Cosmeticsurgeon.co.uk - UK Cosmetic Surgeons

The recession has not seen a decrease in cosmetic surgeries, on the contrary it has flourished. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) reported nearly a seven percent increase in the cosmetic surgeries performed by them in 2009 in the UK. Mr. Nigel Mercer, President of BAAPS, said, “The public’s interest in aesthetic surgery appears to remain strong and indeed growing..”

Along with the increase in surgical procedures, the cosmetic procedures that are non surgical have increased substantially. These procedures include accent laser treatment, Botox, collagen injections, and others. Liz Dale, director of The Harley Medical Group, said, “Non-surgical procedures, which saw a big growth last year, have continued to be a strong area for us and now account for 32 percent of all our
business.” A non-surgical procedure that has become very popular is the skin peel, also known as a chemical peel. During the recession many people have tried to find less expensive ways to look beautiful and chemical peels are one of these recession-proof procedures. The Harley Medical Group’s Obagi Blue Peel, which gets rid of blemishes, acne scars, uneven pigmentation, sun damage, and wrinkles, has been in high demand. It has actually been dubbed ‘the recession facelift’ since chemical peels have outstripped facelifts in popularity.

Skin peels are a skin resurfacing technique which removes the top layer of skin. The body replaces this skin with a fresh layer of skin that is clearer and no longer has the problem that the old layer of skin had. There are three different levels of skin peels which include light, intermediate, and deep. The different levels of peel correspond to the severity of the problem that the patient wishes to erase. The deep peel is actual able to remove deep lines and medium sized wrinkles. Many people have found that a face-lift is not always necessary because a chemical peel can indeed make their face look fresh and young.

Mr. Dale also reported, “The surgical side of the business is also continuing to grow. While breast augmentations remain the most popular surgical procedure, rhinoplasties (nose operations) are closing the gap in second.” Breast augmentation is very popular for mothers who are trying to regain their figures after giving birth. They actually account for 75 percent of the breast up lift patients, and an astounding 90 percent of the tummy tuck procedures.

2009 also saw the number of men undergoing plastic surgery increase dramatically. In fact 18 percent of all procedures performed in 2009, were on men. The Harley Medical Group reports that Botox and Sweatox actually account for much of this growth in procedures performed on men.

Cosmetic surgical procedures on men used to be nearly non-existent. Over the years, however, men have become more and more comfortable about going under the knife for aesthetic reasons. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons reported that there was a 21 percent increase in procedures performed on men in the UK in 2009 over 2008. In the United States the group of men that is ‘holding up cosmetic surgery’ are the gay men.

Despite the recession gay men in the US are choosing cosmetic surgery with increasing numbers. The gay lifestyle is much more accepted in today’s society and thus young gay men are more comfortable admitting their sexuality. Thus older gay men find it increasingly necessary to try to look young. They don’t want to be ‘charity cases.’ This fact pushes them toward plastic surgery, to fight back those ravages of time.

Dr. Paul Chasen of La Jolla says that his practice receives a lot of support from his San Diego based gay clients. He told GLT, “For men, they’re much more knowledgeable about plastic surgery. They’re into aesthetics, they want to look good.”

Young gay men also feel the allure of plastic surgery. Among gay men appearance is as important if not more so than for women. Lance, a gay man who spoke to the Gay & Lesbian Times (GLT) said, “I’ve thought about it, especially lipo[suction]. I’m always working out and I watch what I eat, but it’s almost impossible to get a six pack. It would be so much easier to just get it sucked out.” Nearly a quarter of a million Americans underwent liposuction in 2009, making it one of the top five most popular procedures.

Dakota Calloway, American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) spokesperson, told GLT that Botox injections are also popular among men and the popularity is increasing more rapidly than for women. Botox, being the number one non-surgical procedure in the US, is very popular among gay men who want to slow down the procession of wrinkles. She said that none of the consultation paperwork asks about sexual orientation, so specific numbers of gay men undergoing procedures is not possible. But she says, “…we’re an open minded profession, so patients usually don’t hesitate to share their personal stories with us.”

The trend observed in the UK of men receiving Botox injections has not been attributed to gay men. Many British men are having these injections for relaxing wrinkles, so that they can remain competitive at work. They are encouraged by celebrities having Botox such as Simon Cowell and Gordon Ramsay.

Even during the recession cosmetic procedures are growing in popularity.  The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons reported that there were 36,482 surgical cosmetic procedures performed in 2009. This is nearly a seven percent increase over 2008, despite the recession. Non-surgical cosmetic treatments have seen a substantial increase in 2009 as well. Many people are happy to be able to make their body more beautiful without having to undergo surgery. One particular treatment that has become very popular is Latisse.

Latisse is a bimatoprost ophthalmic solution sold by the pharmaceutical company, Allergen. Bimatoprost is used to treat glaucoma and patients using it, noticed that their eyelashes got thicker and more full. Allergen perfected the new drug for use as a cosmetic treatment. Latisse has proved to be very effective at lengthening and increasing the prominence of eyelashes. It is a cream that is applied to the base of the upper eyelash, which works by prolonging the growth phase of the eyelash hair follicles. Within a few weeks the results will be noticed and within four months the lashes will reach full maturity.

Dr. Alexis Parker, founder of Lasair Aesthetic Health, said in a press release, “Even though there is an economic crunch, women are still willing to spend for longer, fuller eye lashes. Especially when the product works as well as Latisse®. In my practice I have seen dramatic results in almost all of my patients, including myself and my staff. I am seeing more and more women with lashes touching their eyebrows. And, as women, we know that eyes are definitely seductive.”

The medical condition hypotrichosis can also be treated with Latisse. Hypotrichosis of the eyelashes is a condition in which the eyelashes are either inadequate or their are not enough hairs present. Latisse helps these people to grow more eyelash hairs and these new hairs are stronger and longer. Some patients have even reported that their eyebrows grow better, with the use of Latisse. Though Allergen reported
that discontinuing the use of Latisse will cause eyelashes to slowly return to their previous state.

“Our patient satisfaction rate is well above 99%. Nearly everyone who has tried Latisse® is astounded by the way their lashes grow,” Dr. Parker said. “My patients…are concerned about maintaining and improving their appearance on every level. They always want to look like themselves only better.” Having long thick lashes used to mean sticking artificial eyelashes to the eyelids. Now women can grow beautiful lashes that are natural. Accenting the beauty of the face is simple with Latisse.

Well, this recession seems to have been dragging on for quite some time now doesn’t it? It’s been about 18 months and still there is no let up in the gloom; no recovery in the housing market, no increase in interest rates and one of the only good things is the massive reduction sales we are seeing- if only we had the disposable income to go and spend in them! However, there is one good piece of news for all those in the Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery industry; the industry seems to be highly resilient despite the continued economic recession. 

A poll commissioned by Oxygen media has shown that, despite fears about job security and financial stability plaguing their generation, 63% of 18 to 34 year old thought positively about cosmetic surgery whilst the figure rose to 73% for those people aged 35-49.  One of the lighter points of the survey was that 22% of women said they would rather have breast augmentation surgery than receive a diamond bracelet; one feels many male partners would also prefer spending money on a boob job than a decorative piece of jewellery as well. 

Dr. Gilbert Lee, a U.S based plastic surgeon has spoken out about the buoyant industry, saying that: “Interest in plastic surgery remains very strong, despite the economy.” You can read other blogs on this page which might give an indication as to why this is.  Almost 25% of women who took part in the survey said that, if they suddenly gained a windfall of $10,000, they would prefer to spend the money on cosmetic surgery rather than invest it; such an attitude may not be prudent but it certainly spells good times ahead for the plastic and cosmetic surgery industry.

This recession-beating skill is not just limited to the U.S, the British cosmetic surgery industry seems like it is going to be able to weather the storm as well.  During 2008, when the economic storm first broke to mass media and market panic, there was a 5% increase in the number of surgeries performed on women within the U.K. This figure shows that here in Britain we really have a cosmetic surgery industry which is going to remain pert and resilient throughout the economic downturn. This can only be good news as, when the recovery comes, the cosmetic surgery industry will be in an unrivalled position.

Despite the deepening recession, messages coming at us from all sides to tighten the purse-strings and bank statements getting us more and more depressed it seems that the latest figures out have confirmed that cosmetic surgery is actually defying the recession. 

Demand for surgeries rose, with both invasive and non-invasive treatments seeing increases in the number of people undertaking them.

The Cosmetic Surgery Market Report 2009 has shown that, whilst figures have been healthy (and properly sculpted of course) across the board, there were individual treatments which seem to be doing particularly well.  Hair-loss treatments, such as the ever-popular hair transplant and weight management surgeries are the ones which have been singled out as doing well in these difficult economic times. Interestingly one of the biggest increases which the report draws attention to is the huge rise in the number of people seeking advice about, and indeed undergoing, non-invasive cosmetic procedures.

Brand new advancements in technology, coupled with drastically reduced waiting times means that non-invasive beauty treatments are now much more appealing to a much broader range of people. These are hard economic times and thus people can’t really be taking ages of work, nor indeed do they want a treatment which has the potential to go seriously wrong.  The fact that people can go “under the knife” in their dinner break is certainly an incentive for today’s hard working population.  The statistics also reveal that more and more young men are choosing to go under the knife and change their appearance. Plastic and Cosmetic surgery, it would seem, is no longer the domain of women.

Different industry reports have attempted to get to the bottom of why it is that more and more men are going under the knife; the conclusions are that it’s not just the celebrity culture which is shaming men into making a change. More hectic work lives and a poor diet coupled with little or no exercise are leading more and more men to gain a figure which they are not happy with.  There was a 44% increase last year in men seeking breast reduction surgery. It would seem that surgery for men is not the only answer, the males in our population need to completely overhaul their entire lifestyle. Even if they achieve this though, surgery may still be needed to do extra sculpting and toning. Recession? What recession?

Cosmetic Surgery Flourishing Despite The Current Recession

BBC News is reporting that cosmetic surgery is still managing to hold its own despite the economic downturn, with the number of those going under the knife increasing as ever.

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has released figures showing that the rise in procedures is much higher than expected, including a 1,000% rise in male breast reduction surgeries since 2003. It includes a 44% rise from the previous year and a total of 323 operations in 2008.

Unsurprisingly, breast augmentation procedures for women played a large role in the rise as well, with the amount of surgeries undertaken increasing by 30% in 2008 and a total of 8,000 operations.

But the amount of men undergoing cosmetic surgery has also been on the rise, as is consistent with reports to the same effect in October. As well as opting for breast reduction procedures to treat the effects of a condition known as gynaecomastia, men have also been going under the knife to receive ear correction surgery (otoplasty), eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) and brow lifts.

It seems that even as people’s wallets tighten, the demand for cosmetic treatments remains strong, with the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons referring to a number of possible reasons.

Rajiv Grover who is a consultant plastic surgeon for BAAPS as well as the Secretary in charge of the UK national audit of cosmetic surgery accounts for some of it, “There has been a dramatic rise in the number of procedures such as male breast reduction and brow lifts. This may be due to heightened media attention, which has allowed men to realise the positive outcomes that can be achieved.”

The results do not follow suit for liposuction, with figures down as well as those for women undergoing otoplasty, which Grover also refers to,

“It is also the first year since records began that we have seen a fall in liposuction and eyelid surgery, which may be due to the great number of non-surgical alternatives now available for those areas.”

The figures also show a 1.5% rise in rhinoplasty (nose job) procedures, a 30% rise in abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) procedures and a 1.7% rise in face/neck lifts. In 2008, a total of 34,187 procedures were carried out by BAAPS members.