In this world of Toddler’s and Tiara’s, we certainly like to start the girls fretting about their appearances early. Really early. Waaay too early.

From eyebrow waxing at age 5, to dieting at age 8, to a full-out reconstructive redux at 23 – the world of reality TV never fails to “entertain” (read: horrify), and also serves as a cautionary tale. Are we so obsessed by youth-culture that a gal must start aggressive anti-aging treatments and even more drastic measures before she’s even hit the quarter-century milestone?

The answer is yes. And no. And also maybe. A recent issue of Marie Claire magazine, writer Erin Flaherty delves into the taboo of ‘how young is too young’ in an article entitled “Forever Young.” It seems there is no “magical” number in regards to what age-milestone one must reach before prevention turns to procedural intervention.

In the article, a plastic surgeon of some note eschews the age question all together. When asked, “what age is appropriate for, you know, getting procedures done?” – the good doctor ponders and then responds, “It’s the minute something bothers you.”

Screeeeeech… But wait? Doesn’t that put the decision-making wheel firmly into our own TV/tabloid-scarred hands?! Yes, Virginia. It does.


It seems that young ladies are jumping earlier and earlier onto the cosmetic intervention bandwagon. According to our very own American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Botox procedures over the past decade have doubled in the 19 to 34 year-old demographic, and another study found that youngun’s between the ages of 18 and 24 approve of jumping up on the surgery slab. So, again, we’re left to ponder how young is too young? Start to early and you end up looking 36 when you’re 25 (sadly, ala Lohan), start too late and the damage is harder to reverse (if at all possible.) It seems the question at hand is whether we’re at all capable of making the “when” decision in our current cultural of youth-obsession and self-consciousness.

I was once told by a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon of note (read: reality show star) that I should start considering a lower face-lift at the tender age of 32. Naturally, I high-tailed it out of his office, but don’t think that I didn’t go home and tug my face into what I thought the outcome of such a drastic procedure might be.

Flaherty did get the good doctor to cough up a little more info. While sticking to his guns that aging was not necessarily chronological, he did go so far as to admit that things do “divert dramatically starting at 30.” *sob.

It seems the rule of thumb is that the younger the patient, the less-invasive the procedure. If aging does indeed start with uneven pigmentation, enlarged pores and fine lines – then the sooner you start to address these flaws (I use this word gingerly) – the easier they are to treat.

Doctors universally agree that nothing (N-O-T-H-I-N-G) serves as an anti-aging solution better than a generous and daily slathering of SPF, but most also recommend that a topical treatment of Retin-A begin in your 20’s (30 at the latest), and for those that “really want to tidy up” a resurfacing date with a Fraxel treatment is of great benefit. The pull is that, while studies of the laser seem to point to it’s ability to reduce precancerous tissue and growth, it ain’t cheap (about $1,500 clams) and is naturally not covered by insurance.

Other early-preventative procedures include a sparing use of injectibles like Botox, Restylane and Perlane to stave off crowsfeet, nasolabial folds and those genetic between-the-brow horns – but on the other end of the rule of thumb is that the younger you start the more sparing your doctor or experienced technician must be.

In the end, it seems the question isn’t just how young is too young. It’s also how much is too much, and what is right for you – and the answers aren’t going to come from the TV, the tabloids or the terrifyingly air-brushed and underage magazine models. It’s going to come directly from the boss… you.