Every year we talk about certain plastic surgery procedures becoming more desirable or less desirable, the same way we might talk about jean styles or heel heights. Is it worrying to think that surgical changes to your face or body could be affected by trends? Well, sure. After all, these options are much more permanent than swapping skinny jeans for bootcuts. But the fact remains that plastic surgery does not exist in a vacuum — it is influenced by the economy, technology, lifestyle and cultural changes. So, just as there are trends in make-up or hair or jeans, there are also trends in plastic surgery.
Some are motivated by innovations in surgical techniques and even fat injections: Both have helped facelifts become more natural over the years. So natural that in 2023, patients may approach them as part of a long-term maintenance plan instead of the surgery they did before. Another thought on the state of facelift trends in 2023: “Facelifts have [historically] it was pretty recession-proof,” he says Steven Teitelbaum, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Santa Monica, California. And with the recession looming, plastic surgeons expect to see them among a handful of procedures overshadowing others over the next year (more on that in a few).
Meet the Experts
- Steven WilliamsMD, plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Dublin, CA and president-elect of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons
- Julius FuMD, board certified plastic surgeon in Chicago and Los Angeles
- Steven TeitelbaumMD, board certified plastic surgeon in Santa Monica, CA
The new year’s trends in plastic surgery are an extension of the injectable trends, to a certain extent. Patients who are used to tweaking their face with Botox or fillers may be looking for longer-lasting or aesthetically different results. “Right now, the biggest fear most people have about cosmetic treatments, whether surgical or non-surgical, is that they look unnatural,” she says. Julius Fu, MD, board-certified plastic surgeon in Chicago and Los Angeles. So the procedures that rise to the top will likely be those that create small but dramatic changes in the face. “That’s number one. Also, if you can do something in a way that minimizes the downtime of recovery, that’s the way to do it,” says Dr.
Here, the three trends—and five procedures—will drive the plastic surgery business in 2023:
Facelifts in the 40s are going to be something – except they look more like facelifts lite.
“I have people come in all the time in their mid-to-late 40s and they’re like, ‘Am I getting a facelift?’ says Dr. “This has become a much more common conversation, compared to even two years ago.” The facelift they’re thinking about is “not your mother’s facelift that was this super-excited Saran Wrap effect,” says Dr. Excess skin is still removed, but, at a younger age, there is not much sagging, so there is usually not a ton of skin to cut away. The muscles below the jaw line and neck are tight, “but not that much [to do there]. It makes the process a little faster, a little more predictable,” says Dr. pulled. It’s much more three-dimensional now than ever.” This is a big topic in the world of plastic surgery: “Advances in fat injections play a big role in [making facelifts more natural],” says Dr. Teitelbaum.
