Why Are More Millennials Getting Botox?
When we think about the type of people most likely to get Botox treatment, we usually conjure up images of older people trying to recapture a more youthful appearance. While it is true that Botox injections are most popular among older adults, you may be surprised to learn that this procedure is rapidly becoming popular among millennials (adults between the ages of 19 and 34). How many younger adults are opting for this procedure, and what is the reason for its surge in popularity among this age group?
The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) is an international professional organization consisting of more than 2,600 member surgeons who specialize in performing cosmetic procedures only for aesthetic purposes, rather than for medical necessity. Each year, the ASAPS collects survey data from its members to track various trends in cosmetic surgery.
How Popular Is Botox?
According to the ASAPS, Botox was the most popular nonsurgical cosmetic procedure for 2015, with a total of more than 4 million procedures being performed by its member surgeons. This was an increase of almost 19 percent from the more than 3.5 million Botox procedures performed in 2014, and an astounding jump of more than 6000 percent from 1997.
How Many Millennials Are Getting Botox Treatments?
According to the ASAPS, more than 530,000 adults between the ages of 19 and 34 requested Botox treatments from its member surgeons in 2015. This represented 12.6 percent of the total number of Botox treatments requested for 2015. In 2014, slightly less than 530,000 millennials underwent Botox treatments from ASAPS members, which worked out to 14.7 percent of the total number for that year.
Why Are Millennials Turning to Botox Treatments?
Our surgeons at Jefferson Plastic Surgery are well acquainted with the reasons why older patients request Botox treatments. Patients ages 35 and older are looking at Botox as a means to reduce the effects of aging on their face, particularly deep lines on the forehead and between the brows. However, younger patients are often looking at Botox for very different reasons.
One main reason is the current influence of younger celebrities being open about their own Botox experiences and results. When reality TV stars such as Kim Kardashian breathlessly share Botox as part of their beauty regimen, it can increase the appeal of the procedure to younger patients.
Along with this interest in celebrities is the trend of posting selfies on social media. Many young people want to look their best for these selfies and see Botox as a way to allow them to look their best under the flash from their phone cameras.
Finally, some younger patients want to get ahead of the aging process by working on keeping their facial skin looking as good as possible before they begin to show signs of aging. Because the facial skin has not yet begun to lose collagen (a protein that helps fill out the skin over the skeletal framework), fewer Botox treatments are often needed than for older patients.
If there is a lesson from this trend, it may be that cosmetic surgery is not limited to just a certain type of patient. As cosmetic surgery is becoming more popular, we are seeing it appeal to a wider range of patients, for a variety of different reasons. While older patients may be looking to reverse some of the effects of aging, younger ones are looking to get ahead of the aging process.