When’s the Right Time for Plastic Surgery? The Short Answer—When You’re Ready.

Katherine B. Santosa

The calendar on the wall is a terrible consultant.

It doesn’t know your anatomy. It doesn’t know your life. Yet, the idea of a "perfect age" for plastic surgery persists anyway. It floats around in comment sections and unsolicited advice from relatives. You're told you are too young for a facelift. You worry you're too old for a tummy tuck.

The reality is more subtle and a lot more personal.

Plastic surgery is not a rigid timeline. It's a decision based on tissue, structure, and emotional readiness. I've performed breast reduction surgeries on teenagers because the physical weight was causing spinal issues. I've performed facelift surgeries on eighty-year-olds who simply wanted to recognize the woman in the mirror.

The best age is irrelevant. The state of your body and mind is what should dictate your surgery schedule.

Realistically, as long as you feel like you're ready for surgical intervention, and you're confidently doing it for yourself (not to "benefit" or appease someone else), surgery is a viable option for you now. Of course, there are a few stipulations when it comes to safety and biology, but as long as you check the necessary boxes, it doesn't matter how young or old you are.

Popular Procedures & Typical Timelines At a Glance

The "Too Young" Myth

TikTok warns you that touching your face before twenty-five is a disaster because you're "still growing."

This is only a half-truth. We obviously don't operate on children with active growth plates. But specific plastic surgery procedures are actually designed for younger patients.

Take rhinoplasty. Once the nose reaches adult size, usually around fifteen or sixteen for girls, the cartilage is stable. Waiting until thirty doesn't change the bone structure. If a dorsal hump affects your confidence or breathing, there's no medical reason to delay the surgery.

Male breast reduction and otoplasty follow similar rules. If the tissue is fully developed, the surgery is safe.

Breast augmentation is different. I'm strict here. Saline implants are FDA-approved for women 18 and older; silicone implants for those 22 and older. I prefer patients to be physically mature, because we need to make sure your breasts are fully developed before introducing breast implants. We want the breasts to be stable. If you augment breasts that are still changing, the results shift.

The Mommy Makeover Window

The pressure to "snap back." The urge to schedule a tummy tuck barely six months postpartum.

Please, wait. I rarely advise patients to undergo plastic surgery if they are planning more children. A mommy makeover, typically comprised of different procedures like a tummy tuck, liposuction, and breast augmentation or breast lift, is restorative. It repairs damage. Pregnancy stretches the muscles and skin. If you have another baby after surgery, you undo the repair.

It takes time for hormones to settle and for the uterus to shrink.

If you rush into plastic surgery, complications increase. I ask many patients to wait at least six months to a year after stopping breastfeeding. Your weight loss must be stable. We are tightening the abdominal wall and removing excess skin. If your weight fluctuates significantly after the procedure, the skin elasticity is compromised. Plastic surgery patients who wait until their family is complete see the most durable results.

Facial Aging: Maintenance vs. Rescue

"Wait until it’s bad enough to fix."

That's the old philosophy. Modern plastic surgery favors maintenance.

Signs of aging appear at different rates. Some patients develop extra skin over the eyelids in their thirties. Others maintain a crisp jawline into their fifties.

If you wait until there's deep laxity in the neck, the procedure required to fix it becomes aggressive. A facelift performed in your late forties or early fifties often yields a more natural look than one performed in your seventies. The tissues are healthier. The recovery process is smoother.

We can address volume loss with dermal fillers, but fillers can't correct sagging skin. When the skin loses its snap, surgical intervention like a facelift or forehead lift is the only effective solution.

The Winter Strategy

"Summer bodies are made in winter."

This is practical advice. The winter months are objectively the best time to schedule major surgery.

Liposuction, body contouring, and tummy tucks require compression garments for several weeks. These are thick, tight, and uncomfortable in the Atlanta heat. In winter, they provide warmth.

Fresh scars must also be protected from UV exposure. Recovering when the days are short protects your investment. Most plastic surgeons are busiest in December and January for this reason. If you want breast augmentation or a mommy makeover, you'd benefit to plan ahead. But while this is a good general guideline, it is not a firm rule. If you're reading this in the middle of summer and you're finally ready for that nose job, eyelid surgery, or any other procedure, schedule a consultation. It never hurts to have all the details personally tailored to you.

Are you actually ready for a plastic surgery procedure?

Even though I stress that, as long as it's safe to do so, you should get surgery as soon as you feel like you want it, getting plastic surgery to reinvent your life is not a good idea.

I can repair muscle separation. I can remove loose skin. I can not repair a marriage or fix self-esteem that is broken at the core.

The right plastic surgeon assesses your motivation as carefully as your anatomy. A qualified plastic surgeon ensures expectations are grounded.

You're ready for plastic surgery when you want to align your physical appearance with your internal self. You're ready when you understand that surgery involves downtime. It involves discomfort and potential scarring.

A General Guideline For Timing Your Cosmetic Procedures

There are many popular choices for plastic surgery available, from nose reshaping to body contouring. But popularity doesn't imply urgency.

Do not let a trend dictate your timeline.

Plastic surgery can be a life-changing experience, and you shouldn't jump into an experience without the proper, realistic expectations. The best age for plastic surgery is the age at which you have done your research, found a board-certified plastic surgeon, and have a clear goal. Whether you're twenty-five, considering breast implants or sixty-five considering a facelift, the criteria remain the same.

Are you healthy? Are you doing this for yourself? Do you understand the recovery process?

If the answer is yes, then you're ready.