Why have aesthetic procedures become so common?
If you take claims made by mainstream media the fillers or Botox “trend is something from the last 10 years is caused by social media. Can this be taken at face value? Are there factors that have had a much greater effect than social media?
Although Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian undoubtedly caused a spike in these procedures the biggest factor though is increased safety and declining relative costs.
Let’s go back to early use of fillers around the start of the start of the 20th century. Gladys Deacon, who became the Duchess of Marlborough after she married Winston Churchill’s cousin, Charles Spencer Churchill. She was known as the most beautiful duchess in England. She was painted by many famous portrait artists and French writer Marcel Proust said of her, “I never saw a girl with such beauty, such magnificent intelligence, such goodness and charm”. She was hooked on the drug of trading on physical beauty. At 22 she had paraffin wax injected into her nose. It slipped to her chin and caused uneven bumps on her face. The treatment couldn’t be reversed.
These treatments would only be available to the aristocracy due to their considerable expense. Other examples of this have been the use of lead compounds, or ceruse, as skin lightening agents. Queen Elizabeth 1st of England used to allegedly get her ceruse from Vienna due to its good reputation. This was not only highly expensive but it caused lead poisoning. This would lead to hair loss, skin damage and in some cases death!
Fast forward to today and you have a safe procedure that can be performed with considerably fewer risks and at a price that many more people can afford. It can also be treated if there are complications.
Like everything the story is complicated. Clearly the beauty industry that has for so long made people feel inadequate to profit from their insecurity is a driving force. But to solely blame the increase on social media is naïve and not a true reflection of the events. The increased safety and reducing costs meant that the treatments became available to the celebs and influencers in the first place. The over riding force that makes people want these treatments has always been the same.
