The cosmetic surgery is over an $8 billion industry in the United States. Nearly one out of every 20 Americans has undergone some sort of nonsurgical procedures like botox while thousands more opt for a more drastic nip and tuck. Americans are fascinated with plastic surgery, giving high ratings to shows like “Botched”.
There are even apps available that allow you to play with the structure of your face and see what different procedures would make you look like. So, with this drastic love that Americans seem to have with plastic surgery, it may be surprising for some to see that rhinoplasties, lovingly known as nose jobs, are down 43% since the year 2000. In the early 200’s, about 400,000 Americans were getting nose jobs.
However, the number has significantly dwindled down to around 225,000 Americans going through with the surgery.
Even though the procedure of a rhinoplasty itself have become more convenient and advanced as ever, there is still a decrease in the amount of people who opt to undergo the procedure. Nose jobs have mostly been done in the past as a means to add symmetry to the face and rid the appearance of an “ethnic” or “not-American-enough” nose.
This decline could be attributed to the beauty standards shifting to becoming accepting and embracing of different cultures and ethnicities. In the past, the lighter your skin, the blonder your hair, and the bluer your eyes would make you the pinnacle of American beauty. Nowadays, that standard has shifted and more forms of beauty are being favored and accepted.