Plastic Surgery's Most Requested Celebrity Butts, Noses, Lips & More
Celebrity faces don’t just flood us at the grocery checkout lane – now, we see those perfectly glossy images on Instagram and Facebook day in and out. And that likely influences how we want to look ourselves, reveals two major surveyors of cosmetic surgery trends.
In the annual report of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) member surgeons saw a 13 percent increase in requests for celebrity-inspired procedures, up from 3 percent in 2013 and 7 percent in 2012. In addition, RealSelf.com, the largest community and resource for cosmetic surgery research, also revealed the celebrities that posters most often discussed in relation to popularly searched cosmetic procedures.
“While, yes, these stars are beautiful, there’s something so much deeper at work here. Likely our patients also covet the lifestyle, attractiveness and success that they witness in their favorite celebrities,” says Steven Dayan, MD, an AAFPRS member surgeon. “The celebrities’ physical beauty becomes a subliminally attractive pathway to a lifestyle of beauty,” he adds.
It’s no wonder that mega stars like Angelina Jolie, Beyoncé, Madonna, Kate Middleton and Kim Kardashian figured heavily into the results. Yet experts emphasize that appearance isn’t always reality. “Celebrity photos are often so re-touched that their images are distorted – which can result in unrealistic expectations that propel consumers to seek excessive or extreme surgeries,” warns Stephen S. Park, MD, president of the AAFPRS.
Other results show that social media influence is here to stay, with more consumers using visual platforms like Instagram and contraptions like selfie sticks (an extendable metal rod that attaches to a smartphone for wider and higher shots), as well as increased video uploads. “It can all make people look at their faces in a hypercritical way – which makes them even more self-conscious of a bump on the nose, a weak chin or visible acne scars,” says Edwin Williams, MD, president-elect, AAFPRS.
On a serious note, skin cancer rates are continuing to rise, and younger people are receiving earlier diagnoses. As a result, reconstructive procedures like skin grafts and flaps are growing rapidly; one in five Americans will now develop skin cancer in their lifetime. The AAFPRS says that a staggering 87 percent of facial plastic surgeons surveyed now perform reconstructive work related to skin cancer.
And in the last year, women made up 82 percent of all procedures – both surgical and non-invasive – with nose jobs, facelifts, eyelid surgery and laser skin resurfacing rounding out the most popular facial options. Botox continues to lead among most common non-surgical options, along with hyaluronic acid fillers and laser skin resurfacing and peels.
