Daily video calls have taken their toll on the male ego and there has been a surge in men seeking cosmetic procedures to make them “Zoom-ready”, according to plastic surgeons.
[Read original Times article here]
There was a 70 per cent rise in requests for video consultations for new cosmetic procedures in 2020, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) found. A third of plastic surgeons surveyed saw an increase in men seeking virtual consultations.
Dr Salinda Johnson, medical director at the London Cosmetic Clinic, said: “As people are on Zoom calls a lot they have seen themselves in detail from the screen and find some concerns that need correction, for example wrinkles, dark eye circles and face sagging.”
Johnson told the The Guardian that the most popular treatments for men included Botox to reduce wrinkles, “dermal filler for jawline definition”, chin enhancement and a procedure called FaceTite that reduces double chins.
Some 11 per cent of men feel as if they look five years older as a result of the stress brought about by lockdown, according to a report from the Uvence clinic last year. Research by BAAPS found that men now wanted to look “tweaked” rather than “tucked”. The organisation has warned that unscrupulous cosmetic surgery providers are cashing in on a post-pandemic “Zoom boom” by coercing vulnerable patients into buying cosmetic surgery procedures. A post-lockdown plastic surgery boom could lead to vulnerable patients being taken advantage of by unscrupulous providers, the organisation said.
BAAPS, which aims to advance safety, education and innovation in cosmetic surgery, is warning the public not to fall prey to unethical marketing tactics. It warned that virtual cosmetic surgery consultations could be an attempt to lure people into “panic buying” plastic surgery as a quick-fix solution.
Research by the organisation found that 75 per cent of patients who have a video consultation go on to have actual surgery.
Some 33 per cent of BAAPS members saw an increase in men seeking virtual consultations and 66 per cent said there was an increase in younger women seeking them.
Johnson said that since the coronavirus lockdown began, people had found that they had been able to recover from cosmetic surgery procedures behind closed doors, which had added to their appeal.
“More invasive procedures are demanded as people can stay at home to hide the swelling and bruising,” she said.
As for the popularity of injectables, she added: “The treatment itself has minimal down-time and results can be natural-looking, depending on the dosage and technique of the injection.”
