Survey: Facial Plastic Surgeons Should Get Ready for the Zoom Boom

All of that Zoom has led to a boom in requests for facial plastic surgery, according to research published in The Journal of Facial Plastic Surgery and Aesthetic Medicine.

The months spent on Zoom and other video conferencing services during the COVID-19 quarantine got a lot of people thinking (or obsessing) about the angle or size of their noses, forehead and glabellar wrinkles, and double chins.  As many as 55 percent of survey respondents expressed an increase in anxiety and self-consciousness about facial appearance, with the most common area of concern being the nose. Other areas of concern included acne breakouts, dark under-eye circles, crow’s feet, skin texture, and crepey necks.

The new survey included 158 participants, and two-thirds spent more than five hours a week on video conferencing when they were mandated to shelter in place. Fully 40.6 percent of the participants who have never previously had facial cosmetic treatments are now planning to address their concerns with cosmetic treatments including neurotoxins and fillers.

“We are seeing a large increase in demand for plastic surgery and cosmetic treatments, much more than we would have thought. Perhaps it is the excess downtime they now have or wanting to look their best as they emerge out into the world or a reaction to the increase in video conferencing,” says lead study author Steven H. Dayan, MD a facial plastic surgeon in Chicago and Founder and Medical Director of Denova Research.