Plastic Surgery Trends That Took Over 2020

Every year, we see beauty standards shift ever so slightly. Things fall in and out of favor. Trends see their last hurrah. As it happens, you can look back at those changes year by year and learn about what was popular and what wasn't. 

2020 doesn't have plastic surgery trends that are like any other year's. This year saw people spend a lot of their time covering their faces. When their faces weren't covered, they were home. Some had plenty of time on their hands to decide on what changes they wanted to make and how they wanted to make them. They made those moves quietly, as Refinery29 noted, because of the controversy around having voluntary procedures during the pandemic. 

In fact, you can argue the pandemic also helped shape trends. We've spent a lot of time looking at our own faces thanks to the switch to Zoom-everything. That's inspired many people to get tweaks they may have passed on otherwise.

According to an industry report cited by Business Insider, more people are opting for face and neck lifts, cosmetic dentistry, and hair restoration in 2020. After spending so much of the year connecting with others via video calls, they want to keep their face looking youthful in all possible ways. 

"The use of video calling via Skype, FaceTime, Zoom and Microsoft Teams has apparently triggered significant interest and demand for those wishing to 'polish' their appearance," Liz Heath, who wrote the report, explained. "It is for some people also an important feature of their career and professional development."

Botched celeb Dr. Terry Dubrow agrees. He told TMZ that celebrities might have led the charge there. In the earliest days of shutdowns, everyone saw the opportunity to get work done. "As incredible as it sounds ... that's actually true. It's almost like Christmas vacation," he explained. "We're getting calls, particularly from Beverly Hills, celebrities and high-profile people ... because Beverly Hills is shut down. You're not allowed to have elective beauty treatments or cosmetic surgery in Beverly Hills now. I'm in Orange County, we're still open ... A lot of them want their facelifts. They want to do their major overhaul that they were sort of waiting for their break between movies to do."

Quarantine was a perfect time for many people who were hesitant about cosmetic procedures to take the plunge. As we head into another period where we'll be inside, surgeons expect to see the uptick again. Patients have plenty of time at home to recover, explained Dr. Lynn Jeffers, former president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), told Business Insider. "[They] took advantage of the downtime to have their procedures done when they could recover and work from home."

A survey of members of ASPS showed that many people looked to get Botox treatments as plastic surgeons reopened. Insider shares that 65% of patients were looking for the popular procedure. The next most popular was breast augmentation, which 44% of patients requested. Soft tissue fillers came in third at 37% requested.

Before you know it, it will be 2021. We have a feeling as things get normal around the world, we'll be seeing shifts in the trends yet again. People will do whatever it takes to look their best, and surgeons are prepared to deliver.