WhatClinic.com reveals growing popularity for less invasive facial procedures

Brits are moving away from invasive facial procedures, such as full face-lifts, in favour of smaller, non-surgical procedures, according to data released by Whatclinic.com.

Email enquiries soared by 122% for mini face-lifts and more than 100% for non-surgical face-lifts over the past 12 months, the website said. Surgical face-lifts are still popular but their growth has slowed in recent years, with only a 22% increase since 2015.

The trend is towards less drastic facial procedures which require a shorter recovery time. Patients are seeking smaller changes at an earlier age, with procedures like non-surgical face-lifts, which have a very short recovery time.

Other more invasive procedures, such as eyelid surgery, have a recovery time of four to seven days and less bruising and swelling than face-lifts, offering immediate gratification for patients. The facial surgery that is of most interest to male patients is that of eyelid surgery, with 30% of enquiries coming from men, according to the analysis.

A full face-lift, also known as a “face and neck lift”, addresses cheek and neck laxity as well as jowls. The procedure, most popular with the 45-55 age bracket, is the most invasive of the facial plastic surgeries. 70% of enquiries into face-lifts come from people over the age of 45. For neck lifts, the enquiry figure is slightly lower at 65%, and it drops significantly for less invasive procedures like eyelid surgery, where only 43% of enquiries come from people over the age of 45.

Less invasive procedures also come in at a lower price point so they are more accessible than before. Non-surgical face-lifts listed on Whatclinic.com cost on average £177, jaw contouring costs £315, and thread lift costs only £615 on average. This is compared to the much higher prices quoted for procedures such as face-lifts, mini-face-lifts, eyelid surgery, brow and neck lifts, which all cost on average over £3K in the UK. 

Dr Foued Hamza MD, Consultant plastic surgeon at Queen Anne Street Medical Centre, London commented on the trends: “We’ve noticed in recent years that patients are looking for less invasive procedures, and are getting the surgeries earlier, between the ages of 25 - 40 years, before their skin has been significantly damaged by the aging process. The trend is for smaller procedures whose effect last 18 months to two years and which are often supplemented with Botox, filler or thread lifts. This allows for a more natural progression than a procedure such as a full face-lift. Extensive face-lifts can have scarring and a longer recovery time, which is not ideal for patients who work. Unlike other surgeries such as nose jobs or butt augmentation, patients are not looking for a significant change in appearance and do not come in with a celebrity in mind; instead they tend to bring younger photos of themselves as a reference point to the look they want to return.”

The table below shows the most popular facial surgery procedures, based on patient enquiries sent to UK clinics listed on WhatClinic.comin the past year.

 

Top procedures, based on email enquiries sent to UK clinics on WhatClinic.com
Procedure	Increase in enquiries over the past year	Average UK starting price	Highest demand from (GENDER)	Highest demand from (AGE)
Face-lift	22%	£5,467	Female	45-54
Neck lift	5%	£3,855	Female	45-54
Brow lift	0%	£3,279	Female	n/a
Thread lift	63%	£668	Female	45-54
Eyelid surgery	63%	£2,459	Female	35-44
Non-surgical face-lift	106%	£177	Female	45-54
Jaw contouring	-48%	£315	n/a	n/a
Mini face-lift	122%	£4,223	n/a	n/a

Commenting on the data trends, Emily Ross, director, WhatClinic.com said, “The trends we are seeing from enquiries to Whatclinic.com show that while there is still an interest in face-lifts, there is clearly a growth in demand for less invasive procedures. Certainly there is a lot more choice available to those who are considering surgery. It’s important for patients to be realistic about both the risks and the outcomes. With the increasing availability of finance options, costs are less of a barrier to treatment. It’s important to think carefully before making a final decision.

We welcomed the regulations issued by the GMC in April of this year, which have laid out responsible practices for cosmetic clinics, in particular a two week ‘cooling off period’ before deciding to have any surgery.”

References:

1. WhatClinic.com in the period 01.07.2015 - 01.07.2016, compared to 01.07-2014 - 01.07-2015.
2. WhatClinic.com.
3. WhatClinic.com. Clinics list treatment and prices differently on WhatClinic.com, prices usually vary widely and clinics don’t always quote for the same version of a particular procedure.