Since 2014, there’s been a 50 percent increase in the number of fat-reduction treatments administered in the United States, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Also on the rise: wrinkle-relaxing neurotoxin injections, fillers, and laser treatments. Collectively, these advancements may be spurring an alarming shift in our attitude toward our looks. Forget no pain, no gain. The new thinking seems to be, why do the work when you can just get work done?
“I’ve had young women laugh when I suggest that the best thing they can do for their skin is use sunscreen. One said to me, ‘I’ll just get a face-lift,’?” reports Meredith Jones, a professor of sociology at Brunel University in London who studies the social and cultural impact of cosmetic surgery.