Masters of perfection

The aesthetic medicine and cosmetic surgery industry is booming and offers almost unlimited possibilities. Each year, new treatment methods receive marketing approval and more and more men and women make ample use of the possibilities on offer.

According to recent research, the European cosmetic surgery and procedure market is still expected to continue growing. The most popular destinations for the European market include Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain. While Italy and France have been ranked among the top ten countries with major cosmetic surgeries procedures, Germany currently holds the biggest market in the European region due to the high number of breast, lip and eyelid surgeries performed in the region.

Trends in the cosmetic surgery industry clearly lean towards minimally invasive medical aesthetic procedures. The reasons for this are that these procedures impress prospective patients with lower costs, less invasiveness, reduced stigma and fewer barriers to entry. After all, injectables, lasers and skin-resurfacing procedures can be quick procedures that more often than not will demonstrate immediate, visible results and come with limited downtime. Research from the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) even revealed that injectables like Botox and fillers have indeed become so mainstream, that four-fifths of all treatments that have been conducted by facial plastic surgeons in 2018 were cosmetic, non-surgical procedures.

Other trends, according to industry leaders, are that cosmetic surgery has become more inclusive and increasingly attracts men, and that less-obvious plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures are on the rise. Therefore, disproportionate breast enhancements and overfilled lips are slowly losing their appeal, while natural results are being favoured. Last but not least, niche treatments are also on the rise, according to experts. These include small, hyper-specific procedures which are ‘micro-optimisations’. For example, the unorthodox use of filler in the earlobe would be one of these niche treatments when used to tighten a stretched piercing from a heavy earring. Another example is that more and more patients get their ‘Cupid’s bow’ – the space between one’s nose and lip – lifted. It is a small surgical procedure with a surpringly big effect.

In the following special theme, find out why Germany is currently considered the go-to country when it comes to cosmetic surgery.

TEXT: NANE STEINHOFF | PHOTOS © PIXABAY