More and more consumers are using fillers to get plumper lips and anti-wrinkle – Checkout

Fillers are becoming increasingly popular to fade wrinkles or make lips look fuller. The number of filler treatments increased by 17.5 percent from 2016 to 2019. In 2016, there were 138,496 interventions, in 2019 there were 162,702 interventions. These are interventions only in real clinics and not in beauty salons, hairdressers and solarium providers.

The number of people who have had plastic surgery procedures, including for example Botox, increased to more than 450 thousand in 2019. On average, a client is 43 years old, and in one in eight cases, the age of the client is a man. This is evident from doctoral research conducted by plastic surgeon Tom Decats.

According to researcher Dicates, the numbers indicate that it is a recurring ritual. “The figures indicate that one in 41 women in our country is treated with fillers. That is why Botox and filter treatments are the most common cosmetic procedures.”

Fillings are not without risks, especially if the treatment is not done by an expert. They got busier and busier at the special complications lecture for filler treatments at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam. There, approximately five hundred complications are treated annually and that would be the “tip of the iceberg”. Insoluble (permanent) fillings can no longer be used in the Netherlands since 2015.

Any expert qualified enough to perform cosmetic procedures can be verified by the Professional Association of Plastic Surgeons (NVPC), Cosmetic Dermatologists (NVCD) and KNMG Plastic Surgeons (NVCG). Aside from experience, DNA may also play a role in the development of complications. It is now believed that DNA testing before a cosmetic procedure can help predict risks.

Dicts believes that the treatment numbers in the Netherlands are not too bad compared to other countries. “We think the numbers will be higher in neighboring countries, where cosmetic procedures are still taboo because of our Calvinist culture. The popularity in Asia and Latin America will be much higher,” said Decates. AP