Data recently released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) shows an increase in the number of cosmetic procedures performed in the United States in 2018.
Patients underwent a total of nearly 18 million surgical and minimally-invasive cosmetic procedures, which is almost a quarter million more than in 2017 according to the ASPS annual plastic surgery statistics report. 1.8 million of those were cosmetic surgeries and 15.9 million were minimally invasive.
The number of cosmetic surgeries was up 1% over last year, but down 5% from 2000, while non-invasive procedures have increased 2% over last year and a whopping 228% from 2000.
Breast augmentation remains the most popular
Breast augmentation remains the most popular surgery, while Botulinum Toxin remains the most popular non-invasive procedure. In fact, nothing has changed since last year when it comes to popularity rankings. They remain as follows:
Top 5 cosmetic surgical procedures
Breast augmentation (313,735 procedures, up 4% from 2017)
Liposuction (258,558 procedures, up 5% from 2017)
Nose reshaping (213,780 procedures, down 2% from 2017)
Eyelid surgery (206,529 procedures, down 1% from 2017)
Tummy tuck (130,081 procedures, about the same as 2017)
Top 5 minimally invasive cosmetic procedures
Botulinum Toxin Type A (7.44 million procedures, up 3% from 2017)
Soft Tissue Fillers (2.68 million procedures, up 2% from 2017)
Chemical Peel (1.38 million procedures, up 1% since 2017)
Laser hair removal (1.1 million procedures, down 1% from 2017)
Microdermabrasion (709,413 procedures, down 4% from 2017)
There were more than 12,000 more liposuction procedures performed in 2018 than in 2017, for an increase of 5%. The procedure, however, has seen a decrease of 27% since 2000. Breast augmentations increased by 4% over last year and 48% since 2000. Buttock augmentations “with fat grafting,” meanwhile, saw an increase of 19%, while buttock implants were down 28%.
Two facial surgical procedures in the top five, nose reshaping and eyelid surgery, decreased slightly in popularity. The report attributes this, at least in part, to an increase in available options, including non-surgical nose reshaping.
Cosmetic procedures enhance wellbeing
Separate research released last year by Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago found that most people who choose minimally invasive cosmetic procedures do so to improve wellbeing.
HealthDay reported that researchers polled about 500 U.S. patients who had undergone some type of non-invasive cosmetic procedure between 2016 and 2017. Most of them were white women, aged 45 and over.
The treatments they had undergone included “laser and light treatments for brown spots, blood vessels, wrinkle reduction, scar treatment and hair removal; chemical peels; non-surgical skin tightening and fat reduction with radiofrequency energy, cold treatment, or ultrasound.”
The results revealed that nearly 70% chose the procedure to improve their psychological wellbeing, while more than half wanted to boost their confidence, look “professional” at work, or protect their health.
“Patients’ motivations for cosmetic procedures are not trivial,” study author Dr. Murad Alam, is quoted as saying. “People who get such treatments are sensible, normal people who are not just obsessed with their appearance. They have a range of motivations.”
The most common reasons, Alam said, were a desire “to feel happier and more confident in themselves, with overall better quality of life.”
Kim Collier of Collier Concepts is working to educate people about the wellness applications of cannabis
By Nadia Rehman
Cannabis exploded onto the spa and wellness scene a couple of years ago. After spending decades hiding in the shadows as an illegal substance, the plant has recently seen different levels of decriminalization around the world and been the subject of much interest thanks to its purported healing properties. The beauty business is also seeing a boom in cannabis-derived products and experiences.
As we have discussed before, there are two main chemical ingredients we talk about when we talk about cannabis: THC and CBD. THC is what causes the high from cannabis, while CBD is said to have numerous wellness applications and does not get you high. But not all products using cannabis contain these compounds.
We previously covered some cannabis trends, including various spa treatments using CBD. There are also many beauty brands using cannabis in lotions, salves, masks, makeup, and more.
Ending the stigma
Among those is Kim Collier of Collier Concepts (pictured above). She is one person who is working towards ending the cannabis stigma in the spa and hospitality sector.
Collier has an impressive resume, with more than 25 years of experience working in a wide range of spas globally, from building brands to launching new concepts. Her roster of clients includes hospitality brands like Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, and Intercontinental, and her certifications include USA certified massage therapist, NCBTMB accredited spa therapies instructor, Australian trained esthetician, and energy medicine yoga instructor. She will also be completing a Holistic Health Practitioner certification in 2019 with a thesis on Cannabis & Global Wellness.
Kim Collier offers niche consulting for wellness venues, CBD brands, and experiential education programs for spas, resorts and consumers. The goal is to educate spa and hospitality leaders on how they can incorporate CBD into their businesses for good wellness practices. Collier offers unique CBD experiential education events,
“science based CBD, Spas & Wellness classes,” workplace wellness programs, and more.
“CBD is the ultimate gateway to wellness,” says Kim Collier. “And hemp will be the saviour of many industries, including building materials, food, fiber, beauty, and wellness.”
While we watch those developments in other industries, we’ve put together a list of four more beauty and wellness brands and experiences to look out for in this space.
EKS
EKS is a Canadian brand founded by Ashley Short and Tijen Yalchin. The duo takes a holistic approach when it comes to the products they have developed. Yalchin has a combined background in Massage Therapy and Acupuncture. Short is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist and Clinical Herbalist, making this duo the perfect team to create products designed for healing. They are focused on creating natural and healing salves with a very simple yet effective concept. Consumers can use the EKS specialty salves and combine with their own legal cannabis oil. EKS came to be after Short was diagnosed with Lyme disease. She needed an effective way to manage her pain and didn’t want to continue to use steroids prescribed by her doctor. The brand currently offers two salves using only natural ingredients, the brand plans on expanding into other products in the future.
High Beauty
High beauty is an organic and paraben-free skincare line, the founder of which has 30 years of experience in the natural beauty industry. The line is designed with mindfulness and high-quality ingredients that include cannabis sativa, said to be effective in reducing inflammation. High Beauty’s products, such as the Cannabis Facial Oil and Cannabis Moisturizer, do not contain THC or CBD, and are rich in vitamins E and A to soothe skin and provide a natural glow.
Kana Skincare
Kana Skincare is well-known for its cannabis-containing masks, which are notably soothing around the eyes. Kana’s Purple Rice Hemp Sleeping Mask contains purple rice, licorice, green tea leaves, and hemp oil. According to Kana, the green tea leaf water and cannabinoids help reduce inflammation of the skin, while the mask – naturally a gorgeous purple color, thanks to the purple rice – will also help smooth fine lines. The products have gained recognition with features in Forbes and Allure.
Milk Makeup – Kush
Milk is a New York-based company with a focus on high quality, paraben-free, vegan, and cruelty-free cosmetics whose Kush makeup line takes an exciting direction with cannabis and cosmetics – like their signature Kush Mascara. Milk wanted to create a fully vegan product, and settled on using cannabis oil as an alternative to beeswax, a commonly used binding agent in mascara. Not only is it vegan, according to Milk, cannabis oil creates a creamy texture that allows for smoother application and also provides an additional conditioning benefit. Along with Kush Mascara, the brand has a selection of cannabis-based cosmetics including Kush Lip Balm, Kush Eyeliner, and Kush Brow Gel.
In March, 2019, The Spa at The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston became the first spa in Texas to earn a Forbes Five Star rating. This impressive accomplishment becomes even more impressive when you consider the fact that The Spa at the Post Oak Hotel only opened three months earlier, in December, 2018.
How did they achieve this? We decided to talk with The Post Oak Spa Director, Daisy Tepper, and find out.
In her role as Spa Director at The Post Oak Hotel, which is owned by billionaire TV personality Tilman Fertitta, Ms. Tepper oversees the day-to-day operations of The Spa and manages all wellness activities. Her previous roles include Director of Spa and Wellness at The Forbes Five Star Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, Senior Director of Spa at the Four Seasons Spas of the Americas, and Director of Spa at the Beverly Wilshire and the Four Seasons Beverly Hills Spa. She also served as the Spa Director at the Peninsula in Beverly Hills for nine years. Originally from Australia, Ms. Tepper holds a degree in Business Management from Sydney Business College.
We asked Ms. Tepper about how she managed to achieve a Forbes Five Star rating just three months after opening, about her training process, and about her candidate selection process.
Were you aiming for a five star rating?
It was our goal from day one. Houston doesn’t have any five star hotels or spas. The people here don’t really understand what “Five Star” is. So, it was a very interesting journey from day one.
How did you do it?
By working very hard! We did a very intense eight-week training. We also had Forbes come in and spend a day with us. That actually made the team very nervous. That’s when they realized they signed up for something a lot bigger than what they thought.
I would start every day by asking everybody, “What are you grateful for?” And we would spend a good half hour on that. It was very important to me for us to really understand what makes us happy. It put everybody in a good mood, and then we would start our day. The other thing I would say is, “We want to make history. You were selected from hundreds of candidates to create the first five star spa in Houston.” It always went back to those two things.
There were a lot of tears, a lot of frustration, and a lot of “I can’t do this.” But they hung in there.
What were the tears and frustration about?
The intensity of the training. All of them said they had never in their career done anything even close to it. They were here eight hours a day, five days a week, training for eight weeks. The expectations were high. There was frustration when they were trying to get it right and couldn’t. And there are so many tiny details: your uniform’s got a little stain, your badge isn’t straight, your hair has to be back in a bun. Everything has to be perfect.
I would tell them, “Don’t give up, don’t throw it away, hang in there.” And they did. They came to work looking impeccable and ready to do this every single day. They were determined.
Tell me about some of the traits you looked for in service providers.
Confidence is the biggest thing. If you’re confident in what you do, everything else comes naturally. Caring is another thing because the guests can tell right away if you care about the service you’re offering. We looked for passion, because if you’re passionate you’re going to try to do well, and ability to work under pressure.
During the interview process, there were times when I was hard on them. I wanted to see if they were able to work under pressure, because achieving five stars is pressure. Those inspectors are coming, you don’t know when they’re coming, and they’re looking at absolutely everything.
On top of two interviews they also had to do a practical. We would ask them questions while on the massage to determine how much they knew about the body, and challenge them while on the table to find out whether they would give us attitude.
What, besides the people, makes The Spa at The Post Oak special?
Visually it’s beautiful, but the biggest thing is the attention to detail. We make sure every little thing is thought of.
From the moment we welcome the guest we’re watching for little things we can do.
A guest commented on how much they loved the little peanut butter spheres we offer, so the attendant got a little box, packaged them beautifully with a ribbon, and gave it to the front desk so they had it when they checked out. We had a mother and daughter come in who hadn’t seen each other for a while and came to spend time together. We took a picture of them, put it in a frame with a ribbon, and left it at the desk as a gift. It’s the little things that we do for the guest that they don’t expect and that make people walk away and say “Wow. This is something that I’ll remember.”
We make sure to talk about this. We ask “tell me about how you went above and beyond for a guest today.”
I think that’s what makes our spa special.
What do you think it takes to be a good spa director?
Caring for your team and being there. Leading by example is a big thing. Treating them with the utmost respect is very important to me. The way I see it, they’re my internal guests, and if I take care of them, they will take care of the other guests. The bread and butter comes from these people. If you treat people well, they will go above and beyond.
What is something you’re excited about?
I’m excited that we are the first and only Five Star spa in the state of Texas, which is huge because Texas is the second largest state in the United States.
Also, working for such an amazing, influential man as Mr. Tilman Fertitta. He inspires me and has taught me so much in the two years that I’ve been here. I was able to come to Texas from L.A. and achieve this big accomplishment, I’m extremely excited about that.
