Plastic surgery is more popular than ever, with both men and women taking advantage of cosmetic procedures to enhance their looks. What’s responsible for the trend, though – and is there any cause for concern? Plastic surgery is supposed to be a positive thing, but unfortunately it’s often sought out because of low self-esteem.
Plus, there are some common misconceptions surrounding many plastic surgeries; for instance, mommy makeover myths have women believing that this procedure can magically restore their bodies to their pre-pregnancy state. Even though this is true in some cases, many people skim over the facts that there’s a lot of pain involved, or that it could take up to three months for the swelling to disappear.
Despite the occasionally false optimism surrounding elective cosmetic procedures, that doesn’t seem to have slowed many people down. Even when the pandemic hit non-essential businesses hard, plastic surgery practices came back with a bang as soon as they were allowed to open again. Between social media, pop culture, and the influence of the rich and famous, the demand for plastic surgery was soon back in full swing.
Has the pandemic affected plastic surgery trends?
Those aren’t the only reasons why 2022 has been such a great year for cosmetic procedures, though; experts have identified a phenomenon dubbed the “Zoom Boom”, or the “Zoom Effect”. You know all those people who started working at home during the pandemic? As they attended one Zoom call after another, they were constantly being shown what they looked like, and many of them didn’t like what they saw. Even though there was some inevitable distortion from their webcams, many of them ended up being deeply dissatisfied with their own appearance.
The pandemic has brought other unique motivations, too, such as the fact that many individuals can keep working from home while they recover from a procedure – they don’t even need to take time off. Others found that their masks would conceal recently completed procedures, so there was no need to stay at home while the swelling went down and the incisions healed. On the other side of the coin, surgeons noticed more patients wanting work done on the parts of their faces that weren’t covered by masks, since those were the only parts that people could see; the rest of the face could fend for itself.
To top it all off, many people suddenly found that they were able to afford plastic surgery. Why? Because pandemic restrictions led to them accidentally saving money that they normally would have spent on social activities, restaurants, or travel.
Has social media influenced plastic surgery trends?
Even as recently as a decade ago, social media didn’t have much influence on anything, much less people’s decisions to get plastic surgery. These days, however, it’s a different story. Not only do we constantly see photos of people who look better than we do, but we also see photos of ourselves when we post them online. If you weren’t insecure about your smile lines or side profile before, you might get that way if you start comparing yourself to everyone else. Other people might get their good looks from digital filters, but it’s enough to make many feel insecure nonetheless. And when that happens, plastic surgery presents itself as a very attractive option.
Why is plastic surgery no longer a taboo subject?
That’s a tough question to answer, but one reason is probably because so many people are having it done. Sure, it’s been in demand for ages, but the last few years have seen a massive surge in popularity – and apparently that’s led to more and more people feeling comfortable talking about it. Celebrities and regular people alike may still choose to deny having work done, but the fact is that it’s no longer something that’s reserved for gossip magazines.
While the price of everything rises, plastic surgery is getting cheaper.
Adding to that, plastic surgeries are safer and more affordable than ever. You could still easily drop tens of thousands of dollars on a single procedure, but there are also options that are way less expensive – and still provide dramatic results. Even procedures like a breast lift or a nose job are still fairly pricey, but they’re actually less so than they were a few years ago.
With everything getting more expensive each year, why would something as popular as cosmetic procedures be going in the opposite direction? There are a few different reasons:
- Better efficiency and improved tools. If a procedure has been used for years, that gives surgeons time to fine-tune the procedure. Not only can they refine the techniques, but they can use different tools that serve the purpose better, or even invent tools if they don’t exist yet. The more established the procedure, the more improvements surgeons have been able to make.
- Some plastic surgeries have non-surgical alternatives. For example, someone who wants a rhinoplasty (nose job) may not need a surgical procedure; they may be able to get a non-surgical nose job, which involves strategic injections of filler along the bridge or at the tip of the nose. Then there’s liposuction, which can be replaced by Coolsculpting. The main drawback is that these non-surgical procedures usually have to be repeated over time to maintain the results, so the costs may actually add up to be more than the surgical procedure itself.
- Less invasive techniques. If a procedure can be made less invasive, that comes with several benefits to the patient. The most obvious onesare reduced recovery time and pain levels; there’ll be less swelling, and less time required for them to be away from work. In some cases, the surgery can even be done with local instead of general anesthesia, which results in savings right off the bat.
The takeaway
Plastic surgery is becoming an increasingly popular choice among people who want to improve their physical appearance. Thanks to current trends, it looks like the plastic surgery boom will keep going strong for quite a while.
