Americans are turning to plastic surgery like never before — here are the most popular procedures
Have a knife day.
Americans have become obsessed with plastic surgery and other means of image enhancement post-pandemic, research shows.
Overall demand for cosmetic procedures increased by 5 percent in 2023 over the previous year, with requests for minimally invasive work jumping 7 percent, according to a new report from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
Looking at the most popular procedures that have been performed, interest in one danced its way to the top, and that’s something called the “ballet body” — a natural, lean-looking athletic physique like that of a dancer.
“It’s definitely a trend,” Dr. David Shafer, a renowned New York-based, double board-certified plastic surgeon and a diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, confirmed to The Post.
He explained that since COVID-19, people have come to him and his colleagues wanting to look “athletic and slender,” a noted change from the “over-exaggerated features” that were popular before the lockdowns.
“Liposuction is the backbone of this trend, which is also seen in the fact that for the last couple of years, it has been the most popular surgical procedure of all,” Dr. Gabriel Chiu, an award-winning celebrity plastic surgeon and founder of Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery, told The Post.
However, a long list of procedures can help people achieve this look as they target different areas based on their body type and desired results.
“As plastic surgery practices opened up again [after the lockdowns], requests for a natural-looking but athletic contouring were the norm,” Dr. Chiu said.
In 2023, of the nearly 1.6 million procedures performed, the top 5 were: liposuction (up 7 percent), breast augmentation (up 2 percent), abdominoplasty (up 5 percent), breast lift (up 7 percent) and eyelid surgery, also known as blepharoplasty (up 5 percent).
Of the estimated 25.4 million minimally invasive procedures that were performed in 2023, the top 5 were: neuromodulator injections, better known as Botox, et al (up 9 percent), hyaluronic acid fillers (up 8 percent), skin resurfacing (up 5 percent), skin treatment (up 6 percent) and lip augmentation (up 4 percent).
The upward trend comes as Americans seek to speedily shed pandemic-induced pudge, with an increasing number vying for GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy to help them along.
For some, the change isn’t coming quickly enough.
But critics of going under the knife worry that the trend of cosmetic procedures will contribute to unrealistic expectations and worsening body image issues for women — while those in the industry insist the surgeries boost confidence and improve the quality of life.
“They’re trying to live a more healthy lifestyle. They want their body to reflect that,” Dr. Chidester, AKA Dr. Chiddy, a board-certified plastic surgeon and CEO of The Plastics Clinic, told The Post.
The main group driving this trend are women in their 20s to 50s in an office setting and/or who have given birth to multiple children.
“It’s not just the appearance that they’re trying to obtain, like that fit lean look, but more so the functionality,” Dr. Chiddy said.
“It’s not like a mommy makeover. It’s like a mommy takeover. They’re taking control of their body back.”
