Plastic Surgery, the Who and What of It

Ever wonder who's getting plastic surgery? For the most part, it's women. Statistics compiled by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery show that of the 11.5 million cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures done in 2005, over 90% were preformed on women. In fact, surgical procedures for women showed a modest annual increase of 2%, while they were down 8% for men.

People ages 35-50 years are the most likely to have a cosmetic procedure done, accounting for nearly half of procedures, compared with just 4% of people 65 and older.

Hispanics were the minority group getting the largest proportion of cosmetic procedures with nearly 10%, but Whites still made up 80% of cosmetic surgery clients.

The most common cosmetic surgery procedure is liposuction, with over 4 million procedures done in 2005. The area of the body most affected were the breasts. Lifts, augmentations, and breast reductions for both men and women all became more common. Breast lifts increased by nearly 10%, and breast augmentations by nearly one-quarter. Breast augmentation was also the most common procedure among women ages 19-34.

In terms of non-surgical cosmetic procedures, the top five most common procedures were Botox, laser hair removal, hyaluaronic acid (Restylane), microdermabrasion, and chemical peels. The dividing line between cosmetology and cosmetic surgery is getting growing thinner.