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Millennials' medspa influence

June 25, 2008

Women ages 18-34 are empowering the medical spa trend but doing little to advocate their own safety within the facility

The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery has released its results from a consumer survey asking 1,000 women their opinions on medical spas. Findings revealed that millennials, those born between 1976 and 2001, are the primary customers of these facilities. Yet half of those women are compromising their safety by visiting a non-physician supervised medspa facility.

Women ages 18-34 were more than three times as likely as women ages 35-64 to have had a non-invasive cosmetic procedure such as Botox performed at a medspa. On the flip side, from 2002 to 2007, the mean age of patients seeking the top ten most performed invasive procedures has increased by two years, making the baby boomers the driving force of liposuction and face lifts. "What is going on here is that the younger the patient, the more likely they are to visit a medspa in order to receive a non-invasive procedure like Botox," said AACS President Steven Hopping, MD, FACS.

Moreover, the survey confirms that the younger patients are more lax when it comes to safety at a medspa. Two-thirds of the women surveyed indicated that they would hope to be treated by a physician when visiting a medspa. However, among women who had an opinion, more than half (52.3%) indicated they would be comfortable if the physician were not present during a non-invasive cosmetic procedure performed at a medspa.

"This consumer survey is a chance to once again emphasize the importance of patient safety, and to educate the public on these facilities," said Dr. Hopping. "There are good and bad medspas out there and we want the public to be aware, ask questions and always make sure there is a qualified physician doing the procedure. If not, don't have it done."

American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery