Women are secretly going for Botox but with different motives now

Posted Wednesday March 21st, 2018

Though many women openly ‘shun’ Botox and other similar injectables, figures tell a different story. The number of women in the US opting to have anti-wrinkle fixes like Botox has increased 33% over the past five years.

According to the latest American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) results, Botox, Dysport and Xeomin are the most popular minimally-invasive procedures for both women and men. This is followed by fillers and other skin treatments.

Read More: 5 Ways to Achieve a V-shaped Face

With this rising trend however, the motives behind such cosmetic procedures show a shift in consumer mindset. Initially used as a panacea for wrinkles, Botox has gained popularity for a range of other uses. In Asia particularly, Botox has been used to slim down the jawline, helping women achieve a more feminine, V-shaped face, an aesthetic ideal that many covet.

Botox in the jawline can give a V-shape look

According facial plastic surgeons, 57% reported that a major driver for their patients is a desire to stay relevant and competitive at work.

Read More: Are We Becoming Beauty Clones?

Selfie generation

Another reason for patients opting for cosmetic surgery is ‘selfie-awareness’ AAFPRS found, with 55% of facial plastic surgeons seeing patients who want to look better in selfies, up 13% from 2016.

Plastic surgeons interviewed say that more and more of their patients are using social media as a forum to gain a sense of solidarity when under-going a major, potentially life-changing procedure. Consumers are only a swipe away from finding love and a new look, and it appears this movement is only going to get stronger.

Read More: Will This Be The End of Dry Skin?

Cosmetic procedure popularity

The number of procedures overall, including invasive and non-invasive, have grown by 25% since 2012, with more than half of surgeons seeing an increase in cosmetic surgery or injectables in under-30s.

The most popular invasive cosmetic procedure was once again rhinoplasty, (performed by 97% of surgeons in 2017) followed by blepharoplasty (95%), showing that the nose and eye are viewed as key beauty tenets by men and women.

Nose and eye surgeries rank top among cosmetic surgical procedures for 2017

Tellingly, over 80% of treatments in 2017 were non-cosmetic non-surgical procedure such as Ulthera and Thermage.

“By combining non-surgical choices such as novel lasers, hybrid lasers and microneedling systems, we are able to treat a wide range of facial rejuvenation concerns in the span of one appointment” says Dr Low Chai Ling. “These procedures all boast very little downtime, meaning patients with demanding careers can be back in the office without skipping a beat.”