The Societal Push Towards Plastics

Plastic surgery has remained popular despite the current economic downfall that has negatively affected just about every other market. Cosmetic procedures performed in 2010 inched up two percent from 2009. With the most popular surgical procedure being- yes you guessed it- breast augmentation surgery with a whopping 296,203 women benefiting from this cosmetic delight in 2010, up two percent from 2009. Other top surgical contenders included eyelid surgery (207,764 procedures), rhinoplasty (252,261 procedures), tummy tucks (116,352 procedures) and liposuction (203,106 procedures).

So rest assured if you are considering plastic surgery you are not alone. In fact between the surgical and the non invasive cosmetic procedures performed in 2010 there were over thirteen million procedures performed, which is an increase of five percent from 2009.

So who are these thirteen million people signing up for cosmetic procedures? Consumers who seek out cosmetic procedures today are just as likely to be men as they are women and just as likely to be a young teenager as they are to be older adults. Cosmetic surgery is not limited by race or ethnicity either. There are just as many non Caucasians having plastic surgery as there are Caucasians. African American women for example show a high rate for breast reduction surgery while Hispanic women are leaning towards breast augmentation and Asian women favor rhinoplasty.

And when it comes to gender, the gap is closing as more men benefit from cosmetic procedures than ever before. In fact in 2005, twelve percent of all liposuction procedures were performed on men who are increasingly becoming part of the demographics for cosmetic surgery.

Why is there such a cross section of Americans of every demographic lining up for cosmetic surgery or non invasive cosmetic procedures? The answer is as varied as the people. For example some older adults find themselves competing in the work place with younger workers for scarce jobs and looking younger can give them a needed edge coupled with experience and education.
Other reasons that plastic surgery has become increasingly popular may come down to a greater push from pop culture to assimilate and a greater acceptance from the majority culture to have cosmetic work done. It's no longer taboo to have Botox injections during your lunch or to hide a nose job as a broken nose. The new acceptance of cosmetic surgery has allowed more consumers to become actively aware of options that they may not have known about before.

Plus with advances in today's technology there doesn't seem to be any limit to what a plastic surgeon can't accomplish. Procedures that were once only dreamt of are now reality as patients with disfiguring defects can do more than just get patch up jobs that don't touch the real problem. And even though plastic surgery can carry some risks it has proven to be relatively safe and successful for most patients which is certainly helping more potential patients see plastics as a real option for change.