It is true that people of all ages, young and old, desire to look nice with attractive features and want to be appreciated by others. In our era of perfection, cosmetic surgery has altered people’s outlook towards life in general. As a result more and more women and men are choosing cosmetic surgery, making it more popular and acceptable with every passing year. This growth spurt in Cosmetic surgery in year 2010 will be triggered by increasing consumer awareness, direct marketing and advertising campaigns, and technological advances in surgical and non-surgical procedures.
1. Cosmetic surgery will become more acceptable socially in 2010. The issue of societal norms about the alteration of physical appearance with Cosmetic Surgery will shift the direction in coming year. More and more Indians, who can afford, would like to have looks medically altered for better. The increasingly widespread use and acceptability of orthodontics work to improve the appearance of teeth is an example of how use of various medical techniques to alter our appearance is becoming an accepted norm in our society.
2. ‘Looking Young’ is new beauty mantra. There will be a gradual shift in people’s choice from getting ‘more beautiful’ to ‘remaining young’ for longer period with the help of cosmetic surgeries and procedures. After a particular age, people are comfortable with their looks which stand for their individual identity and rather than changing their looks drastically, they would want to remain looking young, for as long as possible. Anti aging surgeries and cosmetic procedures are going to become more popular in India and this segment will catch up with the ‘Make me more beautiful’ oriented cosmetic surgery market in year 2010. The recent years have shown increased popularity of procedures like Face-lift, Neck-lift, Blepharoplasty, breast lift, thigh lift etc and this trend will continue at a much faster pace in 2010. This year Facelift and neck lift will be a rage amongst Indian women in 50-60 age group. Apart from this Blepharoplasty or Eye bags correction surgery will be much in demand for the crisp looking eyelids and sharp ‘untiring’ look for the eyes.
3. Body contouring would remain most popular in New Year. Liposuction will continue to be a popular cosmetic surgery procedure for body contouring and fat reduction for the year 2010 as liposuction still is the most effective and popular fat reduction treatment at present. However quest for non surgical fat removal will continue help develop newer technologies. Injection Lipolysis or mesotherapy, in which multiple injections are given in fat layer to dissolve the fat, will emerge as a popular treatment for cellulite and fat deposits in this year. The number of patients seeking plastic surgery procedures for body contouring after dramatic weight loss like abdominoplasty for loose abdominal skin, breast lift surgery for sagging breasts, lower body lift, arm lift etc. will increase in next year.
4. Indian Mothers will opt for body makeovers to go back in time. A Mommy makeover utilizes combination of cosmetic surgery treatments and procedures to reverse and correct the visible, unwanted effects of pregnancy, breast feeding and child-rearing like stretching and loosening of the skin in the areas of the breasts, thighs, abdomen and excess fat deposits in the belly, back and thighs. Mommy makeover combining tummy tuck and breast lift / augmentation, would be very popular among mother of 30-40 year age group in 2010 in India.
5. Slim look for big fat wedding In India, arranged marriage system and importance of physical beauty in selecting prospective partners, has played a big role in growth of cosmetic surgery market. Indian wedding market would continue to be a big driver in growth of cosmetic surgery in India in 2010 also. Breast Implant surgery and liposuction will be most popular pre-marriage surgical procedures amongst girls while large male breast( Gynecomastia) reduction surgery/ liposuction will be more popular among boys. ‘Lip Pout’ with filler injections and Botox for excessive sweating in underarms will be popular non surgical cosmetic procedures among girls during preparations for marriage.
6. Partners in pain Another interesting change being noticed in our society is concept of ‘Cosmetic Surgery Buddies’. Besides sisters or mother & daughters going for cosmetic surgery together to boost each other morale, now prospective bride and groom as well as newly weds are opting for cosmetic surgery procedures together. This could be due to increasing number of love marriages where women are asking men to also match them in looks and body shape.
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7. Men too joining the fun: Men will represent a growing segment of the aesthetic surgery market in India due to growing acceptance among them about being looking good. Till few years ago, female patients would dominate Cosmetic surgery procedures and the Female to male ratio was 90:10. This ratio has now become 75:25 and going into next decade this ratio could reach 60:40. In coming years, large male breast reduction, liposuction, laser hair removal will be more popular among younger men while Hair transplant surgery and facelift surgery will be treatments of choice in older men.
8. Botox will emerge top wrinkle buster: Botox, the most popular cosmetic procedure for the last few years in India, will continue to lead amongst non surgical cosmetic procedures in India in 2010 also. This segment is likely to grow by more than 500% in next 5 years as more awareness is created among great Indian middle class. Currently working mothers between the ages of 40 and 55 years old are the most common users of Botox. In next decade, Botox will also become more popular in 30- 35 age group as more people will realize its potential in delaying the wrinkles on the face.
People are increasingly utilizing radio frequency techniques such as Thermage in addition to Botox and fillers to create and maintain a youthful look. One of the major benefits of these treatments is that there are no real discernible signs or scars and the downtime and recovery is minimal. . Less invasive Thread Face lift will be another popular procedure among busy professionals.
9. Fillers will be more popular in young people too: The popularity of cosmetic filler injections like Juvederm will continue to increase and growth in this market of cosmetology will be one of the fastest in coming years. The ageing process sees most people lose volume from the face – from around the eyes, the upper cheeks, cheekbones, sides of the mouth and nose-to-mouth lines. To help negate this ageing look, people are turning to facial fillers to help plump up their faces and make them look younger. The reason for this growth will be launch of new products especially Juvederm and their use for more cosmetic indications. Filler injection use for lip augmentation is going to create a new market amongst younger population especially after increased popularity of look with ‘Plump Lips’. However use of cosmetic fillers for wrinkles correction will continue to be a dominant indication in this segment.
10. Stem cell treatments make entry in Indian market: Currently anti aging research is focusing on use of stem cells harvested from your own body for skin rejuvenation and skin firming treatments. In this technique, a small quantity of fat or skin is taken from patient’s body and sent to the lab for autologous stem cell culture. After 2 weeks, the grown stem cells are received and injected in areas of face which need rejuvenation. The downside is that although the procedure is available in India now, it still remains expensive and is beyond the reach of common people at present.
11. Cosmeceuticals, next wave in cosmetics: These will bring next level of skin care with cosmetic products to India in 2010. Cosmeceuticals are cosmetic products with biologically active ingredients purporting to have medical or drug-like benefits. Cosmeceuticals represent a marriage between cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Like cosmetics, cosmeceuticals are topically applied, but they contain ingredients that influence the biological function of the skin. Cosmeceuticals improve appearance, but they do so by delivering nutrients necessary for healthy skin. . Cosmeceuticals will be the fastest-growing segment of the natural personal care industry.
12. Medical tourism and negative impact of Cosmetic Surgery tax: India has been trying to emerge as top Medical tourism destination especially in Cosmetic surgery for last few years. Cosmetic Surgery performed by highly qualified aesthetic plastic surgeons in accredited facilities in India would be the chosen by patients instead of going for just low cost options on other countries. Aging population and recession in US and Europe makes high quality and low cost destinations in India more attractive to prospective patients. By taxing these services @ 10.3%, the Indian Government would make these procedures more expensive and Indian hospitals would be less preferred on pricing front as compared to Malaysia, Thailand etc where Governments are promoting medical tourism and cosmetic surgery industry with more incentives so as to get more visitors and revenue. Taxing the cosmetic surgery at this stage, when it is still in infancy stage in India, would severely hamper its growth. India is also bound to lose its premier position in medical tourism market due to this tax as Cosmetic Surgery is biggest attraction amongst all the medical procedures opted for by overseas patients.
Popularity of Cosmetic procedures will lead to mushrooming of clinics and medical spas offering Cosmetic Medicine and Cosmetic Surgery facilities at various places in India and unfortunately more and more untrained or poorly trained practitioners may try to venture in this field. This will need proper government regulations and legal framework to streamline and regulate Indian cosmetic surgery and medical cosmetology market and guidelines for setting up and management of these facilities need to be provided.
Indian Cosmetic surgery and cosmetic medicine market is growing at a fast pace for last few years and is likely to continue at same pace in 2010.
Despardes 