Nip & Tuck without the knife – the latest trends in plastic surgery

The Today show recently featured a week of segments on the trends in plastic surgery in their Summer of Secrets series. One of the biggest trends seen by plastic surgeons across the U.S. is the demand for non-surgical cosmetic treatments. As new advances are made with injectables, lasers, fat busting machines, skin tightening machines, and sweat reduction treatments more and more people are opting for non-surgical options for improving their appearance.

For working professionals or for those in the entertainment industry appearance is especially important. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, people are judged by their looks. There are have been various studies and reports issued confirming those who look their best tend to be more successful. Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean if you don’t look like Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt that you have zero chance of success. When a person feels like they look their best, they tend to feel more confident, capable, and relevant, which can translate into others viewing the person the same way. When you look like you take care of yourself it sends a message to others that you are youthful, vibrant, energetic, smart, etc. this can turn into others valuing and trusting your opinions, looking to you as an authority figure, and wanting to be around you. All of this can lead to a life filled with more success and achievement.

Non-invasive cosmetic treatments have many obvious benefits. For starters, men and women of just about any age can benefit from some type of non-surgical service. More and more people in their 20?s are having treatments to combat future signs of aging. Botox is used even when there are little to no signs of wrinkles as a way to keep them from forming. Non-surgical treatments also appeal to those who are too fearful of going under the knife. There are many individuals out there who are either too afraid of general anesthesia or afraid they will have a permanent result they don’t like. There are also a lot of men and women who are just too busy to take a week or more off work or they have children they need to take care of and can’t be stuck recovering in bed. And, some people are simply not candidates for surgery due to health conditions or other issues, but they may be candidates to have non-surgical treatments. There is also the expense of surgery. Plastic surgery is not something everyone can afford. Non-surgical treatments tend to require less of a financial investment, however it should be noted a lot of procedures like injectables, lasers, and peels do require ongoing treatments to maintain results, which can add up in cost over time.

The American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS released astatistical report showing the top 5 non-surgical treatments for both men and women in 2014 were:

– Botulinum Toxin (3,588,218 procedures)
– Hyaluronic Acid (1,696,621 procedures)
– Hair Removal (828,480 procedures)
– Chemical Peel (484,053 procedures)
– Microdermabrasion (417,034 procedures)

Since 2010 there has been a dramatic increase in the number of men having non-surgical treatments

Botulinum Toxin (up 84%)
Hyaluronic Acid (up 94%)
Nonsurgical skin tightening (up 37%)
Intense Pulsed Light (up 44%)

The report also showed the largest growth in volume on a year-over-year basis in a non-surgical treatment was seen in non-surgical fat reduction.

At our medical spa, the BioSpa, we are definitely seeing similar trends as reported by the ASAPS. In fact, we recently opened the BioSpa For Men to satisfy the growing number of men seeking non-surgical cosmetic treatments. We felt it was time to cater to their growing needs just as we have been to our female patients for decades. We are also crossing over into an area we call Aesthetic Synergy – the combination of both surgical and non-surgical procedures with the goal of obtaining the best aesthetic result possible – Not always does a non-surgical or surgical procedure alone provide an optimal result. We find that combining treatments is the cherry on top. For example, a patient may have our LiteLift® facelift procedure to improve issues like skin sag, jowls, turkey neck or neck banding, however he/she may have volume loss or skin texture issues which the surgical procedure cannot address. We will then treat the volume loss with an injectable filler such as Voluma and the skin texture issues with either a laser treatment like Sciton BBL or a chemical peel such as the Obagi Blue Peel.

In an attempt to stay at the forefront of non-invasive cosmetic procedures, we have expanded our medical spa to allow enough room to offer a large variety of treatment devices such as Vanquish, UltraShape, and VelaShape 3 for fat removal and body shaping. Sciton laser for skin tightening and other skin issues. miraDry and miraSmooth for underarm hair and sweat removal. GentleMax Pro for laser hair removal. We also have dedicated injectable rooms for our patients seeking Voluma, Radiesse, Juvederm, Sculptra, Restylane, Restylane Silk, Botox, and Dysport, just to name a few.

Plastic surgery without the knife – (as seen on the Today Show)