Plastic Surgery Has Exploded Due to Remote Work and Social Media

There’s no doubt that plastic surgery is experiencing yet another moment in the limelight; not only is it safer and cheaper than ever before, but a combination of other factors is driving increasing numbers of people to get cosmetic procedures done.

Surgeons like Dr. Steinberg noticed that their patients – especially the younger generations – are very informed about the procedures they’re hoping to get. It’s becoming more common for someone to show up to a consultation having already researched information on breast reduction surgery, or the risks associated with a rhinoplasty.

While this is definitely a positive development, other current trends aren’t so great. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has had several indirect influences on plastic surgery trends; that’s obviously been happening just in the last couple of years.

Social media is also encouraging people to improve their appearance via cosmetic procedures, although this can be rooted in low self-esteem rather than a desire for self-improvement.

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And as always, pop culture is still doing its part to glamorize the idea of looking picture-perfect.

Plastic surgery on its own is a tool that can provide amazing results; it’s just that various societal pressures can have too much influence on whether or not people seek it out for themselves.

Let’s look at some of these factors below.

How plastic surgery trends have been shaped by the pandemic

It’s safe to say that most people have been enjoying the work-from-home phenomenon brought by social distancing measures, but that brought something else that they probably didn’t enjoy as much: Zoom calls. Instead of meeting face-to-face, people were now spending hours every week on video conference calls, and this meant that they were observing themselves as well as their co-workers on their screens.

The longer this went on, the more people became unhappy with their appearances. Even though they were looking at slightly distorted webcam images of their faces, many of them decided to get plastic surgery in order to look better on video calls.

Experts call this the “Zoom Boom”, and even when people started returning back to the office, the effect didn’t seem to slow down too much.

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That isn’t the only way the pandemic has affected plastic surgery trends; working from home also gives people the opportunity to recover without having to take time off from work. Plus, the ever-present masks could easily conceal certain plastic surgeries – nobody would be able to notice the swelling.

That being said, surgeons have also mentioned a surge in requests for procedures that affect facial areas above the mask-line, since there isn’t much point in improving the parts that are covered up anyway.

In addition to everything else, some people realized that plastic surgery was suddenly within their budget.

Why? Because they’d been saving money for months by staying at home instead of going to restaurants or taking vacations.

How plastic surgery trends have been influenced by social media

With many people spending more time than ever scrolling social media feeds, what they see online is shaping the way they perceive themselves. Between influencers, celebrities, and even everyday people who know all their best angles, it’s easy to feel like you’re not good enough somehow.

Even though it’s common knowledge that everyone uses slimming and smoothing filters (or full-on Photoshop) to make themselves look perfect, all those glamorous photos still influence a lot of people to get plastic surgery so they’ll look better in photos.

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Why the taboo surrounding plastic surgery is lifting

A more positive trend in the last couple of years has been the way people are embracing themselves for who they are. Whether they’re short, bald, or have gotten work done, just because it goes against the norm doesn’t mean it’s bad.

People are simply less shy in general about formerly forbidden subjects, and plastic surgery has become part of the trend.

Although prices are rising in most sectors, the opposite is happening with plastic surgery

Even if you remove the trends, there would still probably be an increase in plastic surgeries; after all, they’re cheaper and safer than they ever have been.

Sure, you might spend several thousand dollars (depending on which procedure you got), but it would still be less than the same procedure would have cost 10 years ago.

Why has this happened? For a few specific reasons:

• Non-surgical alternatives for popular procedures. There are now some non-surgical options that can dramatically reduce the cost of the procedure, while still offering similar results. For example, a plastic surgeon might recommend a non-surgical rhinoplasty instead of a typical nose job; this procedure uses various types of filler that are strategically injected in the tip or the bridge of the nose. Liposuction also has a non-surgical alternative, called Coolsculpting. That being said, continuous upkeep of the results could end up with the same price tag as the original procedure.
• Improved tools and better efficiency. Newer plastic surgery techniques may still need refining, but older procedures have been examined and fine-tuned by surgeons over the years. This can result in certain procedures taking less time on the operating table, or requiring fewer resources post-op. If an operation could be done more efficiently with a tool that has yet to be invented, someone makes sure that it gets done.
• Less invasive methods. The main benefits of this are obviously experienced during recovery; a less invasive surgery means a shortened recovery period, and less time taken off of work. That isn’t all, though; it can also translate to savings for the patient. For instance, if the surgeon uses local, not general anesthesia, that alone can be a pretty big chunk taken off the final cost.

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The takeaway

Between one thing and another, plastic surgery is experiencing a boom in popularity that will probably continue for a long time.

The industry as a whole bounced back almost immediately once the pandemic restrictions were lifted; even if current trends fade into the background, that will hardly even put a dent in the overall demand for plastic surgery.