The aesthetic medicine market is growing even among very young people, driven by social models

The aesthetic medicine market in Italy is recording an increasing trend in all age groups, including young people and very young people. In a field still largely dominated by the demand of women (who account for over 80%), the demand for men is growing, having increased by 25% since 2008. The ‘normalisation’ and social acceptance of these procedures are driving the growth, largely driven by social media that impose models of ‘enhanced’ beauty. A picture that emerges from a market report presented at the Congress of the Italian Society of Aesthetic Medicine (Sime), which opens today in Rome.

A significant portion of the market is occupied by the 19-34 age group, which carries out 40-45% of procedures and is the most influenced by fashions and trends linked to social media. 35-40% of procedures occur in the 35-50 age group, which suggests that the demand for preventive treatments is clearly increasing before approaching the threshold of middle age. Injectable products (hyaluronic acid and botulinum toxin) still dominate the market, representing almost 80% of all aesthetic medicine procedures. In the field of facial rejuvenation treatments, the stars are chemical peels and skin tightening treatments, while the evergreens are permanent hair removal, anti-cellulite treatments and non-surgical fat removal. ‘Traditional’ requests, therefore, those that Italians make to aesthetic medicine, but in a very dynamic and constantly renewing market, which has seen the emergence of procedures such as the rhinofiller (to correct the nose without surgery) and coolsculpting in recent years, to reduce fat by ‘freezing’ fat cells.

Finally, the reputation of Italian aesthetic doctors is also making our country a destination for health tourism: as many as 15% of aesthetic treatments in 2021 were carried out on international patients.

Although the international market is firmly dominated by the USA (5.3 million aesthetic medicine procedures carried out in 2021), Italy is the country with the highest number of procedures in relation to the number of inhabitants.

The international cosmetic medicine and surgery market was valued at around $13.9 billion in 2022, but by 2027 it is estimated that it could reach $23.4 billion. Non-surgical procedures in 2021 accounted for 54% of the global market, with an estimated value of around $7.5 billion. Market growth is mainly driven by the growing importance placed on physical appearance and the need to feel better about oneself. Alongside this, the stigma and prejudices that surrounded the use of these practices no longer exist.

As regards the high percentages of young people who resort to cosmetic surgery, a further survey by Sime reduces the phenomenon, explains the president of the company Emanuele Bartoletti, indicating that “only 5% fall into the age group under 24 years and most of these young people have acne problems.” But in any case, “the increase in young people’s use of aesthetic medicine represents a serious problem. Very often they are driven by social media in a direct or subliminal way, and this entails the risk of meeting doctors, or even worse, non-doctors, who comply with often senseless requests. It is important to pay attention, since the dependence of young people on this type of therapy is becoming increasingly worrying. This leads to the risk of undergoing transformations that they may regret later.”