The trends in the $20 billion-a-year medi-beauty market in the US, adjusted for cultural differences and economic conditions, may be an indicator of what is happening elsewhere in the world.
One way of understanding trends is to analyse consumer internet search data for elective cosmetic procedures. Cosmetic surgery information and consumer review website Realself.com analyses millions of searches performed on the site every year. It also considers input from site visitors who have undergone various procedures and the surgeons who perform them. The results of the most recent analyses were released in mid-May 2012 in the RealSelf Medi-Beauty Trend Report.
Here’s what’s hot:
- Mummy Makeovers
- The Vampire Facelift
- Fat Reduction as preparation for a bikini body, including Cellulaze and CoolSculpting
- Curves
- Skin treatments in time for Spring
Hot: Mummy makeovers are growing in popularity
Mummy makeovers got their name from their key target market: women wanting a single operation to remove the ravages of child bearing and enhance physical attractiveness. Defined as a surgical combo of breast lift/implants, tummy tuck, liposuction and more, mummy makeovers are designed to return women’s bodies to their pre-pregnancy condition in one fell swoop.
RealSelf reported a 13 per cent increase in online searches for mummy makeovers in the past year. And of the survey participants who had undergone the procedure, more than 98 percent considered the surgery “worth it”. They also reported a boost in self-confidence, attractiveness and satisfaction with their sex lives.
Breast enhancement, abdominoplasty and liposculpture are the top three procedures mothers request in their makeovers.
You can find more about mummy makeovers in the following articles Mummy Makeovers in High Demand Worldwide.
Hot: The Vampire Facelift
Vampires avoid the ravages of time because they don’t age at all. According to RealSelf, the Vampire facelift, which is not really a facelift at all, is growing in popularity. Sounds creepy? Not really.
The Vampire facelift is an in-office procedure similar to injecting dermal fillers. What’s different is that it involves drawing blood from your arm, spinning the blood in a centrifuge to separate the platelets, then injecting the platelets into your face to stimulate new collagen production.
Although going by several different names, the Vampire facelift and other similar treatments are offered to Australians under the banner of PRP—Platelet-Rich Plasma.
Hot: Fat Reduction as Preparation for a Bikini Body
According to RealSelf, fat reduction is big right now, but in the court of public opinion, not all fat-reduction procedures are created equal. Search-wise, the techniques highest in demand use laser cellulite removal and CoolSculpting.
RealSelf.com reported a huge upswing in April 2012 searches for Cellulaze, a new FDA and TGA approved laser to reduce the appearance of cellulite. There were more than 220,000 searches for it in April, compared to a mere 40,000 searches in March.
The other fat reduction treatment with a high popularity rating is CoolSculpting, a non-surgical method of getting rid of fat using precisely controlled cooling. CoolSculpting has seen a 36 percent increase in the number of searches over the past year.
Hot: The Demand for Curves Rises
Curves are in demand in the US, including breast and butt enhancements, but with varying rates depending on geography. What is thought to be a hot curve varies from state to state, so when visiting the US, make sure to pick your holiday destination to suit your anatomical assets!
Butt enhancements, especially the more popular Brazilian Butt Lift, have generated around 520,000,000 searches on RealSelf.com during the first three months of 2012. In the US, Florida is considered the place to go for butt lifts. The Midwest, on the other hand, shows the highest demand for breast augmentation.
Hot: Spring is in the air, and so are skin treatments
A recent RealSelf poll showed 225 before and after photos of popular non-invasive skin treatments and asked which one shaved off the most years.
Thermage was the winner with an average guess of a 6.91-year younger look on the “after” photo. Next in line was Ultherapy, which was slightly behind Thermage, and Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatments came in third.
In terms of patient satisfaction and interest, however, Ultherapy won, with an 83% “Worth It Rating” from RealSelf.com reviewers. Consumer searches for Ultherapy have also risen by 21% over the previous year.
Not: The “duck lip” and other overdone looks
RealSelf says that the protruding “duck lip” and other overdone looks are not in demand. Costhetics is relieved to hear this.
Which doctor you choose matters!
According to RealSelf CEO Tom Seery, reviews of patient satisfaction data show that satisfaction rates are on average 15% higher when board-certified doctors trained in an aesthetic specialty perform procedures.
Here are a few pieces on this topic we have written specifically for Australian consumers.