Beauty content that shows how to take care of our face and achieve that glowing complexion floods our feeds, but taking care of our ageing skin and body below the chin is often neglected. Sydney’s institutional leader in aesthetics, Shape Clinic, adopts a more integrated approach thanks to plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Ania Olympia Smialkowski who discusses popular treatments below the neck that defy common trends and myths, writes Cameron Pine.

Proof that consumers are now looking for healthier long-term solutions for anti-ageing, we’ve seen an increase in those seeking to ‘use what they’ve got’ rather than add more artificial substitutes according to Shape’s leading plastic and cosmetic surgeon Ania Olympia.

Many skincare aficionados are clued up on the importance of treating your skin to maintain tightness and that ideal texture below the neck and chest skin, but trends now reveal that many seek out more significant enhancements later in life. While many feel that skincare and skin tightening routines are just for the face, the top three treatments in 2025 for below the face prove that the ‘quick fix’ is less about the implant and more about a more integrated and healthier approach to surgery in 2024.

The ‘Makeover’

Now considered so much more than just a breast implant or enhancement, there are a number of procedures women are requesting to address the changes they experience with ageing on their body. In younger post pregnancy women, their focus is often lifting and filling breasts (with implants or their own natural breast tissue) and repairing the muscle separation of the abdomen after pregnancy – commonly called the “mummy makeover”. 

Rather than the importation of synthetic or foreign materials, women are now becoming savvy with what they put into their bodies for the long-term. Reconstructing the core muscle separation does improve symptoms as well as contour that physiotherapy that exercise alone can’t address. Women in their menopausal years focus on procedures to deal with the sagginess of skin and changes in fat distribution, often combining abdominoplasty and a breast reduction or lift – often called the “menopause makeover”. Either way, the combination of procedures deals with restoring the contours of the breasts and body to rejuvenate their appearance with a much more holistic approach.

Breast Lifts

There seems to be an increase in the number of women wanting smaller breasts, and that includes breast reduction surgery as well as breast implant removal, otherwise known as explant surgery. It is also quite common for women to only want to use their own tissue in lifting and rejuvenating the breast shape, so fewer are asking for breast augmentation with implants.

“We now see many patients seeking a natural breast shape and a smaller size, most commonly in the B to C cup range. It has become much less common to see a patient seeking larger sizes,” Ania said. “Most women feel burdened by large or heavy breasts, and this includes breasts that have dropped significantly with age or after breast feeding. They can cause symptoms such as neck strain, shoulder and back pain, and discomfort exercising.”

Liposuction

Still a popular treatment for permanent results, liposeuction is still the best for targeted fat removal.

“Liposuction is still a popular procedure requested by patients of all types and lifestyles,” Ania said. “The most common areas that patients want to address are the abdomen, flanks and thighs. Liposuction is a technique we can use to improve the contour of certain areas and reduce areas of stubborn fat, but it is important to understand that it is not a procedure to lose weight.”

The best candidates for liposuction are healthy, fit patients who are close to their ideal weight and don’t have any loose or stretched skin, such as after pregnancy or significant weight loss. There are some innovative new technologies available to help tighten the remaining skin, such as ultrasound and radiofrequency, but, again, they have their limitations.

“If a patient has too much excess skin, we may need to combine liposuction with surgery to remove skin – such as an abdominoplasty, body lift or thigh lift, so liposuction now is definitely more of an integrative approach to achieving the desired result by combining it with the best treatment protocols,” Ania said.

For more information visit www.shapeclinic.com.au

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