Why Plastic Surgery Went Up and Botox Went Down During the Pandemic

The global pandemic lockdown may have literally changed the face of plastic surgery for years to come.

The years 2020 to 2021 will be forever remembered for things like Zoom Fatigue, The Quarantine 15, and Coronasomnia.

All of these phenomena have had an appreciable impact on the plastic surgery industry, which has caused an increase in surgical procedures, and a decrease in non-surgical procedures.

Half of the World is Now Considering Plastic Surgery

A study by The American Society of Plastic Surgeons polled 1000 people with no prior history of getting any sort of plastic surgery. A startling 49% said they would be open to getting their first-ever procedure.

At the same time, most of these people are considering full-blown plastic surgeries over non-surgical procedures like Botox or dermal fillers. The AAFPRS reported a decrease in the demand for non-surgical procedures during the pandemic, which was the first time they have seen a decline in recent years.

Many experts are pointing to the fact that the work-from-home lifestyle meant that more people could get surgery and recover discreetly while working from home. In the past, the recovery period and the prospect of having to use a week or more of vacation days may have been prohibitive.

“A lot of my patients have been saying I can recover at home, forget the non-surgical stuff,” said Dr. Stephen Mulholland, owner of Toronto Plastic Surgeons.

“They are opting for a facelift over Botox and just turning their webcam off for a week. And they also get to wear a mask when they go out in public.”

The Zoom Boom

For millions of people, working from home went from an occasional thing to an every day thing. And they also likely went from working make-up-free in their pyjamas all day to having to get camera-ready for multiple video calls each day.

The habitually unflattering angles and lighting have led to thousands of people noticing how much they’ve aged recently. As a result, people across North America are starting to book facelifts and eyelifts at a record rate. This has been dubbed The Zoom Effect by many in the industry.

A study by The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) revealed that 70% of surveyed plastic surgeons reported an increase in business during the lockdown. At the same time, 83% of those respondents attributed this increase to the so-called Zoom Effect.

These trends are not expected to dissipate any time soon, as many plastic surgery clinics are still dealing with a backlog of appointments. At the same time, we were already seeing a growing interest in plastic surgery as the upper end of the Millennial generation entered their late 30s. Millennials were already far more open to getting plastic surgery than their Generation X parents.

They are also getting plastic surgery earlier in life, before wrinkles and crow’s feet have a chance to truly emerge. Many are calling these treatments prejuvenation.