Those in the spotlight can’t afford to stay outside of it for long. Many are demanding near-immediate gratification following cosmetic surgery, pushing recovery time ever closer to zero. “There are some people who won’t settle for anything less” — or rather more — “than 12 hours of healing,” says Beverly Hills dermatologist Harold Lancer (Margot Robbie, Victoria Beckham, Christina Ricci, Kim Kardashian). “If they can’t have the procedure at 7 a.m. and look great at 8 p.m., they’re not happy. Other people will tolerate 36 to 48 hours of healing. Ninety-six hours is pretty much where it ends.” As a result, hard-core procedures that require long periods of recovery — such as CO laser resurfacing or extreme chemical peels, which require six to eight weeks — are becoming less popular. “The newest laser on the block is the AuraLux 2910,” notes Lancer, “which is highly maneuverable to almost zero healing downtime.”
In more and more cases, doctors are able to accommodate patients’ impatience. Simon Ourian says that his clients “want body shaping without downtime,” driving demand for “injectable butt contouring and energy-based skin tightening for abs and arms.” For her part, dermatologist Macrene Alexiades (Sienna Miller, Brooke Shields, Hollywood makeup artist Gucci Westman) increasingly turns to the new neurotoxin BoNT/E, in development by Allergen Aesthetics, for everything from liquid nose jobs and facelifts (often in combination with Botox) to a trend of injecting the trapezius muscle to improve the neck and shoulder line. Though its effects don’t last as long as Botox (about two to three weeks), it boasts a nearly immediate onset, measured in hours. “When we don’t have the luxury of waiting for Botox to kick in, this is great for treating my patients right before an event or if they are in front of the camera the next day,” she says.
This story appeared in the July 30 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.