Brits plastic surgery bill set to break the billion pound barrier

Britons are spending huge amounts of money on being nipped, tucked and pumped with Botox, says a report.

London, Dec 20 : Britons are spending huge amounts of money on being nipped, tucked and pumped with Botox, says a report.

Market analysts Mintel predicts that the booming cosmetic surgery market is set to break the 1billion pounds mark next year with Botox, collagen wrinkle fillers and other non-invasive treatments seeing the biggest popularity increase.

This also includes laser hair removal, chemical peels and teeth whitening.

It turns out that this year a total of 577,000 cosmetic operations and treatments were carried out in Britain, of which 472,000 were non-surgical.

In comparison to this in 2005, 300,000 surgeries were carried out of which 230,000 were non-surgical, says Mintel's Cosmetic Surgery report.

As for the reason for the popularity of the non-invasive treatments such as Botox and collagen fillers is - they are seen as less risky and require repeat top-ups.

Facial enhancements, such as facelifts, and breast surgery are the two most popular surgical procedures.

"Today, the British perception of beauty is based on airbrushed images of models and photos of surgically enhanced celebrities, both young and old," The Sun quoted Mintel senior cosmetics analyst Alexandra Richmond, as saying.]

"For many the natural look simply can't compete and leaves them feeling inadequate," she added.

ANI