It can sometimes feel as though everyone is getting plastic surgery.
Scroll through social media and you’re surrounded by conversations about facelifts, blepharoplasty, Botox, fillers, breast surgery, tummy tucks and the latest aesthetic treatments. Celebrity transformations are dissected online, and procedures that were once discussed quietly are now part of everyday conversation.
But is plastic surgery actually becoming something everyone does? That’s the question at the center of a recent Slate article examining the latest plastic surgery statistics, which includes insight from Dr. Sara Dickie of SARA Surgery.
The answer is more interesting than a simple yes or no.
Plastic Surgery Increased 7% in 2025
The latest data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons showed a 7% increase in plastic surgeries from 2024 to 2025.
Some individual procedures grew much faster.
- Forehead and brow lifts increased 29%.
- Arm lifts increased 21%.
- Neck lifts increased 21%.
- Facelifts increased 13%.
- Eyelid surgery remained one of the five most popular cosmetic surgeries.
At the same time, rhinoplasty and Brazilian butt lift procedures declined.
These numbers are noteworthy because they point toward an increasing interest in lifting, repositioning and restoring tissues rather than simply adding volume or dramatically changing someone’s appearance.
That fits closely with the philosophy behind SARA Surgery: plastic surgery should be individualized to the patient rather than designed around a single fashionable face or body.
Plastic Surgery Is Growing, But It Is Still Relatively Uncommon
One of the most interesting parts of the Slate article is the context surrounding those increases.
Cosmetic surgery has been trending upward for years, including a reported 19% increase between 2019 and 2022. But percentage increases can sound much larger when we forget how small the starting numbers actually are.
Slate looks back at four procedures that have remained among America’s most popular cosmetic surgeries for nearly three decades.
Liposuction
In 1999, approximately 230,865 liposuction procedures were reported, equivalent to roughly 0.08% of the U.S. population at the time.
In 2024, that number had risen to 349,728 procedures—but still represented only about 0.1% of the population.
Breast Augmentation and Tummy Tuck
Despite their visibility in popular culture, the proportion of Americans undergoing these procedures has remained remarkably small.
According to Slate’s analysis, breast augmentation represented approximately 0.09% of the population, while tummy tuck surgery represented approximately 0.05%. Those percentages were essentially unchanged from 1999.
Even eyelid surgery—the procedure among this group that has increased—still represents less than 0.1% of Americans.
So yes, plastic surgery is growing. But the idea that virtually everyone is going under the knife simply isn’t supported by the numbers.
Minimally Invasive Treatments Are a Different Story
This is where Dr. Dickie’s contribution to the article becomes particularly important.
Tracking surgery is relatively straightforward. Tracking Botox, fillers, lasers, chemical peels, nonsurgical body treatments and medical weight-loss treatments is much more complicated.
ASPS members reported performing more than 28 million minimally invasive treatments in 2024—approximately 3 million more procedures than the year before.
That category includes:
- Botox and other neuromodulators
- Dermal fillers
- Chemical peels
- Dermabrasion
- Laser hair removal
- Nonsurgical fat reduction
- Skin tightening
- GLP-1 weight-loss medications
Dr. Dickie explained to Slate that many plastic surgeons also manage medical weight loss. That means GLP-1 prescriptions provided by primary care physicians, obesity specialists, endocrinologists and other medical professionals would not necessarily appear in a survey of plastic surgeons.
The same problem exists throughout nonsurgical aesthetics. Patients can receive injectables and skin treatments from plastic surgeons, dermatologists, medical spas and other qualified providers.
As a result, the true number of people participating in minimally invasive aesthetic medicine is much harder to calculate.
28 Million Treatments Does Not Mean 28 Million Patients
There’s another important wrinkle in those statistics.
One patient can account for multiple procedures.
A person might receive Botox several times during a year, undergo a laser treatment, receive filler and use a medically managed GLP-1 medication. Each treatment can contribute another procedure to the total without representing another individual patient.
Many nonsurgical treatments are also designed around maintenance. Neuromodulators wear off. Some fillers eventually diminish. Certain skin treatments are performed in a series. Patients using medical weight-loss therapies may remain under ongoing medical management.
Even surgery doesn’t stop the biological aging process. A facelift can reposition aging facial tissues and create a meaningful, long-lasting improvement, but it doesn’t freeze someone at a particular age forever.
This distinction between procedures performed and individual people treated is crucial when interpreting enormous-looking industry statistics.
Are We All Starting to Look the Same?
Slate uses these statistics to explore a larger cultural question: as cosmetic procedures become more visible, are patients gradually converging toward one aesthetic ideal?
It’s an interesting concern.
Social media can amplify certain facial characteristics—smooth skin, high cheekbones, full lips, defined jawlines and lifted brows—until those features begin to feel ubiquitous.
But that isn’t how thoughtful plastic surgery should work.
The ASPS report describes patients as increasingly seeking a restored version of themselves rather than a different version of themselves.
That distinction strongly reflects how Dr. Dickie approaches plastic surgery at SARA.
A consultation shouldn’t begin with, “How do we make you look like this person?”
It should begin with your anatomy, your concerns and your goals.
The Rise of Lifts May Tell Us Something About What Patients Want
The particularly strong growth in lifting procedures is interesting through that lens.
A facelift or neck lift generally isn’t intended to create a new face. It repositions tissues that have descended with age.
An eyelid lift addresses excess skin or bags around the eyes. An arm lift removes excess skin that can develop with aging or significant weight loss.
The same restorative idea applies throughout body contouring surgery. A tummy tuck, thigh lift or lower body lift can address skin and tissues that have changed after pregnancy, aging or major weight loss.
For many patients, the objective isn’t transformation into somebody else. It’s restoring proportion to the body they already have.
GLP-1s Are Adding Another Dimension to the Conversation
GLP-1 medications are also changing who walks into a plastic surgeon’s office and what those patients need.
People who lose substantial amounts of weight may reach a healthier body weight while discovering that stretched skin doesn’t disappear along with the fat.
Loose skin can remain around the abdomen, breasts, arms, thighs, back, face and neck. That’s one reason we’re seeing increased discussion around plastic surgery after major weight loss.
It also makes the maintenance phase of medical weight loss increasingly relevant. We’ve recently discussed GLP-1 maintenance and so-called microdosing, including why long-term medication decisions should be made with the prescribing medical professional rather than improvised by the patient.
For someone eventually considering surgery, reaching a stable weight, maintaining adequate nutrition and developing a sustainable long-term health plan can all become part of preparing for the next stage.
Plastic Surgery Is More Visible. That Doesn’t Mean Everyone Is Doing It.
That’s perhaps the most refreshing takeaway from the Slate article.
Plastic surgery is growing. Minimally invasive aesthetics are growing even faster. Social media makes both extraordinarily visible.
But the actual surgical numbers remain a small fraction of the American population.
And that matters because plastic surgery shouldn’t feel like the price of admission for looking attractive, aging successfully or participating in society.
At SARA Surgery, we believe everyone deserves to be happy, but that doesn’t mean everyone needs surgery.
For the right patient, a thoughtfully chosen procedure can address something that has bothered them for years, restore changes caused by pregnancy or weight loss, or help their appearance better reflect how they feel.
For another patient, the right recommendation may be a nonsurgical treatment—or no treatment at all.
There isn’t one face, one body or one version of aging that everyone needs to pursue.
National Recognition for Dr. Sara Dickie
We’re proud to see Dr. Sara Dickie contributing to this national conversation and helping put today’s plastic surgery and aesthetic trends into perspective.
As a board-certified plastic surgeon in Morton Grove serving Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, Dr. Dickie’s practice encompasses facial plastic surgery, breast surgery, body contouring and reconstructive procedures.
The numbers may tell us what’s becoming more popular. The job of a good plastic surgeon is still to determine what—if anything—is appropriate for the individual sitting in front of them.
