A luscious mouth, a generous chest, ultra-developed buttocks and hips... The dominant feminine beauty criteria in today's society value volume.
At least, until recently.
It seems that the trend is reversing.
In cosmetic medicine and cosmetic surgery practices, dermal filler procedure reversals increased by 57% last year in the United States, while those for breast implant removals increased by 47% (1).
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A phenomenon that is also reflected in the country of influencers, understand on social networks.
In the lead, Kim and Khloé Kardashian, the same people who widely popularized this buxom hourglass figure, seem to have backtracked.
So much so that their subscribers on these platforms suspect them of having had their fat and prostheses removed from certain parts of the body.
Hip-hop queen Cardi B, meanwhile, recently announced on Instagram that she had 95% of biopolymers removed from her buttocks (controversial gel-like implants), warning young people who follow her of the dangers of her surgery.
Like her, more and more French reality TV starlets, followed by millions of people on the Internet,
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The return of “body minimalism”
“In recent years, it has really been the fashion for XXL buttocks, like those of the Kardashian-Jenner sisters.
This is what has caused a very strong increase in requests for lipofilling.
That's changing because they've all lost weight, it looks like they've had fat removed.
And as they strongly influence the trends today, behind it follows”, analyzes Dr. Oren Marco, plastic surgeon in Paris, who thus observes the emergence of a new canon of beauty.
Or rather a resurgence of an ideal from the past.
“There is a return to the
minimalist body
of the 1990s. We are returning to a trend towards smaller breasts and smaller buttocks, which is largely driven by the United States.
The demand for volume has decreased”, continues the specialist, who notes in particular that requests for lipofilling are now down in France.
Kim Kardashian, before, after.
GC Pictures
It's not just the body, the faces also deflate.
A survey by the American Academy of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of the Face indicates a growing decline in interest in fillers injected into the mouth, "with patients moving away from the 'cushy', overfilled lips of reality TV personalities to more durable and more natural-looking options” (2).
Should we see a
less is more
post- confinement effect?
Even in Hollywood, some retract.
Scalded by inharmonious or excessive injections of fillers.
Many celebrities admit to having their facial fillers dissolved recently, such as Courteney Cox, Kylie Jenner, Yolanda Hadid or Amy Schumer.
Read alsoBreast augmentation is no longer the most performed cosmetic surgery in the world
Never happy!
To inflate, to deflate… is to ask whether aesthetic preferences change according to what is considered “desirable” or “desirable” by society.
“We are in full fashion phenomena.
It is not an ideal of beauty that we are trying to achieve, but really a desire for conformity that we want to satisfy,” says Anne Gotman, sociologist and director of research emeritus at CNRS-Cerlis, author of
L' Identity with a scalpel: cosmetic surgery and the modern individual
(Leter editions).
“Cosmetic surgery can cure identity malaise, complexes, disgraces.
But here, these are rectifications inspired much more by social pressure than by inner embarrassment.
It is not an ideal of beauty that we are trying to achieve, but really a desire for conformity that we want to satisfy.
Anne Gotman
If the expert concedes that there have always been body trends in all eras, “today, they are amplified by the multiplication of images and messages.
We are moving towards an acceleration of the rhythm of these modes.
Also, with the diversification and evolution of aesthetic techniques offering retouching possibilities on every square centimeter of skin, physical fitness becomes even more of an eternal subject of dissatisfaction.
A democratization, almost a trivialization, which extends to the whole planet.
“Everyone has a mobile phone and can access this information.
We massively consume these images which come from all over the world, which means that there is no longer any cultural difference between surgical procedures”, adds Dr. Oren Marco.
So,
what happens when the metamorphosis performed on our face or our body is no longer in vogue?
“Fashions change, and we risk becoming addicted.
And the identity in all that?” asks Anne Gotman.
Irreversible
Can you really go back and deflate the volume so easily?
Generally, cosmetic procedures such as hyaluronic acid injections resolve themselves gradually.
On the other hand, reversing an aesthetic operation of the body is rarely trivial.
“If they are prostheses, you can have them removed.
The retraction capacity of the skin will depend on the volume that had been implanted and on the stretching of the skin,” explains Dr. Oren Marco, cosmetic surgeon in Paris.
In the case of the very popular
Brazilian butt lift
(or lipofilling of the buttocks), for example, it gets complicated.
“It is dangerous to suck in the buttocks after fat injections in this area, because inside the buttocks there is muscle and the emergence of all the nerves of the leg,” warns the expert.
Anyway, "even if we can possibly reduce an area, we can never return completely to the previous state", confirms Dr. Emmanuelle Royer, surgeon in Marseille.
Courteney Cox, before, after.
Getty Images via AFP/Lowery Jen/Splash News/ABACA
“We are witnessing a kind of standardization of morphologies.
Ten years ago, patients had surgery because they had a deep complex, while today, some do it simply to look like someone.
But this is not the case for the majority of people”, nuance Dr. Emmanuelle Royer, cosmetic surgeon in Marseille, who specifies that the natural appearance has always prevailed in France.
An opinion also shared by his colleague Dr. Oren Marco: “Even if there is an aesthetic trend that is flourishing around the world on TikTok or Instagram, that does not necessarily mean that people are converting and taking action. .
One has the impression that a part actually feels this need for social belonging, but these are exceptions and deviations.
(1) Statistics from the National Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Database for 2020-2021.
(2) 2021 Statistics & Trends Released – Demand for Facial Plastic Surgery Skyrocket.