The American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS) is telling us that, between plastic surgeries and other more minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, Americans spent some $16 billion in 2016. That’s a new record. We’ve discussed before which procedures are most popular – breast augmentations, injection-based facial rejuvenation techniques and liposuction all got mentioned in this report – but the big deal here is the blossoming of plastic surgery into something that’s become more and more a part of the daily life of regular people.

Indeed, while it was never true that only the wealthy and famous got plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures, the market for plastic surgery has grown ever more diverse in terms of economic strata. It gets better because, due to advances in how the procedures are being performed, the cost of some types of plastic surgery actually went down last year. We can’t think of another field, outside of high-tech gadgets and home entertainment, where costs ever seem to decline over time, so that’s worth mentioning.

All in all, though, the experts seem to agree that what’s really happening is that we’re all getting used to the idea of plastic surgery. Just as the use of make-up was once controversial in many societies but is now almost universal, and going to the gym regularly was once the sole province of athletes and allegedly eccentric “physical culture” enthusiasts, men and women alike from all socio-economic groups now see medical procedures as simply one more arrow in their appearance quiver. 

We’ve seen plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures improve the lives of countless BHP patients so, of course, it’s hard for us to see this as anything other than a really great thing.