By plastic surgeon Dr Dirk Kremer. 

Just over a year ago things were looking bleak for just about every industry across much of the world, and predictions may have led most to believe that the cosmetic industry would be one of the worst hit by the pandemic. Lockdown brought a pause to all elective cosmetic procedures, limiting plastic surgeons to nothing but surgeries that were reconstructive in nature. Many were forced to close their doors to all but the most essential patients.

The beginning of this period brought a great deal of fear of the unknown as patients requested to cancel surgeries due to being unaware of what risks may lay ahead, be it health or financially related. Many patients could either no longer afford their cosmetic procedure or feared that a potential deduction or even a total wipeout in their income meant they’d be better off not spending the money they had saved up.

This period of fear and uncertainty soon shifted a few months later as the government eased restrictions across the country and allowed practices to reopen and for surgeries to commence provided safety guidelines were strictly followed. This seemed to open the floodgates as the number of enquiries plastic surgeons were receiving increased exponentially - something not many experts in the cosmetic industry could have ever predicted just a couple of months before.

Cosmetic surgery boom

I recently wrote about how the likes of zoom video calls most likely had a big influence on the influx of enquiries and that article - which focuses on the increased demand from men, but the same certainly applies to women - goes a long way towards explaining why somebody may want to undergo cosmetic surgery in the middle of a global pandemic. 

On the face of it, nothing seems to add up - people are coming in and out of lockdowns and faced with strict restrictions on where they can go and what they can do, more people than ever are working from home, there are no events or parties or holidays or anything at all to even need to consider dressing up to look nice and to make an extra effort for. So, why would anyone ever consider plastic surgery during these times?

However, if you look at it from another angle then it immediately begins to make sense. There are many people who had spent time considering plastic surgery in the weeks, months and even years before March of last year. A lot of these people may have put the procedure off for several different reasons, the most common being related to surgery costs or the recovery time required behind closed doors following the procedure. So, when you think about it, the second half of 2020 created the perfect opportunity as furlough meant people didn’t miss out financially and had less things to spend the money they did have on, and with everyone being asked to avoid public places for long periods of time, or being asked to wear a face mask when they did venture somewhere public, this was ideal for those recovering and healing.

Cosmetic procedures that gained most interest

The year 2020 saw a shift in some of the cosmetic surgery trends. For many years, the likes of breast augmentation and liposuction had been far and away the most requested type of elective surgery. However, despite these procedures remaining popular, there was a significant increase in the demand for facial procedures, both cosmetic and non-invasive. Many experts in the cosmetic industry largely attribute this to several things, including zoom meetings making people more aware of their appearance, patients spending more time at home which makes it easier to recover and face masks in public that provide the perfect opportunity to hide the healing process from everyone else.

So, will this increased cosmetic surgery demand continue?

This brings us to naturally question whether we will see this demand continue as the world eventually begins to reopen, especially the increased demand in facial surgeries. It’s difficult to predict, but there are many things that may point towards it continuing.

People have gradually become accustomed to this new normal as technology has a real grasp on our every day lives now, so the likes of zoom meetings and virtual chats, while not being as highly used as they have been recently, will no doubt still be used far more than they were before 2020.

Also, the rise of social media platforms like TikTok has reminded current 30-40 year olds that they are perhaps no longer the young innovation adopters they used to be. Previous generations in the 30-40 age bracket didn’t live their lives in the same online world with the virtual global connection that we have today. Even if trends in the platforms used changes, it’s highly unlikely the use of social media, the internet and technology in general will see a decline.

With all of this in mind, the cosmetic surgery industry may at some point begin to see a drop in the recent exponential growth we’ve experienced, but it would be a risky bet to say it’ll decrease at the same rate.

Are you keen to discuss a particular cosmetic surgery procedure that I offer here at Harley Street Aesthetics? If so, get in touch so that we can book you in for your initial consultation by calling 0845 529 7232, e-mail info@harleystreetaesthetics.com or complete the simple online contact form.