Most people could have predicted that the global pandemic would mean big business for Amazon, Zoom and food delivery apps. However, few predicted that plastic surgery clinics across the US would see a 60% increase in business.
A driving force behind this spike in business has been a phenomenon called the Zoom Effect. Millions of people are now logging onto daily Zoom meetings, and finding new flaws in their face and torso. Countless people are going directly from their video calls to opening another tab to browse breast implants before and after pictures.
A Major Shift in Attitudes Towards Plastic Surgery
In June of 2020, in the heart of the global pandemic lockdown, The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) surveyed 1000 people with no prior plastic surgery experience. Their findings revealed that 49% of respondents said that they were open to getting their first-ever plastic surgery.
A similar survey was conducted in 2014 and revealed that a mere 17% of respondents were open to plastic surgery, while 49% were flatly opposed to the idea. The Zoom Effect appears to be very real and it's having a very real impact on the popular opinion of plastic surgery.
Make Me Look More Like Myself(ie)
Even prior to the COVID-19 crisis, Millennial-aged patients were the fastest-growing demographic in plastic surgery, and they accounted for nearly a quarter of all plastic surgeries in North America in 2019, according to the ASPS.
They also accounted for:
- 37% of all breast augmentations
- 41% of all calf augmentations
- 33% of all buttock implants
- 37% of all liposuction procedures
Millennials are also going to their plastic surgeons with more specific instructions and goals. Most know exactly how they would look after some touch-ups, thanks to the flattering filters in Snapchat and Instagram. In fact, a recent report shows that 51% of all Millennial plastic surgery patients will show their surgeon a touched up selfie to outline exactly what they want.
Will the Boob Job Be Dethroned?
Breast augmentation has been the most popular cosmetic surgery in North America for the last several years, with nearly 300,000 procedures in 2019 alone. However, experts are predicting that the Zoom Effect could have more people focusing on their faces.
Rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, and facelifts were among the most popular plastic surgeries last year and any of them could finally overtake breast augmentation for the top spot. Meanwhile, liposuction was the second most popular procedure in 2019 (over 265,000 procedures) and the numbers could also see substantial growth. Public gyms have closed and thousands of people are coping with the extra pounds that have been playfully dubbed The Quarantine Fifteen.
The ASPS has yet to release their 2020 statistics yet. However, it will be interesting to see how disruptive that everything that happened in 2020 will be to the entire marketplace.
Plastic surgeons will most likely be looking at a new target market, with a new set of goals for the next decade.
