As seen in the sudden uptick of patients in some of the country’s top plastic surgery, dermatology and facial plastic surgery offices, a new decade is the only motivation so many of us needed to finally make that change we’ve been thinking about. So what are the most-requested procedures in the most popular month of the year? These experts tell all.
Rhino-Ready
“January is often busy for surgery. Many people wait until the holidays are over to do their rhinoplasty or facelift. They have already seen most of the people they know recently, so they can get away with a couple of weeks of laying low. Ultherapy, Botox and filler are always popular. Patients also use procedures such as CoolSculpting, Emcculpt and SculpSure to jumpstart their resolutions.” –New York facial plastic surgeon Jennifer Levine, MD
Tone + Tighten
“My office was swamped the first week of January. Likely due to new year resolutions and holidays away from the gym or SLT classes. Body tightening procedures were one of the most requested treatments—CoolSculpting and CoolTone procedures were common requests by patients looking to trim, tone, and tighten.” –New York dermatologist Michelle Henry, MD
Full-Face Refresh
“This January is really busy! I am doing the usual mommy makeovers and breast cases, but I am doing a lot more facelifts. The most popular is a combination of lower face/necklift, upper eyelids, facial fat grafting and laser resurfacing.” –Irvine, CA plastic surgeon Andrew Smith, MD
The Eyes Have It
The first week of Jan has been the busiest week yet! The most common surgical procedures done in office this week were upper eye pinches (upper blepharoplasties) and neck liposuction. Coming off the holidays with New Year’s resolutions to make good on, a little money from bonuses and holiday gifts, people were ready this season for the ‘now.’ It’s a new decade, and my patients this week want to look their best to start out the new decade. This is also a time of year where teams still have people away for the holidays, so there is a little more wiggle time to work from home.” –New York facial plastic surgeon Lesley Rabach, MD
Laser Away
“December is my busiest month, but we do see a significant rise in laser treatments for scarring, pigmentation, sun spots, and wrinkles in January because they’re safest to do in the dark winter months. Less sun exposure during and after laser procedures enables the clinician to deliver full treatments with less risk of pigmentation and healing issues afterwards. Also, January (and winter months in general) is when patients start to think about getting their skin in tip top shape for the spring and summer—another reason why we see a rise in laser procedures in January.” –Chicago dermatologist Omer E. Ibrahim, MD
Injectables Galore
“The first week of January is one of the busiest times for me as people want a fresh start. Oftentimes the New Year represents a time for a refresh/do-over with some allotment of downtime, while trying to counteract the effects of holiday indulgences on skin. By far the most popular treatment is Botox Cosmetic, Voluma and lip fillers to provide an immediate lift to the mid-face area. People who came in for Botox prior to the holidays also come back for just a sprinkle more so they’re ‘fresh’ for the new year. One of my patients who rarely gets pimples came in for cortisone shots. The truth is that no matter how diligent you are with your skincare, the alcohol and sweets during the holidays will catch up to you—and that’s okay and we can fix that. So a lot of my appointments involve cortisone injections.” –New York dermatologist Dendy Engelman, MD
Core Work
“Body contouring is definitely on people’s minds after the new year. A go-to treatment for those looking for a nonsurgical option is CoolSculpting; for a more aggressive, surgical option, it’s liposuction or abdominoplasty. The best approach is an in-person consultation by a board certified plastic surgeon to review the various options and help determine which approach is best for each person. As I always tell patients, it takes good nutrition, exercise and a good plastic surgeon to achieve the best results.” –New York plastic surgeon David Shafer, MD
