A Look Back At 2016 Plastic Surgery Trends

It’s hard to believe the holidays are here and that it is almost 2017. While final statistics for 2016 have not been released by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, there are certain trends that were observed across the country this year.

One of the biggest trends is best described as “subtlety”. Many patients looked to get work done that didn’t look like there had been any work performed at all. Less was definitely more as patients sought out natural looking enhancements. Both women and men made more of an effort to tweak their current look while maintaining a natural appearance.

Fat transferring is the process of removing fat from areas where patients don’t want it, such as the stomach, and moving it to an area of the body where they desire more volume like the buttock area. This trend continued to grow in 2016 thanks to the influence of Instagram, singers, rappers and reality TV stars.

Injectables remained popular in 2016 as patients attempted to add volume to their face and also prevent the appearance of wrinkles. The “Kardashian Effect” is still seen across the country as people underwent butt lifts to try and match the “belfies” often shared by the Kardashian family. FYI: A “belfie” is a backwards or booty selfie.

Overall, plastic surgery continued to be popular as there are always new treatments or products being introduced to grab the attention of consumers. The amount of choices available to the public, as well as the wide range of prices offered by doctors, made it more enticing for patients to undergo changes they’ve long desired in their appearance.

It is important to mention that a patient should only have plastic surgery to make a change they desire and not to make someone else happy. Being pressured by friends or trying to keep a loved one happy can often lead to feelings of resentment later. A responsible doctor will sit down with a patient and discuss the reasons behind wanting to make a change before agreeing to perform a procedure. The best motivation for plastic surgery is to fix a specific issue and not to make someone else happy. A good example of fixing a specific issue is breast reduction that helps the patient feel better about their appearance as well as eliminate back and shoulder pain the person might suffer from because of the larger breasts.

Once the calendar turns to 2017, and the statistics for this year are revealed, it will be interesting to see if the above trends stay strong and continue to be popular in the New Year.

MA