Plastic surgery

At what age can you have plastic surgery?

12 June, 2024 · Updated on 27 September 2026

Reviewed by Dr. Gustavo Sordo, plastic surgeon

What is a good age to undergo plastic surgery?

Many patients considering plastic surgery wonder what the appropriate age is for each type of procedure . It's very common for the question to arise during the initial consultation with a plastic surgeon: "What is a good age to have plastic surgery?"

Regarding the minimum age, our criteria are twofold: on the one hand, anatomical development , and on the other, the maturity of motivation . In rhinoplasty, we wait until facial growth has finished—around 16-17 years old in women and somewhat later in men—; in otoplasty , however, surgery can be performed from 6-7 years old, because the auricle reaches its final size early on, and avoiding the emotional strain of those years has real value.

Equally important is the origin of the request: personal motivation and realistic expectations are worth more than any age criterion. At the other extreme, we don't set an upper limit: what determines the procedure is the state of health and tissue quality, not the year of birth. And in breast surgery, we add two practical conditions: a stable weight and, if there has been pregnancy or breastfeeding, waiting a few months for the breasts to stabilize.

To answer this question, we need to take a brief look at the age groups:

Starting in childhood , the only plastic surgery we could perform on minors is otoplasty , following the recommendations of the Spanish Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery. When a child has protruding ears and is being bullied at school, with a prior psychological report, we can consider otoplasty surgery. By bringing the child's ears closer to the head, we can make them more aesthetically pleasing and free the child from this unfortunately common social problem. But most importantly, it not only helps prevent potential social problems, but otoplasty surgery in a minor is also considered completely safe.

To subject a patient to any of the other cosmetic surgeries, we should wait until they reach the age of majority . This is necessary, firstly, to allow for the completion of facial and bodily skeletal development, and secondly, to ensure the patient is an adult capable of voluntarily consenting to the surgery with all its medical and legal implications.

Thus, we see a pattern of the most requested surgeries according to the patient's age:

From adolescence and young adulthood onward, the most requested surgery is breast augmentation for women who have not developed any breasts and wish to correct this lack of development, which typically begins around age 16, 17, or 18. Liposuction is also a very common procedure in this age group . At this age, some fat deposits may appear in the trochanters and thighs, which the patient wishes to eliminate. Rhinoplasty is another frequent procedure . By this age, the nose is fully developed, and the presence of a bridge, hump, or drooping tip may make it aesthetically displeasing for the patient.

Between the ages of 25 and 45 , the main reason for consultation remains breast augmentation, although the context is different. Many of these women have already had children, have completed the breastfeeding period, and come to the clinic not to achieve breast volume that hasn't developed naturally, but to regain breast volume lost after childbirth, pregnancies, and breastfeeding. In this age group, we also find consultations for abdominoplasty and liposuction. Both procedures are related to regaining one's figure after pregnancies , which often cause a permanent change in body contour.

Furthermore, for those women who cannot regain their figure after childbirth as they wish, plastic surgery offers a procedure that solves this problem, the " Mommy Makeover ", which is a combination of 2 or 3 plastic surgeries, depending on the patient's needs, to restore the figure of the woman who has gone through one or more pregnancies.

In their 50s and 60s , patients seek consultation for facial rejuvenation . This is primarily for blepharoplasty, to remove excess skin from the upper eyelids and fat deposits from the lower eyelids. They also seek facelifts or neck and face rejuvenation surgery , with this being the most requested procedure in their 50s. However, these same patients also consult for breast augmentation and body contouring surgeries, though less frequently than in previous decades.

The distribution of demand for different surgeries changes with the patient's age. The plastic surgeon is responsible for addressing these needs.

At our Plastic Surgery Clinic in Madrid , Dr. Gustavo Sordo, a plastic surgeon in Madrid , has over 20 years of experience adapting each procedure to the specific needs of each stage of life.

Among the most requested surgeries at her practice are rhinoplasty in Madrid , ultrasonic rhinoplasty in Madrid , otoplasty in Madrid , breast augmentation in Madrid and mommy makeover in Madrid , always evaluating the most appropriate time for each patient according to their physical development and emotional maturity.