All plastic surgery involves some often tough but always very personal decisions. And breast augmentation surgery, or getting breast implants, is probably the most personal decision of all.
If you’re going to get breast implants, is there a “best age” for doing so? And if there is, what age is it? Can you be too young or too old for implants?
Girl do we get you! Since it’s such a personal decision, you’ll want to make it for yourself, and having all the information you can get your hands on will be helpful.
Below we look at what we believe is every single important factor to take into consideration in making your decision:
Table of Contents
1. Breast implants are an option after your breasts stop growing
Your breasts generally stop growing one or two years after your first period (or menarche), which for most women means age 18. Breast implants are FDA cleared for patients who are 18 or 21 years of age or older, so this point is typically not one you need to worry about.
2. Ages 30-39, 40-54, and 20-29 are the most popular ages for implants, and in that order
When it comes to your body and your reasons for considering breast augmentation, your decision is what matters. The ages at which other women most often get their breast implants may be helpful to know. Here are the percentages of women in 2020 who had breast augmentation at each age range:
| Patient Age | % of Total Breast Aug Patients |
| Ages 30-39 | 35% |
| Ages 40-54 | 28% |
| Ages 20-29 | 27% |
| Ages 55-69 | 7% |
| Before Age 19 | 2% |
| After Age 70 | 1% |
If we look at this same information another way, it says that:
- For every 10 women getting breast implants, 6 of them are younger than 40-years of age (i.e., are between the ages of 20 and 39).
- For every 10 women getting breast implants, almost 3 are between the ages of 40-54.
- After age 55, breast implants are very uncommon, with less than 1 in 10 women getting breast implants being in the 55-years-old and above category.
3. Breast implants typically need to be replaced within 8 and 15 years of placement
Since breast implants are not lifetime devices, the frequency at which they may need to be replaced is another factor possibly worth considering in your decision. Surgeons typically recommend that if there is nothing wrong with your breast implants, then they needn’t be replaced.
But on the average, breast implants are usually replaced for most patients within 8-15 years after they are first implanted.
If there is nothing wrong with a patient’s breast implants, even if the implants are older than 10 years, removal and/or replacement is unnecessary.
4. Significant life events
Some women opt to undergo breast augmentation surgery during a transition phase from one part of their life to another. You may find that if you’re about to transition to another career, or move to another state, that could be a great time to plan breast augmentation surgery around.
5. Adequate time for recovery
Recovering fully from breast augmentation surgery is usually a four-month process, though the bulk of the pain and discomfort is over within 7-10 days.
