It’s April and summer is right around the corner. Everywhere you look, there are ads for bathing suits and spray tans as people begin to remove their winter layers. With spring comes event season.
Too often I see patients in my office in a last minute panic wanting to look better, be thinner, or feel younger for an important life event: be it a child’s graduation, wedding, anniversary, BIG birthday, or just swimsuit season. Whatever the reason, they have finally decided not to experience another big life event without looking and feeling their best. The problem is 80% of those patients don’t get around to addressing the issues until they are within weeks of “the date”. If you are reading this and your date is upon you, don’t fret. It’s not too late to be able to benefit from a surgical/non-surgical treatment plan – there are always options, those options look different with a one week time frame as opposed to a 3 month time frame.
You need a plan. Just as you would hire a landscape architect or an interior designer for their help and expertise with an overall plan for your home you should take the same approach with your appearance. I tell my patients it’s a process.
Every time I see a patient for a consult whether for the face or the body, the first thing I always assess is skin quality and condition. Treatment results always look their best with good skincare. And it’s not just for the face, addressing the neck, chest and back is important. If a patient is not currently on a good skincare plan we start one, including peels, Exilis or laser treatments to erase damage, improve texture and maintain collagen production. It’s amazing what a good treatment plan to erase damage and improve skin texture, can do for a person’s appearance!
Next, depending upon time available, budget and a patient’s philosophy, I try and decide which non-surgical or surgical methods will best achieve the most natural results for the issues being addressed. Many times, as with facial rejuvenation, two to three different treatments are combined to achieve the desired result. And maintenance of those results is important.
Rejuvenation is an ongoing process, not a one time event. My goal for cosmetic procedures is to refresh and restore balance and symmetry without an over enhanced effect. If we do our job well, there is an overall subtle improved appearance, not an “overdone” effect. And our patients walk away with an improved sense of well being.
If you are reading this article and are unhappy about your appearance, don’t put off exploring your options. Decide what you are dissatisfied with, schedule a consult with a qualified, board certified surgeon whose office has a variety of both surgical and non-surgical options to offer you and start your fact gathering. Make this the year that you look forward to your “big event” because you look and feel your best.