Americans spent $9.3 billion on all aesthetic procedures in 2020, up from $8.2 billion in 2019, according to The Aesthetic Society. On TikTok, #plasticsurgery has over 6.8 billion views and popular social pages, like @celebplastic, @celebrityplastics and @celebbeforeafter on Instagram, are devoted solely to before-and-after images of celebrities (though they don’t tend to have proof that these celebrities have had aesthetic work, they run on speculation).
Dr. Lara Devgan, a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York City who has over 500,000 followers on Instagram and 33,000 followers on TikTok, said that social sharing, particularly among celebrities and influencers, “has reduced stigma about plastic surgery and medical aesthetics.” Especially after this strange year, “transparency and authenticity have become social currency — nobody believes it’s kale and lemon water keeping you wrinkle-free,” she said.
The Mesmerizing Pull of Plastic Surgery Videos
