When should you do your cosmetic treatments?

Big event coming up? When should you do your cosmetic treatments?

Do you have a high school reunion or a family wedding in the near future?

You want to look your best and you know that no amount of skin treatments will make any significant difference. So you decide to take the plunge and go for a consultation with a cosmetic doctor or consultant to discuss some injectable fillers.

Then it occurs to you that maybe you didn’t leave enough time and when should you have made that first call?

Okay, let’s work it out.

It could take you 1-3 weeks to get in to see the cosmetic injector of your choice for a time that also fits your schedule, so let’s say 2 weeks from your call until your first appointment.

If you were ready and determined to get your treatment on the same day as your consult, great, but not every clinic lets you do that. Unless you are booking an actual treatment and not a consult with the ‘possibility of treatment’, the general routine is, come for a consult, go home, think about it or book in for your treatment on the way out. Now we’ve added an extra week to coordinate your schedules and get back into that doctor. 3 weeks.

Now you are in for your treatment and you have to be prepared that all injectables have a risk of some bruising and it is possible for you to need 2 weeks for that to disappear if it happens. That’s 5 weeks.

Neuromodulators can take 2-10 days to fully take effect so, we’re still okay with the 5-weeks-ahead time frame.

However, there is a good chance that on your 2 weeks recommended follow up after your treatment, that you might want to get a little more filler in your cheeks or what if you get a minor peaking of your eyebrows and we need to put in a few more units of Botox to relax that peak? Then you are back to leaving another 2 weeks before your big day to be safe, in case you bruise this time.

So the date for your first call is now pushed back to 7 weeks ahead of your event.

Of course, if a clinic isn’t too booked up and you can get in quickly, have the treatment on the same day, not get any bruising and at your 2 week follow up, you don’t need any adjustments…then hey, 3 weeks may be all you need.

As you can see, it’s a time risk if you are going to leave it that late.

If you also wanted to have some sun damage removed with IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) you’ll need two weeks for your pigmentation to slough off and no, you can’t do it on the same day as your Botox and fillers as the heat of the IPL may swell some areas making it difficult for the doctor to assess volume enhancement. Are you overwhelmed yet?

Here’s a chart to make the whole thing clearer. I’ve included Thermage for skin tightening, Sculptra as well as they are slow growing, collagen stimulators and the CoolSculpting for fat burning which will also take time to see results.

So this chart is from the day you call to make your consult, assuming you get in within 2 weeks, add 2 weeks until you have your treatment and then the time it will take to see your full results and you are ready to WOW your friends and family!