What treatments are patients getting after lockdown?

At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, plastic surgery and cosmetic dermatology practices were shut down and cosmetic procedures came to a halt.  The future of the industry was uncertain and looked grim.  With people not going to work, wearing masks all the time, and not going out socializing, it was thought that there would be no interest in cosmetic procedures for a long time.  However, with people working at home and conducting only Zoom meetings, there became an renewed interest in cosmetic services.  In fact, there was an increased need far above the norm.

What is the “Zoom Boom”?

Zoom meetings allowed people the ability to see themselves as others do and for prolonged periods of time.  By staring into a Zoom screen all day, people were able to see their imperfections over and over again and obsess over them daily. Since we are our harshest critics, people wanted to fix the problems they saw so the world would see them looking good.  When people look better, they feel better.  With their attention of their problems, many decided to take the plunge and have the procedures they always wanted to when clinics re-opened.  They had time to research what procedures they wanted to have done.  Working from home afforded them the ability to privately recover at home without anyone seeing what they had done.  Also, without travel and entertainment expenses, they had the extra funds to fuel their cosmetic dreams.

What are procedures are people getting done?

As expected, people had an increased interest in procedures to rejuvenate the eyes.  This area becomes the focal point of our face when we are wearing masks.  Botox, which is always the number one non-surgical procedure, is being used to help relax the wrinkles around the eyes, elevated the brows and remove the wrinkles on the forehead and between the brows.  Fillers are being requested to rejuvenate the under-eye area, or tear troughs, to diminish the appearance of dark circles.  Even peels to rejuvenate the skin and intense pulsed light (IPL) to remove brown spots are popular again.

Because of the Zoom era, lips and jawlines became the focus of attention.  Fillers were used to add volume to the lips and refine them.  Jawlines are being contoured and defined with fillers, Kybella, and skin tightening procedures.  Even neck lifts have seen a surge in interest.

Will this last?

This uptick in cosmetic procedures will no doubt last long after the pandemic is gone.  Once people see how refreshed they look and how much better they feel about themselves, they will want to continue maintaining their new look.  Since there have been so many advances in cosmetic procedures making them quicker, easier and less painful, more people will desire them.   This online world of Instagram and Tiktok has just begun and it is not going to disappear.  As the population continues to age, there will more and more demand for these services.