Many people would argue that the winter months following New Year’s are in fact the most horrible time of the year. With the biting cold in full swing and the lack of time spent outdoors causing many of us to feel stir crazy or develop seasonal affective disorder (or SAD), the winter months can be long and dull. But don’t think that just because there’s nothing to do outdoors you can’t start getting ready for the fun things to come this spring and summer. In fact, winter is the perfect time to schedule many plastic surgery procedures and be healed up in time to show off your results by the time the temperature starts to rise!

Breast Augmentation

You may not realize it, but winter is an excellent time to schedule your breast augmentation procedure. What better excuse to hang out inside and relax during these colder months? Best of all, if you book your surgery while it’s still cold out, you should be completely healed up by summer – just in time for swimsuit and sundress season.

Abdominoplasty

Many people are surprised when they realize just how complicated healing from an abdominoplasty can be. In addition to a very wide scar, most patients will experience pain and tightness in the abdomen that will restrict their range of motion. In fact, some patients cannot stand fully upright for about a week after surgery because of this pain. Not only can the recovery be painful, but it can also seriously limit your activities – including working out, doing abdominal exercises and, yes, even swimming.

So, before you dream of showing off that new slim midriff at the beach, make sure you’ve allocated enough time to heal and actually enjoy the water. Winter is the perfect time to have this procedure and still be ready for summer.

Liposuction

Liposuction may not seem like that serious of a procedure, but many liposuction procedures can be extremely painful and require the use of a drain. While this drain is easy to hide under a bulky sweater, it’s pretty much impossible to hide under the lighter, more fitted clothing we wear in the summer. Not only that, but with an open incision from drain removal as well as a limit on physical activity, you probably won’t feel much like getting outside and being active, which can put a damper on your summer plans.

For men and women considering plastic surgery for events like summer weddings, healing from liposuction can even complicate wedding attire and celebrating. Swelling from abdominal liposuction as well as from abdominoplasty can affect the size of your clothing, making dress and tuxedo fittings difficult. With the average person taking about four to six months to arrive at their final size, it can be hard to estimate how little or how much taking in your wedding attire may need. And even if you do get a good fit, you can still experience some discomfort for up to four to six months after the procedure, which can make dancing or jumping for a bouquet too painful to attempt.

Fillers / Facials

While facial fillers have a relatively fast recovery time (about a week), residual bruising can last several weeks following your procedure and can be difficult to cover with makeup – especially if you plan on swimming, sweating or being photographed. Many people try fillers for the first time when they are playing a significant role in a wedding. But if you try it too close to the wedding date and aren’t happy with the results, there’s not a lot that can be done to correct it. Bad reactions to fillers and facial procedures are rare, but they’re not unheard of – and cutting it too close to a special event can sometimes result in showing up to that event with hives, redness or raw skin. Not a great look.

For people trying microdermabrasion or a CO2 facial, we advise you to stay out of the sun for up to six weeks following some procedures. That means if you’re planning on heading to the beach, you’ll need to put those plans on hold, or schedule your facial well before or well after beach season. The same applies to makeup. While cosmetics can mask some of the redness left behind from these procedures, we advise you to avoid using makeup on your face for at least two to three weeks, and for some people that still may not be enough time. Redness from treatments can last up to a year depending on your skin tone, so makeup may be an absolute must if you are particularly fair.

That being said, if you have an event coming up, it is definitely recommended that you schedule your procedure at least a full month or more before your big day. This will give your skin a chance to heal enough to feel comfortable in makeup as well as protect your skin from any damage makeup may cause your skin during the critical first few weeks after the procedure.

For more information about which procedures are best scheduled in the winter, give Dr. Chau’s office a call at 888-966-9471.