Pushing age back

Botox injection is popular among young people in the United States. Katy Young, 28, receives an injection from cosmetic surgeon Steven Davis at Davis Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. [Photo/Agencies]

"I work in a salon where everyone is so pretty," says Ana Sheridan, 28, a stylist at Salon Christopher Angelastro in Washington township, New Jersey, who has been getting Botox every six months for two years.

"I have a big forehead, and I'm very expressive, and I just wanted to fix the wrinkles. I also have uneven eyes. One is slightly lower. Botox tied everything together."

Johnson estimates that the number of patients in the United States who regularly undergo noninvasive surgeries has doubled since 2012. However, she adds, the younger folks still make up less than 5 percent of the total number of patients.

For this particular segment of the in-office-procedure population, the face is the No 1 focus. But perhaps youth is also the most body-conscious. So there is a lot of experimentation with procedures that melt (SculpSure) or freeze (Cool Sculpt) away fat from the midsection, thighs, and of course, the butt.

Major advances in the beauty industry have made such procedures more acceptable to the younger generation, says Margo Weishar, dermatologist and founder of Derm Aesthetics.

Weishar, like many of the professionals interviewed, says she has had girls as young as 18 ask for Botox and filler information, but she gives them advice on how to better care for their skin (use sunscreen and stay moisturized) rather than start them on fillers and Botox so early.

"People want the work, and they will even talk freely about having it. They just don't want to look overdone," Weishar says.

Davis refers to the busy, under-30 Botox-and-filler business at Davis Cosmetic Plastic Surgery as boutique Botox applications, because only a fraction of the product typically used is required.

For example, someone in their 50s may need roughly 25 to 50 units or $400 to $700 worth Botox to sufficiently knock out the forehead wrinkles. But a younger patient looking for the same results may only need 15 to 25 units, or $200 to $400 worth of Botox.