'Zoom boom' creates a 150% surge in cosmetic nips and tucks

Unexpected new views of ourselves and extra disposable income have combined to create a surge in procedures such as botox injections —  and it's facilitated by the widespread wearing of masks. 

An “exponential” surge in demand for cosmetic procedures has seen Botox and dermal filler treatments jump up to 150%, non-surgical nose jobs jump by 50%, and male client attendance increase by 50% in some clinics since the pandemic began.

Known as the Zoom boom, the demand is largely due to people staring at digitised images of themselves on computer screens while sitting through lengthy virtual meetings, medics believe.

Emma Sheehan, founder of Eden Medical, which now has seven clinics with another two in the pipeline, said the surge in demand is definitely due to the increase in video calls.

Unfamiliar view of ourselves

“The Zoom calls we’re all doing are showing us a reflection we’re not used to," Dr Sheehan said. "You look in the mirror every day but you’re not staring at yourself day in, day out. 

A lot of my patients have said ‘it’s the amount of Zoom calls I’m doing that made me see a different angle I didn’t know was there and I’m not keen on — can you do something to help me?'

“Another reason is just disposable income," she said. "Unfortunately, restaurants and bars were closed, holidays were cancelled, so people are spending on themselves instead of socialising.”

Brian Cotter of Sisu Clinic, which operates 10 clinics, with another five to open soon, agrees that the Zoom boom is real.

“People are staring at a digitised, inverted version of themselves, and they’re beginning to notice things that they never noticed before,” said Dr Cotter.

Digitised images also show an opposite reflection to what people see in the mirror. Due to a psychological phenomenon known as the mere exposure effect, people tend to develop a preference for things just because they’re familiar with them —  so people are more critical of this other version of themselves, Dr Cotter said.

“And digital lenses tend to be short-angle lenses which makes everything look wider,” he said:  

They say the camera adds 10 pounds, and it does make people look different. 

While demand for Botox and filler has increased by 150% in his clinics over the past year to 16 months, demand has also increased for Sisu Slim, a treatment which uses a fat-dissolving drug to remove excess fat.

It has been popular in targeting fat under the chin as people are increasingly on video calls from laptops which are angled under the face, highlighting the neck and chin, he said.

Wearing masks has also been an incentive because people can hide behind them to cover any initial swelling after a procedure, he said.