By Plastic Surgeon Dr Dirk Kremer. 

As a leading London-based plastic surgeon, I have seen a number of trends come and go; some of these trends are perfectly normal, such as women wanting bigger breasts, whereas others are much more worrying, such as people undergoing ethnic plastic surgery, and 2017 will be no different. While it’s impossible to predict exactly what plastic surgery procedures are likely to be popular throughout the year ahead, many cosmetic surgeons across the world have given their thoughts on what patients will be looking for over the next 12 months.

Bigger bums

According to The Plastic Surgery Group (TPSG), cosmetic surgeons recorded a huge increase in the number of patients seeking buttock augmentation procedures in 2016, with the trend likely to continue throughout 2017 and into 2018. The trend has been heavily fuelled in the past 12 months because of celebrities such as Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and the Kardashian family posting pictures of their curvy bodies on social media networks such as Instagram.

The TPSG noted that the Brazilian butt lift, which combines traditional buttock augmentation methods with liposuction and body contouring, was the most popular buttock augmentation procedure in 2016 and looks set to grow in 2017, especially as the procedure has become more popular in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, after originating in Brazil.

Smaller nipples

Traditionally, many people think women come to plastic surgeons looking for breast augmentation procedures, however, 2016 saw a shift to breast reductions, and according to plastic surgeons from the TPSG, women will be looking to make everything about their breasts smaller in 2017, including their nipples. Apparently, there has been a 30% increase in the number of women requesting smaller nipple sizes in 2016, with many surgeons pointing to celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Ellie Goulding as the reason for the shift in attitudes. Both of these celebrities are keen to promote the athletic, lean body type, which means many women are starting to think bigger breasts aren’t the way forward, instead they’re opting for the natural appearance.

‘Twilight Tweakments’

I briefly mentioned ‘tweakments’ in a blog last year about trends coming in 2016, and it appears the trend of tweakments is here to stay. This year, ‘twilight tweakments’, plastic surgery procedures performed under sedation are expected to increase rapidly. This trend is likely to grow in 2017 as cosmetic procedures performed under local anaesthetic are faster and cheaper, while patients will recover more quickly than if they were under general anaesthetic. What’s more, patients wouldn’t need to fast or avoid medications before and after surgery, and they wouldn’t need to spend time in hospital recovering, allowing them to return to their normal routines within a few hours.

It must be stressed that while some plastic surgery procedures can now be performed under local anaesthetic, not all can, and some will still require general anaesthetic for safety reasons. If you’re booked to have a procedure with me, I will discuss with you the anaesthetic options during the initial consultation and advise you which one is best for the type of procedure you are having.

Trends in the cosmetic industry are always interesting to read about, but I would always advise patients to do their research before committing to anything. If you want an aesthetic procedure because your favourite celebrity has a ‘big bum’ or ‘small boobs’ then you should rethink why you’re after plastic surgery. You should never have surgery to please someone else or to look like somebody else. To find out more about the cosmetic procedures I offer here at Harley St Aesthetics, please get in touch on 0845 519 7232 or email info@harleystreetaesthetics.com.