These days more and more people are becoming concerned with aging at a younger age, thanks in part to the astronomic rise of social media platforms.

In modern society, it can be challenging to maintain an online existence without encountering over-treated celebrities, models, and even peers showing off obvious cosmetic work. These women, and increasingly also men, may have sought treatment beyond a natural result, but they’re not entirely off base in principle, particularly those young patients in their 20s and 30s seeking to preserve their youth. Dosing notwithstanding, addressing aging early and appropriately is effective in maintaining a youthful appearance relative to age. We live in an era in which cosmetic procedures are ubiquitous, little shame is associated with injectables, lasers, and fat augmentation, and an increasing number of women and men are seeking cosmetic care.

Subtle is the ideal

Ideally, the highest quality cosmetic work is the work no one can tell happened. The slow march of aging starts as early as our 20s with volume loss, fine lines, lentigines, redness, and other signs of maturing skin, subcutaneous tissue, and bone. Artfully dispensing small volumes of filler into areas of facial volume loss and bony resorption stave off the “deflating balloon” appearance of overlying skin and maintain youthful contour, while dosing neurotoxins to relax muscle activity can prevent deep wrinkles from ever forming. We can employ tightening radiofrequency, ultrasound, and heat based devices to preserve elasticity, and utilizing lasers to eliminate red and brown spots, improve acne scarring, and resurface the skin together all lead to a fresher, rejuvenated appearance indicative of adequate rest, healthy diet, and quality skin care without screaming “I’ve had work done!”

Inform your patients

Rather than turning away younger patients or encouraging them to wait because “you don’t need it yet,” judicious early use of the cosmetic treatments at our disposal can subtly and positively augment the aging process. When initiating treatment, baseline photographs and before/after photos of each procedure are crucial to maintain perspective over time, because this isn’t work that necessarily wants to be noticed. Educating patients on the goals and benefits of early treatment can and should lead to quality long-term physician-patient relationships.

Safety is first and foremost

Equally important for optimal cosmesis and safety in this age of medi-spas and non-care providers, patients should be encouraged to seek care from board certified dermatologists and plastic surgeons. Core cosmetic physicians are coming of age during a time when treatment options abound, and particularly via social media, our young peers are aware of many such options and interested. We’re no longer limited to neurotoxins, fillers, and lasers. Now tightening devices, minimally invasive fat augmentation, thread lifts, micro-needling, platelet rich plasma, and other treatments are available and appropriate for a wide range of patients. Numerous less aggressive treatments deployed in young patients also have minimal to no downtime, so our busy working and social patients can get back to their lives without missing a beat.

Small steps through the aging process

In an ideal world, rather than fighting to turn back the clock after significant aging has occurred in previously untreated patients, early and appropriate small steps through the aging process can be affordable, subtle, and lead to long term satisfaction with appearance. Our job as physicians should be to guide the process towards an optimal result at all ages, and we can start that process early with baby steps.