No Receding Interest in Beauty Treatments

Last year was particularly rough on the nation’s psyche, with the continuing recession, high unemployment rates, and the rising number of home foreclosures. So, it comes as no surprise that Americans continued to treat themselves to a variety of confidence-boosting and image-enhancing cosmetic procedures in 2009.

That’s according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), which released its annual tabulation of surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures today. There was only a 2% overall dip in the number of nonsurgical and surgical procedures from last year, according to the ASAPS.

Not suprisingly, injections of botulinum toxin type A (Botox and Dysport) led the way, with 2.5 million procedures performed (largely in women). The number of nonsurgical procedures far outweighed surgical procedures at 8.5 million, compared with 1.4 million.

The ASAPS also said that cosmetic plastic surgery is gaining acceptance among Americans of all income levels. In a survey, 48% of those with incomes under $25,000 said they approved of cosmetic surgery, compared with 52% of those with incomes of $25,000-$50,000, 55% of those with incomes of $50,000-$75,000, and 62% of those with incomes of more than $75,000.

One can only venture to guess exactly what these statistics indicate about the nation’s zeitgeist. What are you seeing in your practice?

More details on the 2009 ASAPS data to come.

Alicia Ault (on Twitter @aliciaault)

^{Image courtesy Flickr user Smabs Sputzer (Creative Commons)}

Last year was particularly rough on the nation’s psyche, with the continuing recession, high unemployment rates, and the rising number of home foreclosures. So, it comes as no surprise that Americans continued to treat themselves to a variety of confidence-boosting and image-enhancing cosmetic procedures in 2009.

That’s according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), which released its annual tabulation of surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures today. There was only a 2% overall dip in the number of nonsurgical and surgical procedures from last year, according to the ASAPS.

Not suprisingly, injections of botulinum toxin type A (Botox and Dysport) led the way, with 2.5 million procedures performed (largely in women). The number of nonsurgical procedures far outweighed surgical procedures at 8.5 million, compared with 1.4 million.

The ASAPS also said that cosmetic plastic surgery is gaining acceptance among Americans of all income levels. In a survey, 48% of those with incomes under $25,000 said they approved of cosmetic surgery, compared with 52% of those with incomes of $25,000-$50,000, 55% of those with incomes of $50,000-$75,000, and 62% of those with incomes of more than $75,000.

One can only venture to guess exactly what these statistics indicate about the nation’s zeitgeist. What are you seeing in your practice?

More details on the 2009 ASAPS data to come.

Alicia Ault (on Twitter @aliciaault)

^{Image courtesy Flickr user Smabs Sputzer (Creative Commons)}

Last year was particularly rough on the nation’s psyche, with the continuing recession, high unemployment rates, and the rising number of home foreclosures. So, it comes as no surprise that Americans continued to treat themselves to a variety of confidence-boosting and image-enhancing cosmetic procedures in 2009.

That’s according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), which released its annual tabulation of surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures today. There was only a 2% overall dip in the number of nonsurgical and surgical procedures from last year, according to the ASAPS.

Not suprisingly, injections of botulinum toxin type A (Botox and Dysport) led the way, with 2.5 million procedures performed (largely in women). The number of nonsurgical procedures far outweighed surgical procedures at 8.5 million, compared with 1.4 million.

The ASAPS also said that cosmetic plastic surgery is gaining acceptance among Americans of all income levels. In a survey, 48% of those with incomes under $25,000 said they approved of cosmetic surgery, compared with 52% of those with incomes of $25,000-$50,000, 55% of those with incomes of $50,000-$75,000, and 62% of those with incomes of more than $75,000.

One can only venture to guess exactly what these statistics indicate about the nation’s zeitgeist. What are you seeing in your practice?

More details on the 2009 ASAPS data to come.

Alicia Ault (on Twitter @aliciaault)

^{Image courtesy Flickr user Smabs Sputzer (Creative Commons)}