What Price Beauty

Just because the economy’s sagging doesn’t mean the collective face of America needs to wrinkle and droop.

Twelve million Americans received cosmetic plastic surgery in 2007 – a 59% increase from the year 2000. While it may be too soon to tell how the country’s economic woes will affect vanity, doctors say lately they’re noticing more business from clients who want to de-crinkle their wrinkles with comparatively inexpensive procedures like injectables.

San Francisco plastic surgeon Dr. Scott Mosser says he’s seen a two- or three-fold increase on injectable fillers, like Restylane, since earlier this year. Mosser hypothesizes the increase could be tied to the fact that a few pokes with a syringe is less costly than invasive plastic surgery.

New York City plastic surgeon Dr. Barry Weintraub, who has noticed an increase in injectable fillers, thinks people want to look fresh-faced for job interviews. “There’s a look-your-best-feel-your-best attitude” fueling injectable sales, says Weintraub, who is also an American Society of Plastic Surgeons spokesperson.

While injectable fillers are less expensive than going under the knife, they still aren’t cheap. According to the ASPS, the national average for temporary injectables is $598 for Restylane or Juvederm and $501 for Botox [AGN]. Nevertheless, injectables are still considerably less expensive than a facelift, which the ASPS says carries an average price tag of $5,031.

In addition to the rise of injectables, Mosser’s observed another trend: a pricier and permanent filler called Artefill that is more popular than the less expensive, temporary injectables for smoothing out “smile lines.” He says in January and February of this year, Artefill, which costs about $1,500 per syringe at his office, was only half as popular as the temporary fillers. But during June and July of this year, Artefill injections were a whopping four times more popular than the temporary products.

Although he acknowledged the difficulty in declaring a trend based on his own singular experience, Mosser wondered if his office is a microcosm for cost-conscious clients choosing to invest in longer-term injectables, even if they’re initially more expensive.

Dr. Alan Matarasso, a spokesman for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, agrees it’s reasonable to assume the economy can impact the affordable luxuries a consumer purchases. But he hopes consumers understand that temporary fillers are temporary – and that $500 you injected into your face will be gone in only four months. (Furthermore, Matarasso says the use of the permanent filler, Artefill, is actually quite rare and used in less than 1% of cases where a client gets injectable fillers. In fact, ASPS does not have statistics available on the product.)

“You may not want the $5,000 tummy tuck; you may want the $500 Botox filler injection,” says Matarasso. “But realize you didn’t buy the Birkin handbag; you bought the Target tee shirt.”

How long before Americans throw out their Botox and their Target [TGT] tees with their tummy tucks and their Birkins? It’s hard to say. The last time Matarasso recalls a sluggish economy – in 1990 and 1991 – injectable fillers didn’t exist. So as the economy worsens, might pricy cosmetic pick-me-ups like injectables -- from the more highly priced to the relatively cheaper – fade away like Botox?

“It depends on how bad the pain gets,” says Matarasso.

(*Mosser says he does not receive any money for speaking about these products, although he is paid to train other physicians on injection techniques for Radiesse and Sculptra. Weintraub says he does not take any money from any injectable producers. Both doctors declined to offer exact figures on the amount of increase of injectables.)