Dr. Dennis Schimpf, FACS, author of “Finding Beauty: Think, See and Feel Beautiful” and founder of Sweetgrass Plastic Surgery in Charleston, South Carolina, thinks cell phones, selfies, and social media platforms have greatly driven the desire for plastic surgery.

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“If you think back even 10 years ago, let alone 25, rarely would you see yourself in pictures,” said Schimpf. “Maybe a birthday or wedding, usually some type of special event. Now, with mobile devices and platforms, we’re literally seeing hundreds, if not thousands, of pictures of ourselves documenting things we don’t like about our appearance, as well as the aging process.”
 

In other words, we’re all under constant scrutiny — by ourselves.

When Alan Matarasso, MD, FACS, first built his private practice in New York City over 25 years ago, “I literally put in a back door because people didn’t want to walk in the front.” Matarasso is also president of ASPS and a clinical professor of surgery at Hofstra University.
 

“Now, with the rise of social media, people are in the recovery room, posting about what they went through and sending pictures to friends that show the bandage on their nose,” he said.
 

“People are much more comfortable owning their self-care rituals — including those that involve needles and knives,” agreed Devgan.

At some point in the not-so-distant past, cosmetic plastic surgery was only for the uber-wealthy.

 

Today, the most common patient is usually “a working professional, often double-income family or a stay-at-home mom who now, after having children, would like to regain the physical appearance she once had,” he said.
 

In other words, not the stereotypical housewife in Beverly Hills who “had her face done.”

Cosmetic procedures, both surgical and nonsurgical, have also become more affordable.

Technical procedures used during cosmetic procedures continue to become safer and more reliable, said Matarasso. So are the instruments and products doctors now have at their disposal.

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Nonsurgical treatments are an especially rapidly evolving arena. “Lasers didn’t exist 10 years ago,” noted Matarasso.

And Botox used to be the only line-smoothing neurotoxin on the market. Now, three others exist, and a fourth option, Jeuveau, was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration and is poised to roll out this spring.

So maybe getting your lips plumped won’t have benefits beyond increasing your self-esteem. But “in certain circumstances, some cosmetic treatments can benefit your health,” said Matarasso.

Botox, for instance, has been shown to help with conditions such as chronic migraines, excessive sweating, Bell’s palsy, and perhaps even major depression.

Women who choose a breast reduction often get relief from disc or back problems. And plastic surgery allows people who’ve gone through weight loss surgery to shed extra skin that can cause severe rashes and infections.

“While we may not be curing cancer,” Matarasso said, “the impact and psychological benefit [of some cosmetic treatments] can be profound.”

According to a 2019 survey by RealSelf/Harris Poll, the top cited motivations among those who’ve had or are thinking about a cosmetic treatment are “to improve self-esteem/confidence” and “to look as good as I feel.”

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That’s consistent across both surgical and nonsurgical procedures — and those reasons haven’t changed since RealSelf launched a decade ago.
 

“Despite all of the changes in the technical aspects of aesthetic surgery, human desires and motivations remain the same,” said Devgan. “We all want to present our best selves to the world — the ways we do that depends on who we are.”

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Adapted from Healthline.