo, MD is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Houston
- Ralph Garramone, MD is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Fort Myers, FL
- Mark Jewell, MD is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Eugene, OR
Common concerns for women over 50
“By 50, many women have had children and breastfed, and they’re also in early menopause, during which time breast tissue atrophies,” says Houston plastic surgeon Olga Bachilo, MD. Pregnancy can come with weight shifts and laxity in the breasts, notes Dr. Sprole. However, aside from pregnancy-related weight shifts, women of this age group are also more likely to have experienced massive weight loss, often related to weight loss surgery or GLP-1 medications, she adds.
“Add to that, many women in this age group are starting to see the impact of peri-menopausal estrogen depletion manifesting as reduced elasticity and lax skin,” says Dr. Sprole. With all that in mind, plus the body’s natural ebbs and flows, it’s no surprise that in their 50s, women might want a breast refresh.
This includes people who have previously had a breast augmentation. “There are many options for women with breast implants in terms of maintenance surgery with newer implants,” notes Eugene, OR plastic surgeon Mark Jewell. “It is interesting to think that some women who start with implants in their twenties will have revisions and still enjoy their outcome 50 years later.”
The best breast refresh solutions for women over 50
While the best option for you might be different than what’s best for another person reading this, we asked experts about some of their top suggestions for a breast refresh, and adding volume and lift seemed to be the common denominators.
“Many women over 50 are well-refreshed with a breast lift, in addition to volume enhancement with implants or autologous fat grafting,” says Dr. Sprole. “Although not everyone wants or needs the extra volume at this stage in life,” she adds. “As our patients get older, breast lifts become increasingly more necessary. I perform approximately 350 breast lifts a year as a large proportion of my patients tend to be in their 50s and beyond,” says Dr. Calobrace.
It’s common for patients in this age group to get a breast lift and a small implant to replace lost volume, says Dr. Bachilo. “A breast lift allows excess skin relative to breast volume to be removed and the nipple position to be elevated back to the center of the breast,” explains Dr. Bachilo. Fort Myers, FL plastic surgeon Ralph Garramone, MD says a conservatively sized implant can be an excellent choice for patients looking for a bit of extra upper breast fullness and a natural appearance.
Dr. Bachilo notes that sometimes women over 50 can be “appropriately lifted and contoured with volume alone, essentially re-inflating the breast back to more youthful fullness.” Dr. Garramone says the addition of volume may also slightly address drooping without a lift itself. However, “If drooping is more of an issue, a lift or mastopexy can be performed either by itself or together with a conservative augmentation,” he says.
Fat grafting is another alternative that provides small improvements in volume and firmness, says Dr. Calobrace. “I often will do a lift with an auto-augmentation, using my patient’s own tissue to create an ‘implant-type of effect’ without the use of an implant. This is very common and very powerful.” Dr. Garramone notes that a fat transfer is an excellent way to treat breast asymmetry and get a very natural-looking result.
On the other hand, some women experience hormonal changes, and their breasts become fattier or larger, so they may want a breast lift and reduction, says Dr. Bachilo. Dr. Sprole generally discourages anyone seeking very large implants at this stage “due to the skin’s reduced tolerance for heaviness and stretch.”
Dr. Calobrace also sees many patients who have had implants for years and no longer want them, as they now have enough of their own volume. For these patients, “we tend to remove the implants and add a breast lift and possibly fat grafting to create an implant-free beautiful breast,” says Dr. Calobrace.
Don’t forget to refresh the chest and décolleté as well
When talking about the breasts, we’d be remiss to leave out the neck and décolleté. Dr. Calobrace recommends sprucing up any signs of aging in this area, like pigmentation or fine lines, to get an all-around more youthful look.
“Many women have changes to the skin of the neck and décolleté. These skin changes can be improved with a variety of treatments, including a chemical peel, a light CO2 laser treatment or Morpheus8,” says Dr. Garramone. “These treatments will improve collagen content of the skin, surface texture, fine lines and areas of pigmentation.”
To improve pigment, Dr. Calobrace tends to treat this area with lasers like BBL HERO or HEROic. For the treatment of thin skin and lines, he often turns to microneedling and radiofrequency devices, like Morpheus. “Biostimulator injectables, such as hyperdilute calcium hydroxybutyrate (Radiesse) can also help improve this area.”
