More are turning to fillers, facelifts and plastic surgery

YOUNG women wanting to stop the ageing process and baby boomers aiming to reverse it are turning more to fillers, facelifts and other procedures that drove the plastic surgery industry revenue to a record $15 billion (R196bn) last year, an industry organisation said on Wednesday.

Spending on plastic surgery in the US for non-medical purposes and other cosmetic procedures, such as Botox and lip injections, rose 11 percent in 2016, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, an organisation with 2 600 plastic surgeon members, said.

The rise can be attributed to younger generations seeking to keep their youthful looks and baby boomers attempting to stay competitive in the workplace by appearing young, the group said.

Cincinnati-based psychologist Ann Kearney-Cooke, who specialises in treating women with body dysmorphic disorder, plastic surgery addiction and other disorders, said social media has added pressure to women striving to meet a standard of beauty defined by looking young.

“There’s a constant flow of photos and people often compare themselves to others,” Kearney-Cooke said. “They think, ‘I’m getting too old. My eyes are too droopy’. There’s so many people having plastic surgery that we feel that we’re inferior if we aren’t,” Kearney-Cooke said. – Reuters