The number of lip surgeries performed in the United States has reached a record number in 2015 with a staggering 48 percent increase since 2000, a new report says.
With people getting more engrossed in taking "selfies," they become more conscious of how they look, particularly on their facial features.
In a new report released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the rate of lip augmentation procedures, other than injectables, has increased [PDF] to a total of 27,449, up from 26,025 in 2014.
Other lip procedures like injections, which include Botox and other soft-tissue fillers, have also increased markedly in 2015, reaching nearly 9.2 million. That's about a 1,000 percent increase since 2000.
"We live in the age of the selfie, and because we see images of ourselves almost constantly on social media, we're much more aware of how our lips look," says Dr. David Song, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Lip injections have been gaining popularity especially among clients who do not want to do something dramatic to their faces, such as an eyelid surgery or facelift.
Fillers would wear off in a matter of a few months so clients need to come back for maintenance shots.
Lip implants, on the other hand, are more permanent. Since a new technology is used for this procedure, clients do not need to go back to the clinic every now and then.
The procedure involves using soft and flexible silicone implants that are deemed more pliable and stable than the ones used in the past.
If the patient wishes to remove the implant, it can be removed easily too.
Breast augmentation remains the top cosmetic surgery procedure, with more than 279,143 women going under the knife in 2015 alone. Liposuction comes in second with 222,051 procedures done and nose reshaping in third place with a total of 217,979 procedures.
For minimally invasive procedures, Botox injections have taken lead in the race with 6.7 million procedures performed while tissue fillers come in second with 2.4 million procedures performed.
The report also sheds light on the cosmetic surgery trends over the past year. A total of 15,908,330 procedures, both surgical and minimally invasive, were performed across the country in 2015. In 2000, a total of 7,401,495 cosmetic procedures were performed. That's a 115 percent increase over the past 15 years.
Photo: Joshua Kirby | Flickr
