Aging baby boomers are causing another boom – this time in the field of cosmetic surgery. In the last five years, this branch of medicine has seen dramatic gains in surgical and non-surgical procedures across the board, with an increasing number of men choosing cosmetic enhancements. Baby boomers are not the only ones driving this trend. Younger people are turning the clock back earlier to head off the signs of aging. One trend in surgery is to perform smaller procedures at a younger age when the skin is still elastic. Long-term results are better and the work isn’t as noticeable as the results – looking better.
It’s not just cosmetic surgery, either. The number of people seeking cosmetic dentistry and permanent makeup procedures has increased dramatically. Everyone wants to look better, younger and healthier, and the results are as much psychological as they are physical. Looking better and feeling younger makes people feel confident, in their business dealings and their personal lives.
Turn Back the Clock
“I think both men and women see their careers as a prime reason for doing cosmetic surgery,” said Goesel Anson, MD. “Men, more than women, often cite their careers as impetus for surgery. They want to stay in the game and compete with the younger generation. It makes sense to me. With age come all the great things – confidence and skill and experience.”
It’s natural to want the outside to reflect the inside, to look as young as you feel. People want to put two contrary things together – the confidence of age and the appearance of youth. As a result, Anson’s average facelift patient is about 50 years old. Twenty years ago, facelift patients were in their 60s. Today, eyelid surgery is common for people in their 40s.
Statistics support the idea that many patients are seeking a way to look as young as they feel. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), the number one procedure in 2001 was Botox injections, a non-surgical, temporary way to look younger more quickly. Some 1.6 million injections were given in 2001. Botox treatments take about 10 minutes and the results can last up to four to six months. Chemical peels ranked second overall and blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) ranked eighth in popularity, with facelifts and forehead lifts coming in 13th and 15th. There were nearly 8.5 million surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures performed in 2001, according to the largest national survey to date by ASAPS; 12 percent of the total, about 1 million, were performed on men.
Dr. William A. Zamboni, professor in chief, division of plastic surgery, Nevada School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said in his practice close to 20 percent of cosmetic procedures are performed on men. Body contouring – taking care of love handles and reducing fatty breast tissue – are the most common procedures.
Increasingly, both men and women are seeking nonsurgical treatments that, while temporary, require less downtime. “Botox injections are very popular and have actually increased dramatically in the last couple years in my practice,” said. Zamboni. “Botox temporarily deactivates the muscles that cause frown lines and creases around the eyes like crow’s-feet. The effects last anywhere from four to six months. That’s something that takes about 10 minutes to do in the office, and in four to five days you’re looking younger. That is true for both men and women.”
“A lot of men choose this procedure [Botox] because the frown lines make people look mean,” said Anson. “Those vertical furrows appear when you scowl and remain visible even when you’re not scowling. The purpose of Botox is to diminish those lines.”
“I think it’s a real confidence booster to look in the mirror and, instead of frown lines, see a smoother forehead,” said Zamboni. This can make a tremendous difference in the patient’s confidence in the office, the courtroom or wherever business is conducted. Zamboni’s patients range from people in the casino industry who feel they are competing with younger generations for floor jobs and administrative positions, to entertainers, executives, small business owners and attorneys. “I see a lot of attorneys,” said Zamboni.
Smile
Tracy Ransdell, DDS, said many of her cosmetic dentistry patients are on the verge of retiring. Others are late-40s baby boomers who are becoming more conscious of the way they look.
Cosmetic dentistry is one of the fastest-growing areas of dentistry, according to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). A recent AACD survey showed tooth whitening procedures increased by over 300 percent over the last five years and applications of veneers increased by over 250 percent.
In Ransdell’s office, veneers rank second to changing old colored fillings for white. Whitening procedures are also in demand. Female patients outnumber males in her practice, but both sexes are looking for better smiles. Veneers allow dentists to re-sculpture smiles with techniques similar to applying false nails. Veneers are materials actually laid over the tooth, so some tooth structure is removed to avoid making teeth too bulky. Then the veneer is laid over top, allowing dentists to straighten, whiten and re-craft the way the teeth look. According to an AACD survey, 75 percent of adult Americans who responded believe unattractive smiles can hurt chances for career success. If nothing else, improving one’s smile helps boost self-esteem and confidence.
Ransdell stated, “There are people who tell me that when they’ve been in meetings or first meet people, they’re embarrassed with their smile. Obviously that goes into the business setting and into the personal setting, too. You get first impressions at work, just as you do in social situations. One patient in particular is doing this because he’s getting older. He’s concerned he doesn’t look as nice and he feels his smile looks older and gives him less credibility. I don’t know if that’s necessarily true or not – people can read anything into anything. I’m pretty sure it’s his own fear of aging and losing credibility with clients, but he felt his smile looked old.” Whether the loss of credibility is perceived or real, cosmetic procedures can give people back the confidence they once had.
Save Time, Look Great
Permanent makeup gives people the opportunity to look great fast. It’s been around since Cleopatra’s time and is gaining popularity again with women, and also some men. Using the same equipment as a tattoo artist, but with pigments instead of dyes, procedures span from purely cosmetic to reconstructive.
The most common cosmetic procedure involves filling in the eyebrows, according to Mary Arnold, RN, who started working with permanent cosmetics nearly 20 years ago. As both men and women age, they start losing hair in the eyebrows. Permanent cosmetic procedures look more natural than penciling in brows, said Arnold. They’re not redrawn daily and the line is under the skin, shining through with a soft, subtle enhancement of features. Permanent eyeliner makes eyes look wide open and beautiful and also saves time. Full lip color can be used to balance uneven lips, create fuller lips or straighten crooked lips, as well as to enhance color.
Men usually seek permanent cosmetics to cover scars or for hair follicles. “If they have a thinning area, it’s not like doing hair, but if there’s a couple of areas where there’s white scalp showing through, we can do hair follicles there to create the illusion of hair by camouflaging white scalp,” said Arnold.
With the surge in interest in permanent cosmetics, there has been a corresponding surge in people offering the services. Because the field is lucrative, Arnold said, many people are getting trained to do it. However, she cautioned that it takes years to learn to work successfully on people using pigments. Some jurisdictions lump licensing requirements for permanent cosmetics together with tattooing and piercing, so she urges people considering the procedure to proceed with caution and check qualifications. Arnold said her clients come from every walk of life, from teens to people over 40, executives to volunteers to retirees – everyone wants to save time and look better.
According to Anson, “The bottom line is, if you think you look good, you are more confident, and confidence breeds success in whatever you do. Because you feel better, you behave better, and people really respond to confidence.”
