It started out as a little laugh line on the corner of your eye, then it was 2 or 3 extra lines just above your brow, now your daughter tells you how distinguished the crows feet make you look. Last night as you looked in the mirror and wondered why it is you have two chins instead of the one you were born with.
It’s not that 58-year-old Brian wants to look like Brad Pitt nor is 60-year-old Joan planning on entering America’s Top Model anytime soon. Many just want to look as young as they feel. Along with diet, exercise and regular medical check-ups, cosmetic surgery has become a part of the health regimen of many baby boomers.
According to statistics released March last year by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), minimally invasive cosmetic procedures are continuing to increase among all age groups, and baby boomers are increasingly adding skin and body lift procedures.
Since 2005 for people ages 40 to 54, thigh lifts increased 27 percent, lower body lifts increased 24 percent, upper arm lifts increased 23 percent, thread (face) lifts increased 22 percent, breast lifts increased 11 percent, and tummy tucks increased 7 percent. Similar increases in the same procedures since the previous year were also reported for the age group 55 and older. In fact, the combined age groups experienced a 12 percent increase in these cosmetic procedures from 2005 to 2006.
While boomers have aged in years, many of them feel that they haven’t aged in spirit. They’re not retiring in any traditional sense of the word, if they’re retiring at all. Instead, they’re taking up kayaking, buying motorcycles, practicing martial arts and even dating. Even as they enter their sixties, they want bodies and faces that reflect their inner youth. Because baby boomers control 40 percent of the nation’s disposable income, they comprise the wealthiest group of older people in history. The anti-aging and cosmetic industries have taken notice, and they’re beginning to tap into the aging but affluent boomer market.
L’Oreal recently signed 68-year-old Jane Fonda and boomer Diane Keaton to be the faces for its new anti-aging product line. Cosmetic surgery and cosmetic dentistry practices are targeting boomers with ads that feature more mature models.
Face wrinkles are the most complain complaint among boomers. The temporary treatment for loose skin is Botox, with more than 600,000 boomers getting injections last year, according to the ASPS. This procedure is so quick and easy that many are scheduled during the client’s lunch break and the remarkable age-defying effects can last up to 6 months.
Plastic surgeons say there is no typical cosmetic surgery client:
“I’ve worked on priests, police officers, teachers, and salesmen. A large number of my clients are lawyers and others in high-profile jobs,” says William Beeson, a plastic surgeon in Carmel, Ind., and past president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgeons. He says a number of women in their 30s and 40s ask for the “mommy makeover,” a combo tummy tuck and breast lift. Some go further and add a buttock lift and breast implants.
The number of men undergoing cosmetic procedures has surged, according to the ASPS. In 2005, 1.2 million cosmetic surgery procedures were performed on men, up 44% from 2000. Popular procedures include hair transplants, eyelid surgery, Botox and microdermabrasion to smooth out the skin.
Many boomers feel as young on the inside as they did in the days of the Beatles, free love, Hula Hoop parties and Swing. Now modern medicine can make the inside match the outside with just a few pinpricks during your lunch hour.
See what other Boomers have to say about Botox and butt-lifts at www.boomeryearbook.com
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1 comment:
Botox must've really hit it big in the market, huh?? Male cosmetic procedures have gone up to 1.2M in 2005 from 2000... that's a pretty overwhelming number. I'm a part of that figure for having microdermabrasion treatment. Nothing really big. But it costs me quite much.
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