The $5,000-a-year face — the hidden long-term cost of aesthetic maintenance
So I just sat down and actually calculated what I’ve spent on aesthetic treatments over the past 18 months and honestly I’m a bit shocked. Between Botox touch-ups every 4 months, filler (just cheeks and under eyes), quarterly facials, and the occasional laser treatment, I’m looking at close to $5k annually. And my injector mentioned I’ll probably need to start adding neck treatments soon since I’m almost 40.
Don’t get me wrong, I feel great about how I look and it’s genuinely helped my confidence. But I’m wondering if anyone else has had that moment where you realize this isn’t a one-time thing, it’s basically a subscription service for your face? I’m on tirzepatide and losing weight has been amazing for my body but it’s definitely accelerated some facial volume loss, which is why I started fillers in the first place.
How do you all budget for this long-term? Do you prioritize certain treatments over others? I’m trying to figure out if I should just accept this is my new normal or if there are smarter ways to maintain results without the constant appointments.
Yep, this is so real. I’m 44F and had the same wake up call last year. What helped me was sitting down with my injector and creating an actual 12-month plan instead of just booking treatments reactively. We spaced things out more strategically and cut out stuff that wasn’t really moving the needle (pun intended lol). I dropped the monthly facials and just do them before big events now. Also switched to doing more preventative skincare at home with tretinoin which my derm says actually has better long term results than some of the laser stuff anyway. Still spending probably 3-4k a year but at least it’s planned for.
The GLP facial volume loss is no joke. I’m dealing with this too and it’s frustrating because I finally have the body I want but my face aged like 5 years in 8 months. My doctor mentioned that some people take breaks from filler to let their body kind of reset, but idk how realistic that is once you start. Curious what others think about that?
I actually went the opposite direction after doing the math like you did. Spent about 6k one year on injectables and realized I was chasing something that kept moving. Now I focus more on collagen supplementation, red light therapy at home (one time purchase of like $300), and honestly just accepting some changes. I still do Botox maybe twice a year for the 11s between my brows but that’s it. In my experience the mental shift of not trying to freeze time was harder than I expected but also really freeing? That said, everyone’s different and if it makes you happy that’s valid too.
Have you looked into any peptides for skin health? I know some people are experimenting with GHK-Cu and other options that might reduce how much filler you need over time. Not saying it replaces everything but could be worth researching. Also agree with SkinnyBudget about tretinoin, that stuff is legit and way cheaper than constant treatments. The subscription service comparison is spot on though, it really does feel like that once you start.