Australia hit by cosmetic surgery boom during lockdown
Lockdown has given plenty of Aussies the time to ponder their looks and ‘get work done’, leading to an explosion in cosmetic surgery and some interesting requests.
Lifestyle
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The pressure to look good on Zoom video calls during lockdown has prompted a spike in cosmetic procedures across Australia.
Doctors told News Corp a fixation on flaws due to make-up-free faces — along with cancelled overseas holidays and new-found recovery time at home — made for a three-fold jump in inquiries.
The most in-demand surgical procedures included rhinoplasty, breast augmentation, laser eye surgery, smile correction procedures and eyelid surgeries.
Melbourne plastic surgeon Dr Chris Moss said he had witnessed a 300 per cent increase in nose job requests and a 200 per cent increase in eyelid surgery queries.
“FaceTime and Zoom mean people are sadly focusing more on their perceived flaws instead of enjoying the energy of a face-to-face conversation,” Dr Moss told News Corp.
Dr Reuben Sim of Melbourne’s Dental Boutique said his clinic has also seen an upswing, with cosmetic procedures rising by 70 per cent since pre-COVID months.
He said that the main reason for the interest in smile correction was people’s new-found free time.
“We see a lot of bankers and lawyers, and because their lives are always go, go, go, they often haven’t had the time, but since things have come to a halt it’s provided them with that,” he said.
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Dr Sim said the most common treatments requested were porcelain veneers, dental bonding, and Invisalign – which can range in price from $2,000 to $25,000.
Australasian College for Cosmetic Surgeons president Patrick Tansley said Australia had the highest per capita spend on cosmetic procedures in the world
“The population is very interested in cosmetic procedures, so I’m not surprised that there’s high demand anyway,” he said.
Dr Tansley said travel bans had seen many patients who would typically head overseas for procedures have their work done domestically.
“I’m very glad about that as we wish to see people treated safely,” Dr Tansley said.
“As long as they choose their surgeon safely in this country they have a much better chance of being looked after properly than if they go abroad to low cost operators.”
He also blamed social media for the surge.
“If people have been at home, one of the common forms of media for investigating these surgeries is social media, and I would caution potential patients to be very careful about the information they take from such a source. There simply is no substitute to seeing a doctor or a surgeon who is properly trained in cosmetic surgery and knows what they are doing,” he said.
Originally published as Australia hit by cosmetic surgery boom during lockdown