Number of Brits getting cosmetic surgery doubles in a year

Forget boob jobs or Brazilian Bum Lifts — they’re officially last year.

Industry figures show that the brow lift is now Britain’s most sought-after cosmetic op.

The procedure, which can cost in the region of £5,000, is designed to emulate the ‘fox eye’ looks of celebs like Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid.

A brow lift involves cutting away tissue from the top of the face to elevate the brows — resulting in fewer forehead lines exposing the eyes more, banishing a ‘tired’ or ‘angry’ look .  

Experts say patients shunning the ageing effects of Botox around the eye area in favour of surgery, as well as social media trends, could be behind the rise.

Cosmetic procedures that were on the up for women in 2022 included brow lifts (up 140 per cent) and liposuction (up 134 per cent). But men saw the biggest growth in certain surgeries like fat transfers up (336 per cent) and brow lifts (up 310 per cent). (Stock image)

Britain’s new-found love for the brow lift was unearthed in an annual report from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS).

It showed how cosmetic surgery as a whole is once again booming, after nosediving over the past few years. 

More than 31,000 procedures were carried out in 2022 — double that of 2021. 

The jump marked the biggest annual increase since records began, which was put down to pent up demand caused by Covid’s disruption.

Cosmetic surgery was largely cancelled during 2020 as part of measures to reduce the risk of the virus spreading, leading to an ongoing backlog of procedures.

Some have also attributed the rise of Zoom during the pandemic, with Brits consequently noticing aspects of their face they were unhappy with.

The true figure for surgeries held in 2022 will be much higher because the BAAPS audit only includes UK-based surgery.

Thousands of Brits fly abroad, to places like Turkey, to go under the knife, for a fraction of the price they would pay in the UK, though there are warnings of what can go wrong overseas.

The audit only includes BAAPS members, too, with not every cosmetic surgeon or clinic in the UK signing up to the audit.  

BAAPS president Marc Pacifico said the results showed that the cost-of-living crisis wasn’t putting Brits off from seeking surgery. 

‘Economic uncertainty and a decrease in overall consumer spending does not seem to the deterring patients from having cosmetic surgery,’ he said. 

‘People are choosing to spend on treatments with a proven track-record of safety and which deliver reliable, long-lasting, and natural results.’

Former BAAPS president Rajiv Grover, who is responsible for compiling the audit, said the rise in procedures was partially due to pent up demand.

‘We are seeing the effects of the pandemic causing pent up demand which partially explains the rise.

Model Bella Hadid’s raised brows have sparked speculation that she has ‘potentially’ had undergone a brow lift. Bella on the left in 2013 versus in 2020 on the right

Some surgeons suspect Kylie Jenner, of Keeping Up with the Kardashians fame, has had her temples lifted via a brow lift procedure 

Some doctors think a very subtle change in Kendall Jenner’s eye shape could be the result of a brow lift. The reality star is pictured here in 2012 (left) and 2019 (right)

‘However, 2022 saw the largest annual increase in procedures since the audit began in 2004 with numbers exceeding pre-pandemic levels and with the first triple digit rise of 102 per cent ever recorded.’

He added that the rise in brow lifts could be down to patients turning away from Botox injections and sharing their success with surgery on social media.

‘The traditional method of achieving a subtle brow lift is with Botox,’ he said.  

‘However, as people get older Botox can make the brow look heavy and tired which means a greater number of people are looking for a surgical solution to counteract the effect of gravity around the eye. 

‘The public can now see the testimonials of real people on social media, especially Instagram, and this has highlighted the physical and psychological benefits of a surgical approach’.

Pop star Ariana Grande is another celeb some surgeons suspect has had a brow lift after comparing her appearance in 2008 (left) with that in 2018 (right)  

Madonna’s dramatically changed features at the Grammys (left) led some surgeons to think she had a brow lift. The singer is also pictured in 2002 (right)

Katie Price, 44, displayed the results of her eye and brow lift in February last year (left). The celebrity has changed her appearance dramatically since 1999 (right)

In terms of overall surgery, breast reduction and tummy tucks were the top three most popular procedures.

They accounted for about half of the total ops done in 2022.

However, the fastest growing procedure was brow lifts, which increased by 163 per cent in 2022, with 400 ops carried out. 

Brachioplasty and thigh lifts, surgery that cuts away excess skin from the arms and inner thighs respectively, also saw a boom, with a 139 per cent increase in such ops carried out.

Women continued to dominate in terms of total cosmetic surgery, accounting for 93 per cent of all procedures.

Fat transfer are used in procedures like a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL). An explosion in BBL’s popularity has been made attributed to the appearance of celebrities like Kim Kardashian, pictured here in 2017

For men’s surgery specifically, nose jobs were the most popular procedure, with 388 carried out, a 45 per cent rise. 

This was followed by chest reduction surgery at 343 procedure (up 158 per cent) and eyelid surgery at 339 (up 105 per cent).

But fat transfers were the fastest growing procedure for men which increased 336 per cent compared to the previous year (96 ops). 

Fat transfers are famously used for procedures like Brazilian Butt Lifts, where flab taken from areas like the stomach is re-injected into the behind to give them a curvier appearance. 

For men this fat transfers can also include injecting fat into the chest muscles to give them a more muscular appearance.

Brow lifts for men also spiked at 310 per cent growth (86 ops). 

BAAPS, a membership organisation for British cosmetic surgeons which advocates for good practise in the industry, has been producing annual audits on the number and types of surgeries carried out in the UK since 2004.