Despite the downturn in the local economy, hundreds of people are still prepared to spend thousands of pounds on improving themselves.
And the glut of reality TV shows featuring plastic surgery could be the spark that has triggered the desire to go under the surgeon’s knife.
This is the opinion of top Scottish plastic surgeon Taimur Shoaib who consults all over the UK, including in Aberdeen.
He said: “More and more people than ever before are having cosmetic surgery. This includes both men and women, although women are still far more likely to have surgery than men.
“They also come from all walks of life and include people of all ages.”
Mr Shoaib is a specialist head and necksurgeon and launched his first cosmetic surgery clinic La Belle Forme in Glasgow 10 years ago.
He now has three more UK clinics and also consults at Temple Medical in Aberdeen and in Harley Street in London.
He says the rise in the number of people drawn to cosmetic surgery is down to several factors, including reality TV shows like TOWIE.
The Only Way Is Essex is set in Brentwood where Mr Shoaib also has a branch of La Belle Forme.
He said: “I do think reality TV shows have had a bearing on people’s attitudes to surgery. It is so much more accepted for ordinary men and women to want to improve upon what nature gave them, or to turn back the clock when they look in the mirror and don’t really like what they see.
“On these reality shows the people talk very openly about the surgery they have had and the results are there for people to see.”
Mr Shoaib has himself taken part in several reality TV shows and performed surgery on shows like How Not To Get Old and Bodyshockers.
He added: “The technology and surgical techniques have also come on in leaps and bounds, and it is now possible to have a facelift, browlift, neck lift and other procedures under a local anaesthetic and be back to work within a week.
“In the past people would require at least two weeks to heal and several days in hospital and a general anaesthetic. Now that is no longer the case.”
The most popular procedure among younger women from the north and north-east of Scotland is breast augmentation toincrease the size of the breasts while operations for an uplift or breast reduction is more popular with older women.
Rhinoplasty or “nose jobs” are also popular among both men and women, while lip augmentation is the fastest growing procedure in popularity.
Mr Shoaib said: “Lip fillers is our biggest growth area. This is a minimally invasive procedure and looks very natural and is popular with all ages.
“Older women want to replace lost volume in the lips which thin with age, while younger women are looking for that bee-stung full lip which has become so popular. Lip implants are the permanent option, but most people opt for fillers which are reversible and need to be topped up regularly.”
Modern day facelifts are a far cry from the days of the wind-tunnel effect and are now tailor-made for the patient and include non-surgical options which can be just as effective in some cases.
Mr Shoaib carries out many surgical procedures under local anaesthetic or twilight sedation where the patient is conscious throughout the operation and can go home after the procedure instead of staying overnight in hospital.
He said: “Procedures like facelifts, brow lifts and eye surgery are most common on men and women in their mid 40s onwards. People want to look their best and don’t like to look in the mirror and see double chins, turkey necks and wrinkles.
“Fortunately there are lots of options now available, some of them minimally invasive, and we can tailor make a range of treatments which will produce the best results.
Mr Shoaib’s oldest patient was a woman in her 80s who loved ballroom dancing.
He said: “I have had quite a few patients in their 80s, and I particularly remember this one because she said people had stopped asking her to dance, and were asking the younger ladies instead.
“After her facelift her dance card was always full and she was delighted with the results.
“Having plastic surgery is often about giving people more confidence. I recently had a man in his 40s who couldn’t talk to women because he felt his jawline was unmanly. I was able to strengthen the look of his jaw and now he is back on the dating scene with bags more confidence.”
Mr Shoaib is also at the forefront of the latest surgical technologies and trains other surgeons and doctors in the use of techniques such as Botox, fillers, fat transfer etc.
He said: “I am particularly impressed with the latest earfolding technology for people with ears that stick out. This used to be quite a big operation, but this new technique enables it to be carried out in an hour or so with a local anaesthetic.”
Other non-surgical technology he thinks are the way forward include non-surgical liposuction like Vaser or using fat freezing techniques for weight loss.
He said: “American doctors noticed that children lost fat in their cheeks after sucking ice-lollies, and this led to fat freezing for weight-loss which has had some great results.”
Mr Shoaib is also a fan of radio frequencing Indiba to tighten jawlines and remove cellulite and ultherapy for facelifts.
He said: “Ultherapy is a very effective non-surgical facelift which uses ultrasound waves to tighten underlying skin. It can be painful, so we also offer full pain relief for this treatment which has had excellent results.”
To arrange a consultation with Mr Shoaib contact him on 0141 552 0828. Further information from www.labelleforme.co.uk