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Despite changing fashions, styles and beauty standards, civilisations and individuals have always been invested in their appearance. In fact, plastic surgery dates back to as early as 800 B.C in Ancient India but surgical or ‘cosmetic’ procedures have been documented in these early years all over the world.

The primitive plastic surgery procedures we have the most information about were those in ancient India, where special healers or doctors would reconstruct the face to suit the patient’s desired look using rudimentary skin grafts. Eastern cultures were always more advanced in evolving or discovering medicines, and this includes cosmetic procedures. Progression was slow but steady and soon plastic surgery was introduced to western civilisations and adapted throughout Europe. At this time, cosmetic surgery entered its first major revolution as it became adapted and refined for different procedures, different features, areas of the body and most notably – different trends that varied from culture to culture.

Plastic Surgery Timeline

Roman physician and writer, Celsus, identified methods and techniques for reconstructing ears, lips and noses.

In the early stages of the Byzantine empire, another medical writer founded an encyclopaedia which detailed (at length) all the possible facial defects and how to rework and repair them.

Reconstructive surgery halted with the fall of Rome and all its opulence and focus on beauty. Science or the arts (as plastic surgery and beauty in general was considered) fell out of fashion and very few developments were made at this time. Due to poor hygiene, cosmetic surgery was also considered extremely risky.

The renaissance throughout Europe saw a revival in plastic surgery and began real developments and progressions that have paved the way for our thinking and techniques available today. This includes a document written in the fifteenth century that became the foundation for modern surgical breast reduction. This led to developments by Gaspare Tagliacozz in the 1800s, who wrote the original  ‘plastic surgery textbook’ which featured a rudimentary boob job surgery that was designed to remedy notable asymmetry in the breasts.

The Development Of Modern Day Cosmetic Surgery

As with so many things, innovation is born from necessity. As wars broke out across the richest nations in the world, many people became maimed, impaired and required reconstructive surgeries. This led to a rapid succession of developments in plastic surgeries from the 17^th century all the way through to the 20^th. At this point, modern war (WW1 and WW2) altered the severity of wounds inflicted during war.

It was also during this period that Western medicine explored and started to wield anaesthesia to its full potential. Hygiene standards also began to dramatically improve all throughout the 19^th and 20^th century as we continued to learn and develop better technologies and hospital protocols.

In the 1940s and 1950s, plastic surgery took hold and became popularised, particularly in America. After initial conversations and shared insights that were originally laughed off by physicians, accredited and respected medical journals started to share the thinking of those who would become the fathers of plastic surgery. A journal dedicated to cosmetic surgery was developed and published regularly.

At this time, the Korean war also broke out. Field and military doctors developed ‘wiring’ techniques to aid with sensitive fractures and reconstruction of the face.

Popularity and progression continued throughout the decades that followed, with plastic surgeons becoming more respectable within the medical community. However, the biggest development during this period was silicone, which quickly became integrated with the breast implantation and enlargement technique. This was quickly adapted and introduced to other cosmetic surgery procedures.

Prosperity, wealth and lifestyles of the 1980s saw more and more consumers undergo plastic surgery – it became mainstream! Despite economic downturn in the latter part of the decade, procedures did not suffer. In fact, as further medical boards were formed to accredit and regulate surgeries, plastic surgery was more popular, safer and more accessible than ever before! Reconstructive surgeries were even written into law in the USA.

Throughout the 21^st century, procedures have continued to grow both in technical developments and accessibility to the masses. Although considered a luxury, as time has gone on, cosmetic surgery has become more available to the everyman. During this time, the leading experts in certain disciplines and surgeries started to shift. For example, traditional methods for combatting hair loss were revolutionised and popularised in Turkey.

Today, trends, styles and fashions are defined by celebrities, but the accessibility and affordability of cosmetic surgery means that procedures continue to grow in popularity year on year. Who knows what the future holds? As it stands, the medical community are continuing to develop less invasive surgeries with the most advanced technologies and better success rates.

The big butt trend is here to stay – bum lifts and Brazilian butt lifts are now one of the most asked-for plastic surgeries worldwide – with the number of bum lifts completed per year well on its way to overtaking the number of breast augmentations completed per year! Having risen in popularity, the big bum is now seen as a must-have by many women and was made famous by Hollywood celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Iggy Azalea, Amber Rose, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B (to name but a few!), as well as Instagram fitness stars, health gurus and many more different people besides. These celebrities and social media stars occupy a unique place in popular culture and are easily able to influence millions of people, often with simple actions like uploading a post on social media (such as the belfie – a bum selfie) or the release of a new music video (with J.Lo’s Booty and Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda being perfect examples of this).

We all know that first impressions count. More often than not, the smile is the first thing that people notice when they meet you. The Academy of General Dentistry actually discovered that 40% of those surveyed notice a smile first in colleagues, with a further 96% being of the belief that a smile is vital to attraction! This holds true for a wide range of different scenes and scenarios, including first dates, job interviews, introductions and almost every other social situation that you can think of! But how important exactly is a good smile? Below we are going to list for you just three of the reasons as to why having a good smile is so important! It is by no means an exhaustive list as there are a massive amount of benefits to having that perfect smile.

There are great many new trends in the cosmetic surgery industry. Generally speaking, this is always the case, as the industry as a whole is growing massively, and has been on an upward trajectory (in terms of usage and variety of procedures) for decades. This is in no small part thanks to increased and more varied demands driving the industry to formulate novel ways of developing new looks, with social media trends and celebrity influence also accelerating advancements in surgeries, procedures and treatments in general. We are going to talk about two new trends in cosmetic surgery in this piece. And they are cheekbone surgeries and the double eyelid surgery.

Plastic surgery is becoming more popular each and every year. More individuals are flocking towards and utilising plastic surgery as a means to acquire a certain look, to help with self-esteem or to correct something about themselves that they simply do not like and therefore cannot, and do not have to live with.

Without technological advancements, the healthcare industry wouldn’t be where it is today. Incisions have become smaller, robotic technologies have allowed for better precision and medication has improved considerably; these all came about thanks to advancements. Cosmetic surgery has been no exception, with the likes of tissue engineering, microsurgeries and even laser procedures each playing their part in offering more natural looking results with shorter downtime for the patient.

Each year, we see changing demands for just which cosmetic procedures the public want. While last year saw a rise in labial surgeries, breast augmentation and minimally invasive procedures, 2019 already has its very own set of trends to watch. From injectables and ‘tweak’-ments, to hybrid boob jobs and 3D facelifts, we’ve compiled our guide to the popular plastic surgery procedures in demand for 2019.

The beginning of the New Year is a common time for people to ponder making some personal improvements, such as cutting out alcohol or working out more, and cosmetic surgery is no exception. With this surge in interest that occurs in the chilly months, however, it’s important for your surgeon to explain the positive and negative effects that can result from having an operation in the winter period.

Christmas is just around the corner and with the festive season well and truly underway, you may be wondering how you can look your best in time for the big day. Thankfully, there are a number of non-invasive or minimally invasive procedures that you could fit in before December 25^th, with enough time to heal and settle too. Here, we have compiled three of the best cosmetic procedures that you could opt for, so you can feel rejuvenated and confident in good time for your festive celebrations.