You know as well as we do that COVID had disrupted, well, everything. And the cosmetic surgery market is no exception. It’s not particularly surprising when you think about it — the restrictions on elective surgeries, people receiving less income (even with the support of programs like JobSeeker and JobKeeper).
According to beauty publication Allure, the pandemic reshuffled “nearly every aspect of the industry”, which included “toppling the long-standing most-requested surgery.” Allure‘s information was based on an annual trends report coming out of the US, from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
According to the report, rhinoplasty now rules the cosmetic work roost, and breast augmentation (the previous gold medallist) has tumbled down to fifth place. According to the findings, Americans, particularly American women, have a “more positive attitude” toward plastic surgery.
In comparison to before the pandemic, now 11% of women indicated they’re interested in undergoing a procedure. For those who have previously had work done? 35% of them are planning to spend significantly, or “somewhat more” on surgeries or procedures.
And hand-in-hand with this, surgeons’ offices are seeing higher demand.
This is an instance where the US trend forecast doesn’t differ hugely from our own here in Australia. In fact, the billion-dollar industry is forecast to grow between now and 2025 according to IBISWorld. Greater demand is anticipated for procedures like liposuction, and more consumers are undergoing botox injections.
Dr Sim Choroomi, an ENT (ears, nose, throat) and Facial Plastic Surgeon, says, that like the US, surgeons in Australia have been busier, especially after periods of self-isolation and snap lockdowns we’ve collectively experienced. “Many people are using this ‘downtime’ to get surgery done to recover whilst they can still work from home and are not going out as much.”
As for why interest is rising, and appointments are booming? Former ASPS president Alan Matarasso told Allure that, at least in terms of facial surgery, it’s in large part to our digital lifestyle (Zoom fatigue, hey?). Or, as Dr Choroomi tells us, “More people have been using video chats which may have made them see certain facial features they don’t like.”
“That said, the economic impact of the shut down has made cosmetic procedures financially inaccessible to some people.”
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