Are cosmetic injectable treatments just "like good grooming," as a certain star might say? Probably not, but they've certainly become more common, a study says.
Over half of women receive injectable treatments, 81 per cent think such treatments have become mainstream and 34 per cent consider them to be common procedures on par with hair colouring or teeth whitening, a survey of 800 Canadian women revealed in The FACE Report.
Cosmetic injectables, better known by commercial names such as Botox or Restylane, refer to tissue fillers administered by needles and used to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
An estimated 8,759,187 non-surgical procedures were performed in 2009, eclipsing more invasive procedures, possibly due to medical advances or lower prices, Canada.com reports. Although Health Canada doesn’t keep tabs on the number of injectable procedures completed, CBC estimated injectables ranked as the third most common type of cosmetic surgery.
This is not to discount men, who saw a nine per cent increase in Botox treatments from 2009 to 2010, CTV noted. Interestingly, men braved the doctor's office to maintain a youthful image in the workplace while women said they wanted to increase self-esteem.
Women's beauty and self-esteem go hand-in-hand in a complicated relationship, Laura Hurd Clarke, sociologist at the University of British Columbia, told Best Health Magazine.
“It’s becoming socially unacceptable to look old,” she said. “We live in a culture that equates physical signs of aging with the loss of social and sexual desirability.”
And while some women take steps to alter their aging appearances, others cringe at the potential side effects of long-term use. Some doctors warn Botox may negatively affect nerve endings, although its parent company insists it's safe, according to The Telegraph. Other risks include allergic reaction, bruising, infection and more.
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