By Natasha Hatherall-Shawe
It seems that whilst half of us are catching up on the “lost” Covid years by globe-trotting and spending on dream holidays, a good number of the rest of us are choosing to fix the bits of us we don’t like by booking in for a nip and a tuck as plastic surgeons and aestheticians continue to report rising and record numbers of patients. I say this having also found myself just a week ago standing in my undies in an aesthetic clinic having a consultation for liposuction, so there is definitely something in the air. But what’s actually going on?
Whilst the Pandemic plastic surgery boom has been spoken about quite a bit, the demand continues to grow and has far surpassed expectations. Traditionally the plastic surgery boom is between Halloween to Christmas, but because of Covid and the fact so many of us are still working from home, making recovery much more do-able, the last year or so has seen demand like never before and it’s been a lot harder to make assumptions around popular timings as demand has been there month in, month out. In addition, what people are requesting is changing quite a bit too interestingly.
So, now we’re over half way this year, what is going on in the world of plastic surgery?
Body contouring is in demand
Many of us gained a bit of Covid weight – it was a stressful time and most of us moved less than normal and probably emotional ate a bit of cake in our pants – hands firmly up! As such, demand for liposuction and body contouring procedures has really boomed. People realized their jeans didn’t fit once they had to wear “normal” clothes again and they looked for solutions and many offer quick fixes with minimal downtime.
Facial treatments are decreasing
Whilst body treatments may be having their moment, facial treatments and surgeries have decreased which is interesting as I would have thought the “Zoom effect” would have had the opposite effect. Traditionally popular face lifts, eye lifts and nose jobs are now being replaced by the demand for body treatments. What’s more is the figures for Botox and fillers are also declining too, making the split between face and body pretty even.
Loads more men are taking the plunge
Surgeons across the world are reporting a rise in men booking in for surgery. There’s a lot more awareness in men of the options available to them and less stigma associated too. We all want to feel and look good – it’s not just left to the women in this day and age. Liposuction, the reduction of breast tissue and Botox are all proving popular. Indeed, my own husband succumbed and went under the needle last month – he said quote “he’s totally sold”!
Multiple Procedures
There’s also a move towards people doing a number of smaller procedures in one go being seen by many doctors meaning a total rejuvenation and makeover is possible in one go. Most of us think twice before going under the knife or embarking on an anesthetic, so grouping a few treatments together makes total sense. Many are doing a breast augmentation with a little tummy lipo for example. Whilst down time may be a little longer, the new technologies and techniques mean overall recovery isn’t as bad as it used to be.
Zoom made us hate our ears too
Zoom has so much to answer for and now many of us decided we didn’t like our ears either. Otoplasties, or ear pinning, traditionally performed on school kids, have become popular in adults too even though their ears have long since fully formed. Doctors have seen more patients for ears than ever before. They say masks are also to blame as ill-fitting masks pulled ears out further and made us even more paranoid.
Social media still influences heavily
Whilst it pains me a little to write this, we’re all still spending a lot of time on social media and we’re all hyper aware of our bodies and faces which is in turn translating into surgery requests. Doctors are reporting this trend as being very obvious from the words patients use and the rationales they give.
As for the future, it’s too early to tell and the increasing economic woes and rising cost of living may well start to curtail our surgery habits as it is a very cost sensitive decision, but today it’s booming and evolving and it’s playing out in a very interesting way.
For me personally, it’s good to know as I stand there in my pants trying not to look in the mirror (even though the surgeon tells me to), that I’m proving all the trend data right ;) The big decision for me now is whether to go ahead and sign on the dotted line and I’m still not sure. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead to see if I do take the plunge to contoured thighs!