Gifting beauty treatments to loved ones for the holidays has become a rather common way to show your affection. Yet, it comes with a slew of considerations – from how it is to be interpreted to procedures’ downtime – that require attention. To understand more about this hot trend, we talked to Dr. Kamakshi R. Zeidler of Aesthetx.

Gifting plastic surgeries for the holidays has become an ever growing trend in the last several years. Have you observed this spike at Aesthetx? How do you explain it?

Absolutely! The holidays are our busiest time of year. Many people have time off work, so it is a great time to undergo procedures where they will need the downtime to rest and recover. The holidays are also a time when people want to splurge a little – whether it’s on themselves or if they want to spoil a loved one.

What are some of the most requested procedures during the winter months?

During the Holiday gift-giving season, we mostly see spouses gifting one another surgical procedures since it really is such a personal and often private endeavor. That said, there are many non-surgical procedures, such as cool sculpting, which is a non-invasive fat reduction treatment that uses controlled cooling to eliminate “stubborn” fat that someone can’t lose with diet and exercise. Another popular treatment that is gifted during the holidays is Miradry. This is a treatment used to permanently get rid of underarm sweat and odor. Other non-surgical treatments that people like to gift include facial injectable treatments like Kybella to get rid of neck fat, and Botox for getting rid of forehead lines and crows feet around the eyes.

Aside from the gifting aspect of the holiday season, there are two procedures I recommend people wait and do during the winter months. These are laser treatments and sclerotherapy to get rid of leg veins. Since laser requires the patient to stay out of the sun and sclerotherapy requires the patient to wear leg support garments, winter is really the best time to have these done.

I’d also have to say that winter is a time of year when I see the most patients coming in body contouring procedures such as liposuction, fat transfers for the buttocks, breast augmentation and lifts, and abdominoplasty. Women are thinking ahead of how to get their bodies “bikini ready” for the summer and realize that these procedures will take some recovery time and a few months to see the final

What are some of the considerations that a plastic surgeon, future patient and gift giver should have when it comes to gift-card plastic surgery procedures? 

If someone is considering gifting any of these procedures, they should really keep in mind a few primary things. Your friend or loved one may appreciate being gifted a consultation as a way to open the door to explore opportunities of what they may want. A consultation is a great way to determine what is best for your gift recipient. We suggest that people also consider giving gift cards for a consultation, or for a general dollar amount so that each patient can come and choose what is best for their own needs. The most common gifting we see is between couples who splurge on each other at this time of year.

For those patients who schedule surgeries around the Holidays, I’m careful to make sure they are well aware of the recovery process so that they can give themselves the needed time to recover and have realistic expectations about how long it will take to see the final results. For breast procedures as example, it will take a few weeks before fitting into a New Year’s Eve dress. Facelifts and nose surgeries can cause swelling, which makes putting your best face forward for a holiday dinner unrealistic. This is why many patients choose to do these types of procedures six weeks before special events or right after the holidays.

What advice do you have for those who wish to have a treatment during the winter months?

Definitely plan ahead since it’s the most popular time of the year for plastic surgery. For those who want to have surgical procedures done before the end of the year, they generally need to see a plastic surgeon early – even up to three to six months before – to get on the schedule.

Dr. Zeidler practices in Silicon Valley, Northern California, and specializes in all types of  breast surgery. She is known for blending traditional cosmetic and reconstructive techniques together to achieve beautiful natural results.

View her profile and contact her here.