Original Article By Brittany Fallon
When it comes to your appearance, the tiniest thing can make a world of difference in your self-perception. For me, it’s the line between my brows (one half of my 11’s, as they’re called) and my smaller-than-I’d-like lips, but for others, it may be the bump on their nose, the crow’s-feet around their eyes or the loose skin around their jawline. We all have something.
And when it reaches the point that you can’t stand to see that “thing” when you look in the mirror every morning, your best fix is probably an in-office treatment. Of course some concerns will require surgical intervention, but facial plastic surgeons are also equipped with a myriad of noninvasive treatments as well. Each year, The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) releases its annual survey, which breaks down the data on these top procedures and compares year-over-year results so we can see what’s trending. Here are a few of the highlights from this year’s report.
A Focus on “Pre-Juvenation”
According to the survey, aesthetic enhancement is no longer as hush-hush as it once was, and the “pre-juvenation” trend is breeding a generation of uber-educated consumers who are taking control of the aging process.
“This emerging segment is knowledgeable about high-tech skincare and sun prevention, and starts with facial injectables before they turn 30,” says AAFPRS president and facial plastic surgeon William H. Truswell, MD. “As more millennials come of age and gain disposable income for aesthetic treatments, [we] have seen steady growth in the demand for cosmetic procedures.”
In fact, more than half (56 percent) of AAFPRS members saw an increase in cosmetic surgery or injectables with patients under the age of 30 last year and more than 80 percent of treatments performed in 2017 were nonsurgical cosmetic procedures.
Rhinoplasty Still Reigns Supreme
The “nose job” was the most-performed facial plastic surgery procedure in 2017 (performed by 97 percent of surgeons), and continues to lead the pack year after year. We’re not surprised, however, because a rhinoplasty can dramatically transform the overall look of the face and many patients who opt for the surgery say the size or shape of their nose is the one thing that’s bothered them their entire life.
Blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) came in a very close second (95 percent) and facelifts followed in third with 88 percent.
Botox Gets Even Bigger
Although rhinoplasty is the most popular surgical procedure, neuromodulators such as Botox, Dysport and Xeomin take the cake as the most-requested overall. With an increase in celebrity transparency and more widespread information on the treatment—oh and the fact that they really work!—it only makes sense that the number of neuromodulator procedures in the survey increased by 33 percent from 2012 to 2017.
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