Aesthetic medicine has made massive advances in the last few decades. New technologies and techniques have made looking younger easier than ever before. There is a wide range of cosmetic procedures available to you today. It can be confusing figuring out which one is right for you. Some are better suited for men and women in a certain age range. Today, we're talking about the aesthetic treatments, both surgical and non surgical, that are best suited to people above 50 years of age.

Why Get Aesthetic Procedures?

People over the age of 50 are often dissatisfied with the way they look. This is the age when signs of aging start to become noticeable. Fine lines and wrinkles develop. Volume loss gives the face a sunken appearance. Sun damage takes its toll. Advancements in cosmetic medicine have made it possible for people over 50 to look younger than their age. 

Even a relatively simple procedure like a brow lift or eyelid surgery can produce dramatic results by opening up the eyes and brightening up your appearance. More invasive surgeries can make you look 10-12 years younger. Aesthetic procedures can reverse the signs of aging so you can go back to looking like you did a decade or more ago, boosting your self-confidence and making you feel good about yourself.

40: A Watershed Age for Cosmetic Procedures

Forty is when most men and women are in the prime of their life. It's an age when you're likely doing well career wise in middle or top-level jobs. It's also the age when the signs of aging start becoming obvious. This is a good age to be proactive about your appearance. Taking good care of your skin and addressing any problems that crop up in the 40s can ensure you keep looking your best into your 50s and beyond.  

Reversing the Aging Process with Aesthetic Treatments

If your confidence is taking a beating because of how old you've started looking, help is at hand. With the right aesthetic treatment, your face can look smoother, tighter, younger. The signs of sun damage like brown spots can be corrected, wrinkles can be filled, and your skin can be restored to a more uniform tone and texture by increasing collagen levels.

Cosmetic surgery doesn't have to be limited to the face alone with with eyelid surgery or facelifts. Surgeries like breast augmentation, breast lift, and tummy tuck can be done. Sagging skin on the hands, which is often a giveaway of your age, can be corrected. Aesthetic surgeons can address concerns in virtually any part of the body.

If you're not quite ready to go under the knife, non invasive and minimally invasive treatments are available. Dermal fillers like hyaluronic acid, commonly called the youth serum, and neurotoxin injections like Botox can help to hide the obvious signs that announce to the world you're 50+.

With the right treatments, your skin and body can look the best they ever have. Your surgeon can help you decide what type of work you need done, depending on your problem areas, which most commonly are the face, hands, breasts, abdomen, thighs, and buttocks.

Cosmetic Procedures Best Suited for 50+ Skin with Signs of Aging

The type of treatments your plastic surgeon will recommend will depend on how much your skin has aged over the years. Lifestyle factors like an unhealthy diet, excessive sun exposure without protection, lack of sleep, working swing shifts, and genetically thin skin are some of the things that contribute to faster aging. In some people, the use of certain medications like steroids can lead to a loss of collagen in the dermal layer of the skin, causing more rapid aging.  

A certain amount of degeneration in skin quality is expected with age, no matter how good your genes. But what many men and women are surprised to learn is just how dramatic an improvement in appearance cosmetic procedures can achieve. The key is identifying the right treatment and choosing a provider who understands your aesthetic goals.  

Can you get Botox in your 50s? Can you get a nose job at 50? Is a brow lift possible at 50? Yes, yes, and yes. What is the best procedure for aging skin? It depends on the type of damage your skin has suffered over time. Cosmetic procedures like fillers and injectables, chemical peels, microneedling, microdermabrasion, fat grafting, and PRP (vampire facial) are all worth considering. Your aesthetic provider or plastic surgeon will help you decide on the most appropriate ones.

Most Common Procedures in the 50s

If you're overwhelmed by the sheer variety of cosmetic treatments on offer, it may help to read about the ones that men and women in their 50s choose most commonly to stop aging in its tracks. Listed below are some of the common aesthetic treatments and surgeries performed in people over the age of 50.

1. Eyelid lift
2. Facelift
3. Neck lift
4. Rhinoplasty
5. Forehead lift
6. Fillers and injectables
7. Microneedling
8. Platelet-rich plasma
9. Fat grafting
10. Chemical peels

Surgical vs Non-Surgical Cosmetic Procedures

In the list above, you’ll notice there's a 50/50 mix of surgical and non-surgical solutions. If you're squeamish about going under the knife, a non-surgical treatment can often achieve what you're after, such as skin tightening. Interestingly, the most talked about things like tummy tuck, breast lift, and brow lifts are not on this list, and procedures on the breasts don't make the cut either.

Understanding Contraindications - Are You a Candidate?

Not everyone is a candidate for every aesthetic treatment. For various reasons, your surgeon may not recommend a particular cosmetic solution to you. Paying heed to this advice is important. Failure to do so can result in serious medical complications, permanent damage, delayed healing, or prolonged recovery time.

If your doctor rules out a particular cosmetic treatment for you, don't lose heart. There is likely an alternative that can help you achieve equally good results without the risk. Given below is a list of common contraindications for the most popular aesthetic treatments.  

Eyelid lift

Psychological issues, dry eyes, eczema, psoriasis.

Facelift

Severe medical problems, physical or psychological. Cigarette smokers and people with medical concerns like hypertension and diabetes are at higher risk of complications after any type of surgery.

Neck lift

Serious heart, lung, or kidney problems, history of poor wound healing, bleeding disorders.

Rhinoplasty

Unstable mental status, previous rhinoplasty in the previous year, unrealistic expectations, cocaine users, poor pre-surgical risk profile.

Forehead lift

Deficiency of upper eyelid skin from previous surgery resulting in the lid not closing properly.

Fillers and injectables

Active skin infection, known allergy or hypersensitivity to filler ingredients including lidocaine.

• Juvederm: Pregnancy, breastfeeding, local inflammation, high likelihood of scar formation, previous use of another gel in the injection area, skin disorders in the target area, immune system dysfunction, intolerance to the components of the filler.
• Hyaluronic acid: Allergies to eggs or chicken, sensitivity to G+ bacteria, use of herbs that affect coagulation, people on blood thinners, including aspirin.
• Restylane: Multiple severe allergies, history of anaphylaxis, bleeding disorders, implants, G+ bacterial protein allergy/sensitivity.
• Botox: Pregnancy, myasthenia gravis, neurological conditions.

Microneedling

Active acne, rosacea, inflammatory conditions, open wounds.

Platelet-rich plasma

Sepsis, acute and chronic infections, chronic liver disease, blood thinner medications, low platelet count, metastatic cancer, skin diseases, blood disorders.

Fat Grafting

Lipid  metabolism disorders, severe chronic disease states, acute infection, organ failure, coagulation disorders, poor wound healing.

Chemical Peels

Open wounds, acute bacterial, viral (herpes) infections, history of using photosensitizing drugs, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, pemphigus, facial cancers (especially facial melanoma), carelessness about sun exposure, unrealistic expectations, history of abnormal scarring (keloids), isotretinoin use in the last 12 months, severely damaged skin, poor general health, heart disease (phenols can cause arrhythmias in some patients), poor kidney or liver function, use of blood thinners.

If you feel like you might have any of the contraindications mentioned above, make a note of them and be sure to discuss them with your provider.

Now, with that out of the way, we're going to list the top aesthetic treatments for people in their 50s. This will give you an idea about the benefits and whether the results are worth it for you. Remember, this is a brief overview and your aesthetic provider will discuss the recommended treatments in more detail with you.

Benefits of Aesthetic Treatments for 50+

Eyelid lift

Removes excess fat, muscle, and skin from the upper eyelids, reduces puffiness, reduces wrinkling of the lower lid, makes you look less tired, improves vision if droopy eyelids are obstructing vision, helps you look brighter, refreshed, and more youthful.

Facelift

Lift and tightens sagging skin, removes excess fat, gets rid of jowls, helps you look less tired and more energetic, corrects smile lines and frown lines, can take 10-12 years off, enhances confidence.

Neck lift

Smoothens the neck, eliminates lines and wrinkles, reduces excess skin, improves confidence and self-esteem, you don't have to hide sagging of the neck with a scarf anymore, reduces aging in the neck by a decade

Rhinoplasty

Changes the shape and size of the nose, reduces nasal tip and/or bridge, remodels the nostrils, corrects a deviated septum, improves breathing, balances facial features, reduces snoring, improves sleep, enhances profile photos, adds to self-confidence.

Forehead lift

Restores a natural arch to the eyebrows, reduce upper eyelid sagging, improves crow’s feet fine lines near the eyes, smoothens forehead creases, elevates and repositions the brows, can take up to 10 years off the face.

Fillers and injectables

Add volume and fullness to the face, instant results for more hydrated, plump, and youthful looking skin that looks rested and refreshed.

Microneedling

Reduces wrinkles and lines, fades scars, lessens signs of sun damage, shrinks large pores, reduces stretch marks, improves rosacea, improves acne.

Platelet-rich plasma

Improves chronic pain associated with musculoskeletal inflammation, helps heal sports injuries, regenerates tissues.

Fat grafting

Adds volume to areas with volume loss, gets rid of fat from areas where it is unwanted, gives a more youthful look by correcting hollowing and sagging tissues, fills in facial scars, gives an instantly more youthful appearance.

Chemical peels

Treats acne, shrinks pores, smooths, erases fine lines and wrinkles, fades sun spots, improves skin tone and texture.

When is the Right Time to Have Different Aesthetic Procedures?

You may be wondering if it's too soon or too late for a specific cosmetic treatment. Here's a quick overview that tells you when it is the right time to have an aesthetic procedure. 

Eyelids

Good time: When you start noticing hooding of the upper eyelid and can’t see the upper eyelid crease.

Too late: Even if there's severe sagging and visual disturbance, it's not too late.

Facelift

Good time: Anytime you look in the mirror and don't like what you see.

Too late: You have severe chronic medical conditions that make surgical procedures risky.

Neck lift

Good time: You feel embarrassed or self-conscious about your neck and have started wearing scarves or turtlenecks to hide it.

Not the right time: When you just had a facelift without a neck lift (you’ll have to wait until you heal from the facelift).

Rhinoplasty

Good time: You have problems breathing, you are embarrassed by the size or shape of your nose.

Not appropriate: If you have serious illnesses that preclude surgery.

Forehead lift

Good time: The upper part of your face looks tired, your eyes don’t look as bright and open as they did earlier. 

Not the right time: You just had a facelift without a forehead lift (you’ll have to wait until you heal from the facelift).

Fillers and injectables

Good time: You see old photos of yourself and find you have aged considerably with loss of facial volume under the eyes and in the mid face.

Too late: You have severe facial sagging that will need surgery to correct.

Microneedling

Good time: You would love to restore your skin to a smoother, more youthful appearance.

Not a good time: You have recently undergone other cosmetic procedures for smoother skin.

Platelet-rich plasma

Good time: You have pain or inflammation, you've heard about the vampire facial and want to try it.

Not a good time: You have active skin conditions like infection or skin cancer.

Fat grafting

Good time: You notice volume loss in the face giving it a hollow, sunken appearance.

Not a good time: You have had a facelift and fat grafting was not included.

Chemical peels

Good time: You want smoother skin with more even tone and texture.

Not a good time: You have recently undergone other aesthetic treatments for the skin.

The Bottom Line

The sixth decade of life is when you can really start to let your hair down and enjoy the fruits of your hard work. It's a shame if you have to go through this interesting period of life looking anything but your best. An aesthetic treatment or two can take the years away and no one will believe you’re over 50! With the wide range of treatments available, there's sure to be one that fits your needs.

The MeTime app makes it easy to connect with top-rated aesthetic providers in your area. You can chat, ask questions, do a video consult, and send photos across to receive recommendations. If you haven't already done so, try the MeTime app today!

References

• Lafaille, P. and Benedetto, A. Fillers: Contraindications, Side Effects and Precautions. J Cutan Aesthet Surg 2010 Jan-Apr;3(1):16-19. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2890129/#sec1-3title
• Granick, Mark S., M.D., FACS. Facial Fat Grafting, May 6, 2019. Medscape. https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1283020-overview
• Elston, Dirk M., M.D. Chemical Peels. Medscape. https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1829120-overview#a3