Recession pumps up demand for botox in US - Cosmetic Clinic Sydney

MD Cosmedical Solutions

Recession pumps up demand for Botox in US
12/03/2010 11:00:00 AM

By Emma Thelwell, ninemsn Money

The demand for tummy tucks and boob jobs may have suffered a nip tuck amid the recession, but Americans refused to do without their regular shots of Botox last year, latest data has shown.

The number of cosmetic-surgery procedures performed sagged 2 percent last year, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS).

Breast augmentation, tummy tucks and nose jobs, along with other popular surgical procedures, tumbled 17 percent as Americans reined in their expenses.

However the cheaper, less intrusive, procedures flourished with non-surgical procedures such as Botox rising 0.6 percent – indicating that many could not resist a wrinkle-free brow or fuller lips.

Meanwhile, more than 310,000 Americans raised the funds for breast augmentation – which remains the most popular surgery.

Liposuction procedures come in at a close second, with more than 280,000 patients going under the knife.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the main reason behind the sliding number of procedures was job loss fears.

Phil Haeck, president-elect of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, told the WSJ that patients have shifted their attitude towards surgery in the wake of the financial crisis.

Last year consumers cited cost as a primary hurdle, he said. This year, "job priority is number one, cosmetic surgery is number two," he told the WSJ. According to the ASAPS report, 48 percent of respondents with an income of under US$25,000 approve of cosmetic surgery – with one in four of those respondents happy to consider cosmetic surgery for themselves.

Renato Saltz, MD, President of ASAPS, said: "Twenty years ago people thought only movie stars and rich women had plastic surgery; now people in every income bracket know someone who has had a plastic surgery procedure or would consider plastic surgery for themselves.

"Even in this difficult economic time, people are willing to invest in the things that improve their quality of life. Feeling good about the way they look is high on the list of priorities for many Americans."

Md Cosmedical Solutions
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Dr Buddy Paul Beaini
Sydney Shearton Hotel and Wahroonga
Ph: 1300 885 808
www.mdcosmedicalsoltuions.com.au