For the first time ever, the average age women get cosmetic surgery is under 40. The age has dropped three years since 2012.
Why are more and more women opting to get cosmetic surgery at a younger age? There are a lot of influences, including successful cosmetic surgery stories and celebrities. But one of the biggest reasons is social media, particularly Facebook and Instagram.
Personal pictures and selfies are being put online for everyone to see more frequently than ever before, which make women a lot more conscious about how they look. Selfies are close up and can highlight physical quirks that the picture's subject do not necessarily like. Even though makeup and Instagram filters can hide a lot of the undesired physical characteristics women see on themselves, many women want a more permanent and dramatic chance.
A lot of the women are looking to make their face look more like Instagram filters and have even requested surgery asking to change their appearance to resemble their favorite filters. There has been speculation that the instant gratification for seeing a change in a person's appearance brought on by Instagram filters has increased popularity in cosmetic surgeries which also has an instant change.
Even though there are other methods for increasing body confidence and improving appearance, like skin care routines, diet and exercise, and makeup, more and more people are finding cosmetic surgery to be the most effective and quickest choice for their preferred changes in appearance. Not even pictures of botched plastic surgeries can deter women from getting surgeries they want done.
There are many good reasons patients have for getting plastic surgery done. Many women want to change things about how they look and do not want to wait until their 40's to get the desired change, especially if they have the money and ability now. A large portion of women who get plastic surgery do it to correct negative changes in appearance due to accidents, like getting rhinoplasty to straighten a broken nose. Others get cosmetic surgery to feel better about themselves and improve their self esteem. This is the reason behind many tummy tucks, breast reduction surgeries, and liposuctions.
With so many pictures posted online, women see the bags under their eyes, big nose, or weak chin and they have lower self esteem. Getting cosmetic surgery raises their body confidence and helps them feel better about themselves. Dr. Mitchell Kim said: “Having undergone Vaser Hi Def Liposuction myself, I understand the satisfaction that a cosmetic procedure brings to patients. The feeling of being beautiful is priceless.”
The desire to look their best does not confine women's options or choices to plastic surgery. There has also been an increase in the number of teeth whitening procedures and other cosmetic procedures designed to purely improve a person's look. The desire to look one's best has driven up demand for a lot of cosmetic procedures.
Not only has social media been influencing women to go under the knife, but also seeing cases of young, high profile women get plastic surgery to improve their looks. One example of this is Rachel Addington, an Olympic swimmer who recently had rhinoplasty at age 25 to change the way her nose looked.
Another huge influence for the increase of cosmetic surgeries on women in their 30's are desirable features on celebrities.
Many women get chin implants to make their chins look like Scarlett Johansson's heart-shaped chin or Angelina Jolie's square jaw. Other celebrities with desirable chins for women include Rihanna with her rounder chin and Reese Witherspoon with her dimpled chin that adds character to her face.
Chin implants are on the rise because they can restore harmony and balance to a woman's face while also being a very low risk procedure. Many women couple chin implants with a face lift or other types of cosmetic surgeries.
Jawlines are very important for a lot of women. A strong chin is a significant factor of beauty. Even Marilyn Monroe got chin implants to improve her weak chin in 1950.
The huge rise in popularity for chin implants and other cosmetic surgeries are making cosmetic surgeons busier than ever.
Research shows that over half of people from the U.K. want to change something about their appearance. Two thirds of people in Great Britain would consider cosmetic surgery if cost was not a factor. Last year, almost 31,000 cosmetic surgeries were performed in the U.K. Of that amount, over 28,000 were women. While the number of cosmetic procedures done on men ever year is growing, the majority of them still belong to women.
Breast enlargement was the most popular surgery, with over 7,000 procedures done last year.
Fortunately for plastic surgeons, it does not look like the average age of cosmetic surgery will rise any time soon. As the Instagram culture continues to boom and people become more and more obsessed about their looks, women will go under the knife younger and younger.