Continuing Plastic Surgery Trends for 2023 - Inside Scoop

The demand for plastic surgery continues to increase as patients want to make a change to their appearance by altering or enhancing their look. As recently as 2020, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported a total of 15.6-million cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States. As the New Year approaches, here is a look at the plastic surgery trends that will likely continue to be big in 2023.

Continuing Plastic Surgery Trends in the New Year

Fillers and Other Injectables – In general, an injectable is a noninvasive treatment and some of the most popular choices are Botox and fillers. One reason for their popularity is that they do not require any type of surgical procedure and, since the results are not permanent, the patient does not have to worry about the results lasting a lifetime if they are not happy with the results. In addition, the results can be viewed sooner than an invasive procedure like a facelift. Since the demand for traditional Botox and fillers remains strong, this might not seem like “breaking news” to anyone but their continued popularity shows this trend will continue throughout the year.

Male Plastic Surgery – When the phrase “plastic surgery” is mentioned, the public normally imagines a female patient even though the trend of male plastic surgery has been popular for several years. Male patients are looking to have cosmetic procedures in order to retain a youthful look in the workplace through eyelid surgery (to give the eyes a youthful and rejuvenated look by removing excess skin), male breast reduction surgery to reduce the amount of male breast tissue on the body, and injectables (to lessen the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles).

Revision Procedure – This category of plastic surgery procedure looks to be a continuing trend as patients want to update or make changes to the results of a treatment that has already been performed. For example, a person who had breast augmentation years ago might want to change the size or shape of their breast implants because of their personal preference or changing public attitudes towards the “accepted size” of breast implants. Another reason a patient might want to have a revision procedure is the fact that they are not happy with the results of their initial procedure and want to make further changes. A common example is rhinoplasty revision surgery to make further changes to the appearance of the nose or to make additional changes that improve the functionality of the nose on a regular basis.

Preventative Procedures – When plastic surgery was first starting to be performed, it was often performed in order to repair damage to the body that was the result of an accident or trauma to a specific area of the body. Then, patients started to turn to procedures such as a facelift to try and gain a younger look to the face. These days, there is a trend of younger patients having cosmetic procedures to delay and/or prevent the signs of aging. Some of the most common preventative procedures thar are performed by cosmetic surgeons are Botox (to lessen the appearance of wrinkles and lines on the face), dermabrasion (the scraping away of the outermost layer of the skin so wrinkles or a scar are either no long visible or reduced in appearance), and a mini facelift (which addresses skin that sags in the lower third of the face, reduces wrinkles and restores the definition of the chin through an incision that goes from the bottom of the earlobe to the hairline and the ear so the doctor can pull the tissue upwards and outwards towards the ears).

Influence of Social Media – The desire to gain the same look as social media influencers continues to be a driving factor in the decision of many people to have cosmetic surgery. The trend of patients comparing their appearance to the look they see on social media sites such as Instagram and TikTok does not appear to be slowing down anytime in the near future. Even though social media platforms have filters built into them to enhance the look of a social media user, there is still a good amount of people who want to make alterations to their bodies in order to more closely resemble their favorites celebrities or online influencers. Besides following influencers and celebrities on social media, many potential patients also follow plastic surgeons who post videos and photos of cosmetic procedures and also share information about how these treatments are performed.

As the New Year approaches, plastic surgery is still a popular choice for patients of all ages. Besides the continuing trends listed above, there is always new research and tests being performed to try and improve current techniques or to develop new treatment options for the public to enjoy in the future. It will be interesting to see if the trends listed above are still popular choices at this time next year.

- MA