Your Holiday Esthetic Treatment Timeline
If you want to look your best this holiday season, start an esthetic treatment plan now because waiting until November will be too late.
The smartest approach is to plan backward from Thanksgiving. Create a personalized treatment timeline to guarantee optimal results by the holidays.
Begin with an esthetic physician’s evaluation to assess your skin, facial structure, goals, budget, and available downtime to determine treatment recommendations for your greatest improvement.
September: Start the Foundation
Begin retinol or prescription retinoid to improve skin texture and fine lines. This can cause peeling, so start early.
Start all multi-session treatments now. This includes hair thickening, hair reduction, vein reduction, tattoo removal, and crepey skin improvement.
Collagen-stimulating treatments like microneedling, photofacials, and biostimulants, require at least 6 weeks for best results, so start now.
A medically supervised GLP-1 weight-management treatment can help you lose an average of 12 pounds by Thanksgiving. Lipolysis to shrink resistant fat deposits may also help.
Hormone optimization started now may help you with better energy and attitude for holiday stresses.
Laser skin resurfacing to improve fine lines and wrinkles, texture, and certain scars, can cause redness. Treatments should be a couple of months before holidays.
October: Build the Transformation
Begin pigmentation treatments—including IPL, chemical peels, and laser ablation. This provides time for your skin evenly tone before Thanksgiving.
October is the time for facial contouring and injectables, like Botox or Juvederm. The results will last through the New Year. Start early in case you need the results tweaked.
To refresh rough or sun-damaged skin, advanced chemical peels are great options, but they can cause skin shedding for a week, so schedule them early November at the latest.
For collagen-building treatments, there’s still time to acquire meaningful improvements before the holidays.
November: Refine the Design
Absorbable threads can lift sagging skin and brows with only 1 day of puffiness. The results can last 6 months to 2.5 years.
November is an excellent time for injectable muscle relaxants like Botox, Jeuveau, or Dysport. These treatments soften wrinkles and generally provide results that last through the holidays. Start early in case you need any adjustments.
To remove rough, dead skin without downtime, light chemical peels can be done until the second week of November, and if you have peach fuzz, Dermaplaning results last for a month.
For a treatment that provides immediate skin firming, hydration, and exfoliation, HydraFacial treatments can be done up until Thanksgiving guests arrive.
December: Maintain Your Glow
Don’t be tempted to schedule aggressive treatments like ablative laser
resurfacing or surgery in December. Treatments that produce immediate improvements in your skin without redness or bruising include HydraFacial, Microdermabrasion, Dermaplaning, LED Light Therapy, and Laser Genesis.
Schedule filler, threads, or wrinkle-relaxing injections at least 2 weeks before a social event, in case there’s any post-treatment bruising or swelling.
Remember, the goal is to look as stunning as possible and yet natural when the holiday season arrives.
Why a Physician-Based Practice Matters
A 360-degree esthetic transformation is never accomplished with a single treatment. It requires multiple, strategically-timed treatments. A physician-based practice with multiple lasers, injectables, state-of-the-art regenerative treatments, and professional skincare services offers the best chance to get the safest, best improvements.
- Dr. Cynthia Elliott, Skinspirations.com
