Todd Sumamno
Cosmetic procedures have been a part of everyday life for some years now, with a consistent percentage of the population electing for them each year – but during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020, cosmetic procedure bookings increased rapidly, as people found themselves with the free time to recover unimpeded. But how did we get here? How has elective surgery, among other procedures, become so popular and so safe? Here we’ll examine the history of cosmetic procedures, and how they’ve developed over the years.
The Birth of Corrective Surgery
There is evidence of surgical cosmetic procedures having taken place thousands of years ago, and well-documented accounts of skin graft procedures having been developed in India in the 1400s. It wouldn’t be until the 1700s that plastic surgery received any further attention, and even then new plastic surgeons took to studying those Indian techniques of 300 years prior to developing the craft. These reconstructive surgeries began as crude grafts of skin to skin, often peeling flaps of skin from an adjacent area over the wound in question – but developments in understanding enabled new techniques that ensured blood-flow and reduced discomfort.
Post-War Popularization
Up until the years following the first world war, plastic surgery was only ever a reconstructive effort, hoping to restore functionality and dignity to those suffering grave injury or deformity. But, with the leaps in technology brought about by successive world wars, surgery was safer and more accessible than ever before – and the rapid developments in the field of anesthetics once and for all removed the public understanding of surgery as intertwined with pain.
As a result of these developments, private surgeons – emboldened by leaps made in the field of reconstruction – were able to offer plastic surgery to members of the public simply wishing to augment or improve their physical appearance. This field exploded in popularity for the wider public after rumors’ – since proven true – circulated that Marilyn Monroe had undergone elective procedures on her nose and chin.
The Modern Day
Surgery techniques and technology have continued to improve exponentially since the post-war boom, with revolutionary reconstructive surgeries and augmentation options being developed – from the invention of the silicone breast implant in the 1960s to modern-day non-invasive cosmetic procedures like lip fillers. Today, well-regarded private cosmetic groups such as Transform Hospital Group are paving the way for accessible cosmetic enhancements, offering a wide range of treatments and surgeries a far cry from the early days of protracted skin graft procedures. Cosmetic procedures are now commonplace, increasingly popular owing to accessibility, price and convenience.
Brittany
