At What Age Can You Get the Best Rhinoplasty Results? (See Real Patient Photos)

A frequent question that is asked during a rhinoplasty consultation at my Orlando practice is, what is the best age to have a nose job?

The best age for rhinoplasty is generally age 16 to 35. The youngest age for rhinoplasty in women is age 15 and for a young man, it is age 16.

Why the difference? Typically, females mature faster than males, and we want to ensure that the growth plates are complete in the face which occurs at those ages above. It is also a good idea to avoid injury or contact sports following cosmetic rhinoplasty. I encourage patients to complete the required sports activities before they undertake a rhinoplasty. WebMD offers additional information about teens and rhinoplasty on its site.

Is there a nose job age limit?

There isn’t a top rhinoplasty age limit per se. There are some patients who wait for rhinoplasty until age 40 and older and still have very nice results. The oldest patient I have operated on for cosmetic rhinoplasty so far is age 84. The reasons my older patients often give for waiting are:

• I wanted to wait for my children to grow up.
• I had a sense of guilt about changing something that God gave me.
• I finally have the financial foundation to move forward with this cosmetic procedure.

Regardless, a cosmetic rhinoplasty to change the shape of the nose, remove a hump, straighten a crooked nose, or lift the tip and make it smaller are gratifying at any age and is extremely rewarding and life-changing for the patient. You can see why in our patients’ before and after photos below:

Who can have rhinoplasty surgery?

Providing the patient is in good health, age is really not a factor in determining who can be a rhinoplasty candidate. The majority of patients I take care of for nose jobs are teenagers or young adults. The beautiful thing about rhinoplasty is, for a small investment of time—usually 1 week—the nose and profile can be changed forever, which is a fantastic return on investment and hugely rewarding to me as a facial plastic surgeon.

Computer Imaging to See What Is Possible With Rhinoplasty

The featured image on this blog post is of an actual patient who was 16 years old at the time. Kristine had wanted a nose job since seventh grade when other children teased her about the size of her nose.

After meeting with Kristine and her parents, we performed computer imaging to show her an anticipated result. She was very excited, and we completed her nose surgery over the summer before she completed her next year of high school.

You can learn more tips for visualizing your perfect nose in our related blog post.

Whatever your age, if the shape of your nose bothers you or if you have some nose-related breathing problems, rhinoplasty might be an option. To find out whether your breathing or confidence can be restored with a nose job, contact our Orlando facial surgery practice. You can request a consultation using our online form, or you can call us at (407) 333-3040 to schedule an appointment.