Doctors Predict the Biggest Aesthetic Trends for 2024

Goodbye, 2023—and goodbye, Instagram face! Trends in aesthetics come and go, and looking like everyone you see while scrolling through your social media feeds is just one of the fads we’re seeing fade away. As we look to the New Year, doctors are observing a rise in specific requests from their patients that they expect to only increase throughout 2024. Here, experts share the top treatments and techniques they’re seeing and using in their offices, from new resurfacing devices to a return to a more natural look.

Prejuvenation over restoration

“The notion of facelifts being exclusive to those over 50 is changing. My practice attracts a growing number of Gen Z and millennial patients who are interested in maintaining their youthful appearance, or ‘prejuvenation.’ Surgical facelifts, which can be combined with other surgical procedures such as blepharoplasty and buccal fat removal as well as nonsurgical treatments, are becoming more attractive to younger adults who want to stay ahead of the aging process or are genetically predisposed to premature aging.” —Dr. Jennifer Levine

Embracing weight-loss shots… and treating their side effects

“The new FDA-approved medication for weight loss, Zepbound, is going to be all the rage in 2024. Zepbound [the diabetes drug Mounjaro but recently approved under this new brand name for obesity] works in a similar way to the more well-known Ozempic medication by activating receptors in your gut to help you to feel full and satiated after a meal. This leads to less overeating and improved regulation of glucose and insulin levels in your body. Additionally, recent clinical trials have shown Zepbound to be more effective at weight loss than Ozempic, with many patients experiencing a lower risk of side effects. Zepbound has also been found to be an alternative medically assisted weight-loss option for patients who are considered ‘nonresponders’ to Ozempic. The average weight loss in the clinical trials was 48 pounds. In patients without diabetes, the amount of weight loss was 23%, while for those with type 2 diabetes, it was 16%.” —Dr. Brandon Richland

“Ozempic causes global weight loss. Patients are sometimes losing fat they’d rather keep—think face, breasts, and buttocks—and even muscle and bone mass. We are designing custom approaches, to address individual concerns. Fat transfer to the face, breasts, and buttocks is big, with the goal of restoring a natural aesthetic, not to exaggerate contours. Muscle toning treatments like Emsculpt Neo are helpful here too.” —Dr. Darren Smith

“With New Year’s weight-loss resolutions around the corner, 2024 will see an increase in the use of semaglutide. As with any rapid weight loss, semaglutide users may discover the undesirable side effects of sagging skin and appearance of volume loss—Ozempic butt, Ozempic body, and Ozempic face. When creating a body-contouring plan that includes semaglutide, I regularly incorporate Emsculpt Neo, Emface, and/or Emtone, to mitigate skin laxity and the appearance of volume loss. While nonsurgical treatments can be effective in addressing mild to moderate laxity and volume loss in specific areas, a surgical facelift can address moderate to severe skin laxity in multiple areas at the same time, delivering desired results such as a contoured jawline and smooth neck.” —Dr. Levine

Excitement around exosomes

“Part of the groundbreaking development that is regenerative aesthetics, exosome therapy is addressing hair loss—a challenge that affects over 80 million Americans—more effectively than ever before. I incorporate exosomes into treatments that include platelet-rich plasma and microneedling, along with an at-home protocol of Nutrafol, for optimal results.” —Dr. Levine

“Exosome therapy utilizes unique regenerative messenger molecules and growth factors to provide many benefits, such as improved skin appearance, cellular regeneration and repair, and collagen production… enhancing recovery after surgical and nonsurgical procedures such as Morpheus8, microneedling, CO2 laser, dermal peels. Exosomes make the 2024 aesthetic trends list due to the increase in availability and reduced cost as technology improves. I recommend all my patients to use exosomes to speed up recovery and enhance results after Morpheus8 treatments.” —Dr. Richland

A return to the natural aesthetic

“After a period of more extreme artifice, there is absolutely a movement ongoing toward a more natural aesthetic. This applies to nonsurgical treatments and procedures as well as surgical procedures like facelifts. We will continue to see the contouring of high-definition liposuction and athletic definition versus just debulking of fat, focused on proportion and a more natural finished product.” —Dr. Charles Galanis

“Breast implants are smaller, facelifts are getting less extreme, and liposuction goals are toned rather than tiny.” —Dr. Smith

“We are expecting that 2024 will be the year of the tone up but glow down—adopting the 2023 trend of quiet luxury, with more subtle and natural improvements. Filters and exaggerated, homogenized Instagram faces and extreme bodies overloaded us. Years on Zoom drove patients to push their lines and lips to the limits. The new generation of tools and in-office devices can provide ongoing, natural improvements—in many cases, without scalpel or syringe. We are going to see more newer and improved combination therapies that offer more tissue remodeling and natural, visible improvements with desirable outcomes that we expect to move the pendulum back from excess. Contouring will be less severe and softer. More individualized beauty shines through when we treat each patient’s signature features and build a program with their individual beauty in mind rather than treating to a trend, which has been done to excess.” —Dr. Ava Shamban

“Gone are the days of looking too pulled, tight, large, or unnatural. One of the top trends in 2024 will be the emergence of natural plastic surgery. Looking your best but still looking like you. Many patients are looking to achieve their goal results without looking like they have any external signs of plastic surgery. This may involve new minimally invasive techniques as well as aesthetic devices such as Morpheus8 that can achieve results without a scar. This is not something all plastic surgeons specialize in, so make sure to check your surgeon’s before and after results as well as ask questions about this topic during your consultation.” —Dr. Richland

Sleeker, safer BBLs

“BBL is here to stay, but we expect the procedure is moving toward more proportionate, complementary, and natural results rather than exaggerated outcomes. Since the task force’s findings addressing mortality from injecting into the gluteal muscle, intramuscular injections have been abandoned. and there has been an implementation of new guidelines so the procedure is safe, with minimal complications or mortality similar to other procedures as it continues to gain in popularity.” —Dr. Galanis

Updated injectables

“We will see skin boosters like Juvéderm Skinvive used to smooth skin and boost hydration at a more superficial level, offering refreshed, bouncy, and glowing skin. Long-lasting toxins like Daxxify, which is still in its infancy in the marketplace, will have a prime place—the product is excellent.

“Cocktail-style boosting like Aquagold, a more superficial microneedling procedure, can deposit HA [hyaluronic acid] and a custom cocktail of filler or neuromodulator into the top layers of the epidermis, to create a smoother texture and improve pore size as well as tackle fine lines and wrinkles and reduce redness. The treatment creates a natural-looking outcome and plumping effect.” —Dr. Shamban

Revitalized skin resurfacing

“New energy devices like Tixel are taking center stage in practice. Tixel is first-in-class thermal-mechanical action technology for skin resurfacing for all skin types. It is a noninvasive novel nonablative and ablative fractional skin-treatment system that targets acne, texture, and tone issues. It rejuvenates skin by stimulating new collagen to improve skin quality and scarring as well as the crepiness of lines and wrinkles around the eyes and on the eyelids. Tixel is not a laser using light and heat formats, nor is it a radiofrequency microneedling device. It transfers thermal energy to skin quickly, safely, and effectively.” —Dr. Shamban

Improved contours sans surgery

“In terms of energy-dependent devices, Renuvion is the best-in-class device, using helium and radiofrequency energy to remodel collagen and elastin to tighten the tissue and overall skin appearance. It will continue to be the leading energy device in tissue tightening for the body. It is a safe device that delivers great results when used with proper techniques on the right candidates. It can be used alone, however, using in tandem with Vaser liposuction will result in the most tissue retraction.” —Dr. Galanis 

“We are continuing to push the limits of technology to get superb body-contouring results without long incisions or extended downtime. Vaser and BodyTite are helping many patients achieve toned tummies in a whole new way.” —Dr. Smith

“Micro-coring treatments like Ellacor use hollow needles to remove tiny sections, or ‘cores,’ in the skin in a tiny pattern to improve sagging and laxity. It has shown great promise, and new studies are in process for scarring, laxity in the abdomen, and rhytides [fine lines and creases] in the midface to lower face—this new technology can deliver exceptional improvement in this area.” —Dr. Shamban

Cellulite treatment that works

“Cellulite has always been a difficult problem. There finally seems to be a reliable way to dramatically improve the appearance of dimpling cellulite. Avéli is a minimally invasive procedure that can be done with local anesthesia. It is distinguished from earlier cellulite treatments by the fact that it directly destroys the fibrous tissue causing the problem and allows for immediate verification of success.” —Dr. Smith

“Avéli shows great promise where other treatments and protocols have failed… with minimal downtime. Immediately, the skin will begin to appear smoother—patients will see the final result within a few weeks to a few months. It can be done in the office or in conjunction with another procedure under general anesthesia in the OR. This procedure will continue to become more popular in the coming year.” —Dr. Galanis