How long will your breast lift really last? – Tips and Skin Care after a Breast Lift Procedure
Everyone has unique skin structures. Your personal skin health is dependent on interactions between 5 key factors:
- internal – your genetics
- external – sun exposure/environmental exposures and your skin cares/skin protection efforts (or lack thereof)
- lifestyle choices – such as smoking and other substance use and nutritional decisions
- weight changes that stretch the skin, including pregnancy weight changes or post-weight loss skin retraction vs sagging
- your age (skin ageing processes) – the natural loss of thickness, vascularity, moisture and elasticity as we get older
Your Plastic Surgeon will examine your breast skin using several methods including palpitation and stretching. Your skin health and thickness is taken into consideration by expert Plastic Surgeons when planning for breast surgery, especially if you’re going larger in breast size (a breast augmentation) or higher in nipple location (a breast lift or breast reduction, or a breast lift with an implant – the Mastopexy Augmentation).
Read more about Breast Lift by Plastic Surgeons at Coco Ruby Clinic Melbourne.
Considering Breast Lift Surgery?
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How does your skin health impact whether you need a breast lift?
If you have young, firm taught breast skin then Breast Augmentation can help lift the breast provided it is done correctly – the right size and right placement position. The Lifting effect will typically last from five years to a decade or more. That noted, every patient varies, and your skin will age over time, so do expect some skin ageing and sagging over time – it’ll happen with or without breast implants.
If you have a breast lift without implants, then your results will vary according to how healthy or resilient your skin is, how thick it is, and how well you look after your skin.
Do I need to wear a Bra after having a breast lift or implants?
- Many Surgeons are adamant patients should wear a strong, good support bra 24/7 after having an augmentation, breast lift or breast reduction to improve the longevity of results and avoid unnecessary stretching or sagging of the breast skin.
- This breast augmentation or breast lift advice does NOT mean you can never go bra-less ever – nor wear a flimsy bra or sexy lingerie – but the key is to keep those breasts supported as much as possible.
If you choose NOT to wear a good support bra/sports bra after your breast augmentation or breast lift – and/or IF you gain or lose a lot of weight over time – your breast surgery results are NOT going to last as long as they might have lasted.
Avoid reducing the long-term benefits of a Breast Lift Surgery
Changes will occur, however, in the appearance of your breast lift or breast augmentation if any of the following occur:
- your weight changes
- you get pregnant
- you smoke or engage in substance use
- your nutrition is poor
- you have an illness
The degree of skin strength – how much it sags – and how empty-looking the skin appears –
- If your level of skin ptosis is mild to moderate, then you may be able to have a breast augmentation on its own, to fill out empty-looking breasts or to make your breasts larger, fuller or more shapely in size.
- If you have more moderate to severe ptosis, meaning your nipples are pointing downwards or your skin is very low in resiliency/strength, an augmentation will make your sagging worse because you’d be asking your sagging skin to hold more weight.
How does skin health impact how long a breast lift or breast augmentation will last?
- Young healthy skin will have strong internal structures and good circulation (vascularity).
- This means it gets good nutrients from the blood during circulation, including oxygen, and that it has adequate thickness, moisture and resiliency (firmness vs stretch).
- However, everyone’s skin is different.
- Your genetics and ethnicity and even gender can impact how thick your skin is, and its tendency towards scarring or pigmentation.
- The thinnest skin on your body is usually your eyelid skin.
- The thickest skin on your body is usually the soles of your feet and your palms.
Breast skin – because it carries weight forward of the torso of the body – may eventually sag due to breast weight, skin ageing and the genetic and environmental factors listed above.
That’s why many Plastic Surgeons – but not all – are adamant that wearing a good support bra or sports bra is imperative to keep your breasts from drooping or sagging or bottoming out. Find the Best Bra Shopping Places in Melbourne & Sydney here.
So when you wonder how long surgery will last, your skin is certainly one of several key factors that determine the longevity of your breast lift surgery or breast augmentation results. So read our top-rated blog on breast skincare advice after a breast lift or breast augmentation.
- Your breast skin health is one of many aspects your Surgeon examines during your breast surgery consultation (order a Surgery Procedure/Consultation Guide to know what to expect).
- Your skin’s strength/firmness, composition, vascularity and thickness are all factors that can impact the success or failure of your breast lift or breast augmentation operation.
- So it’s important that you understand what you can DO to improve your skin health BEFORE and AFTER surgery, so that you can get a longer-lasting result.
Everyone’s skin is unique – depending on skin surface lipids, epidermal skin hydration, skin elasticity and skin thickness.
These include the quality of your skin’s strength, it’s firmness and resiliency, and it’s thickness.
- Your breast skin is a KEY factor that determines the success of a breast augmentation or breast lift.
- Breast ptosis (sagging)? The condition of your skin if you have breast sagging, can mean that a breast augmentation won’t last long before further sagging occurs; you may be better off with a breast lift instead, or more likely, a breast lift with an augmentation (either as two separate procedures or as a combined operation).
How to take care of your breast skin to make your Breast Augmentation or Breast Lift last longer
1. Take care of your skin
Skin elasticity has a lot to do with your genetics. That being said, you help improve skin elasticity. First and foremost, you should avoid prolonged exposure to the sun. Overexposure can cause the skin’s texture to change and lose elasticity causing wrinkles and sagging skin. Natural supplements like vitamin C and E have been shown to help promote and improve skin elasticity.
2. Avoid weight fluctuation
Rapid weight gain and loss is never a good thing for any cosmetic surgical procedure and can have negative effects on breast lift results. Weight should be carefully controlled and maintained in order to achieve the best and longest-lasting results. Seek a breast lift only after you have reached and sustained your target weight, then sustain that weight by continuing to follow a healthy lifestyle.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding also affect the results of a breast lift. The breast tissue goes through many changes during pregnancy and breastfeeding, so I encourage individuals to seek these types of surgeries only after they have finished having children, stopped breastfeeding and have achieved their weight goals.
3. Wear proper Breast support
Whether or not you are a fan of the bra, the fact of the matter is they will help extend the life of your breast lift procedure. Wearing ill-fitting bras or foregoing them all together can cause your breasts to sag faster than usual. This is especially true when you engage in physical activity as the increased impact and movement will increase the effects of gravity on your breast tissue. Do your breasts a favour and invest in the right bra to support and preserve your breast lifts results.
Your plastic surgeon will provide you with detailed guidelines that should be followed to help maintain the integrity of your procedure. Researching, discussing, and deciding on a surgical technique that you and your surgeon agree is best for your goals is going to be critical to your breast lift success. Talking to your surgeon about the expectations and outcomes they have seen in their own practice can help you decide on your personal breast lift plan. Every person is different as are their results but following the tips above can assist in extending the longevity and integrity of your breast lift preserving your rejuvenated look.
