Spring and summer are always hot times for cosmetic surgery. Before you see the results on the beach, on social media, or in the tabloids and gossip mags, those procedures have to be performed by someone! 2021 was one of the biggest years on record for American cosmetic surgery. MedEsthetics Magazine, one of the premier trade magazines for cosmetic surgeons, estimated that Americans alone spent $8.7 billion on various plastic surgeries and cosmetic treatments provided by healthcare professionals in 2021. (Allure cites estimates in excess of $9 billion for the same period.) This made us at Atlantic Coast Aesthetics curious about what we, and our patients, can expect this year.

Let’s take a look at the top cosmetic surgery trends for summer 2022!

COVID-19 will still impact cosmetic care.

We get it. Everyone’s tired of the pandemic: dealing with it, thinking about it, hearing the grim statistics, worrying about new variants, and just generally tired. However, COVID-19 and its variants are extremely unlikely to simply go away. The chances of the novel coronavirus becoming endemic thanks to finally achieving viral evolutionary equilibrium and herd immunity are far greater. But until one of these events happens, the virus that turned the world upside down will continue to cast its shadow, impacting every facet of our lives, including cosmetic and aesthetic healthcare. We mention COVID-19 because while the coronavirus remains pandemic, all other predictions are, sadly, very much up for grabs due to COVID’s economic and human cost and impact.

Body contouring is IN.

The pandemic makes for a good segue to our first prediction because COVID-19 imposed a more or less sedentary lifestyle on even the most active people through gym closures, lockdowns of popular walking and running areas, an increase in “comfort food” (read: junk food) making its way into shopping carts, pantries, and freezers, and generalized anxiety about, well, everything. But as businesses reopen and people start going back to the office, the clinic, the gym, and school, the inevitable weight gain many Americans packed on while in their own versions of pandemic-enforced “goblin mode” has people looking to shed those pounds again in boom numbers.

While body contouring is not intended and should not be used as a substitute for bariatric surgery or weight loss achieved through normal measures such as diet and exercise, procedures like liposuction, tummy tucks, and abdominal lifts can help tighten and firm up skin left loose and droopy through rapid expansion and contraction. They can also help reshape your post-pandemic body into a more personally pleasing configuration that looks and feels better for the summer and years to come!

Breast augmentation is still on top, but the eyes have it!

Breast augmentation has been at the top of cosmetic surgery charts for years—but in 2022, extrapolating from trends from 2020 and 2021, female breast augmentation may finally be supplanted as the queen of cosmetic procedures. The same shift in emphasis and awareness to overall wellness that informs the resurrected American desire to lose weight is reflected in the surge in popularity of facial surgeries such as rhinoplasties, facelifts, and eyelid surgery, as well as injectable treatments among a younger patient base than ever before. This doesn’t mean breast augmentation is dead by any means: among cisgender and transgender women, breast augmentation using implants or fat transfer continues to be very popular. However, people of all genders looking to correct Zoom-tired eyes and facial sagging caused by weight loss, poor sleep, and stress are helping boost facial surgery’s popularity to challenge breast augmentation for the top slot—at least for now!

Demand for multiple procedures is increasing.

Composite, combination, package, compound, or multiple procedures: No matter what you call them, they’re all ways of saying “doing several procedures at one time.” When cosmetic surgeons began to reopen practices in the wake of changing CDC and government guidance about the necessity of lockdowns due to the pandemic, patients began to demand multiple procedures at the same time in record numbers. The logic is easy to understand because many patients would rather get as much done at one time as possible than schedule a series of single procedures. Performing multiple procedures is generally safe. However, Atlantic Coast Aesthetics’ founder and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Thomas A. Pane, spoke about the benefits and drawbacks of a “one and done” approach in a previous Ask Dr. Pane segment, stressing that several factors impact whether a patient is a suitable candidate for multiple procedures. These include:

• The patient’s overall health
• The type, extent, and complexity of the desired procedures
• How long the patient will be under anesthesia
• And the skill, comfort level, and capability of the surgeon performing the procedure.

These factors can influence a patient’s recovery time, the likelihood of complications, and overall outcome.

Still, for those who have been waiting months or even since 2020 to get cosmetic surgery and want to see about getting several procedures done simultaneously, it’s good to know you’re not alone!

More men are getting cosmetic surgery than ever before.

From neck and chin lifts to skin rejuvenation, ear pinning, gynecomastia correction, and body sculpting, cisgender and transgender men are undergoing cosmetic surgery in record numbers. Part of the increase in plastic surgery popularity among men is the desire to address perceived or actual issues with their bodies or to regain a more youthful appearance after several months to several years of coping with the stresses associated with COVID-19. As more men continue to have plastic surgery done, still others become likelier to consider it themselves, which will, in turn, drive these numbers higher still. 

It’s important to remember that cosmetic surgery is not just for women—if you want to change, alter, or improve your body’s appearance to better reflect the inner you, cosmetic surgery is for everybody!

Whether you’re chasing the trends or looking to set one yourself, Dr. Pane and the staff of Atlantic Coast Aesthetics are happy to help you get all the information you need to start your cosmetic surgery journey off on the right foot. We invite you to contact us by phone at (561) 422-4116; on our website; or through our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, or Pinterest accounts. Your question may contain the answer others who share your interests and concerns are looking for. It may even be the focus of an upcoming Ask Dr. Pane segment, where patient questions are answered by Dr. Pane in person. Remember, at Atlantic Coast Aesthetics, we believe the only bad question is the one you DON’T ask!