Cosmetic surgery has changed the opinions of millions of people towards their own appearance, be it facial appearance or the appearance related to someone’s body. Demand for cosmetic surgery has increased exponentially over the past few years and recently has got very popular among men.
Cosmetic Surgery Continues to Grow In Popularity In General:
Perhaps the most important aspect of the issue is that cosmetic surgery is simply becoming more popular as a general trend, with both the sexes. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has reported that there were nearly 12 million plastic surgery procedures carried out in 2007, a seven percent increase from the previous year. That accounted for a nine percent increase in the amount of money spent on cosmetic surgery in the U.S. in the same year, for a total of $12.4 billion.
Interestingly, the ASPS reported that a vast majority of all cosmetic procedures (roughly 10 million) are not surgeries, but minimally invasive procedures like microdermabrasions and Botox injections. Among actual surgical instances, the most popular procedure continues to be breast enhancement. The runners up include liposuction, rhinoplasty (nose jobs), blepharoplasty (eye lid surgery), and tummy tuck.
Plastic Surgery Has Less Stigma for Men Now Too:
Male patients make up only nine percent of the cosmetic surgery base, but that percentage represents a large growth rate over the past few years. As more men have procedures done, it becomes more common and less “taboo” or “unmanly” and more and more men consider having work done.
Here’s what procedures men wanted the most in 2007 (according to the ASPS):
– The top male procedure performed by plastic surgeons was nose reshaping with roughly 70,000 cases.
– The next most popular surgical procedure was eyelid surgery, with 35,000 patients, followed by liposuction with 33,000 performed procedures, then gynecomastia or breast reduction with 21,000 cases, and fifth place went to hair transplantations with 13,000 cases.
– Cosmetic surgeons saw the sharpest growth rates among males in facelifts (16 percent increase from 2006), dermabrasions (10 percent increase), and pectoral implants (8 percent increase).
– In terms of minimally invasive procedures, the most popular were Botox injections with 396,000 cases, microdermabrasion with 184,000 cases, laser hair removal with 177,000 cases, chemical peels with 85,000 cases, and laser skin resurfacing with 32,000 procedures.
– The minimally invasive procedure that saw the largest increase was soft tissue filler injections using calcium hydroxylatite (134 percent jumped from 2006). Others on the rise included a 36 percent increase of laser treatment of leg veins, a 32 percent increase in laser skin resurfacing, and a 15 percent increase in cellulite treatments.
Men are heading to the cosmetic surgeon more these days for many reasons. Television shows featuring extreme makeovers that include plastic surgery of the calves, chin, cheeks, and buttocks are making those procedures seem more appealing to men. Societal standards of beauty have begun to apply to men as well as to women. Cosmetic surgery has also come within the budget range of many Americans in the past several years, making it more affordable and less like just a luxurious extravagance.
