Cosmetic surgery trend in South Korea and America

Cosmetic surgery trend in South Korea and America

Everyone regardless of their culture desires to be beautiful. However, the beauty standard varies from one culture and society to another. In the West, people are interested in improving body shapes through breast and hip augmentation, liposuction, and so on while in the East, people are more interested in improving facial features including eyes, nose, and facial contours. When it comes to cosmetic plastic surgery, South Korea is arguably the number one in the world. Sophistication and accessibility of plastic surgery has made the cosmetic medical service in South Korea one of the top exports, and they say you should get a plastic surgery while you are in South Korea for a business trip or to visit family just because it is financially savvy. BNB covers the difference in plastic surgery between the U.S. and South Korea and up-to-date trends in both countries.

 

Face and skin in South Korea

South Korea is one of the most advanced countries in the world for plastic surgery, and new techniques and procedures are developed in the country every year. The competition among cosmetic medical providers produced many contents created by plastic surgeons to explain procedures and techniques while some large providers even employ coordinators that exclusively handle foreign clients. Lately, non-invasive procedures are trending in South Korea, so many plastic surgery providers who used to offer only plastic surgery and procedures are introducing skin care procedures. After the mask mandate for public places was lifted, there was a sudden increase in visits to plastic surgery clinics and skin care facilities, probably due to the increased exposure of facial features including the skin. The desired features to be improved by plastic surgery varied by age. People in their 10s and 20s were interested in eyes, nose, and facial contour; people in their 30s and 40s wanted to do petite facelifts, various types of non-invasive face lifting, and lipid replacement under eyes; and finally people in their middle ages had most interest in facelifting, eye surgeries and non-invasive procedures like Thermage.

There are plastic surgery and skincare apps that are widely used for sharing reviews and making appointments and even payments. From left to right, Gangnam Unni, Babitok, and Yeoshin Ticket.

 

Focus on body shape in America

As opposed to the face and skin in South Korea, Americans were more interested in breast augmentation, liposuction, and Brazilian butt lift.

Breast augmentation and lifting

Many graduates from high school in South Korea say they want an eyelid surgery as a graduation gift, and their American counterparts say breast augmentation. Americans, especially of European or Latin American origin, typically have larger breasts, most wearing C or D cup under wears, so women who have smaller than average breasts tend to feel the pressure to have their breast surgically enlarged. On the other hand, there are procedures to reduce the size of breast or lift breast.

Liposuction

America is probably where liposuction has first made it to the mainstream. The higher obesity rate in the country is the main contributor for its popularity. From traditional liposuction that removes excessive fat, now it evolved to tummy tuck surgery where excessive skin is also removed at the same time.

Brazilian butt lift

One of the most popular surgeries among African Americans is the BBL, and it involves suctioning fat from the belly and planting it in the buttocks. Not just a popular plastic surgery but it is a cultural and social phenomenon. #BBL has 6 billion views on TikTok, a popular short video platform among youths in America. Many people who dream of becoming a celebrity in the U.S. are getting the surgery with borrowed money. Big butts are a shortcut to become famous. Cardi B, a famous rapper, shared her experience of almost dying after getting an illegal butt enlargement procedure at the basement of a shady apartment in New York before her debut. In fact, many Americans are dying from risking illegal procedures to avoid hefty medical bills, and quite a few Americans make a trip to Columbia or Mexico for a plastic surgery.

Rapper Cardi B’s before and after the butt enlargement. @pinterest


Singer-songwriter K. Michelle’s before and after the surgery. @gettyimage


Rapper Niki Minaz’s before and after. @youtube. / getty image

 

People flock to South Korea for plastic surgery and skin care

It is no longer surprising that many people from various countries come to visit South Korea to get medical services. From cancer treatment to annual exams, and herbal medicine, South Korea is quite advanced in medicine, but plastic surgery is among the most popular for its quality and affordability. Among procedures and surgeries, many foreigners received a facelift, eyelid surgeries, nose reshaping, liposuction, skin regeneration, skin whitening, anti-aging, and pore reduction.

 

Tips for getting a plastic surgery in South Korea

U.S. citizens and permanent residents who lived outside South Korea for more than two years can get Value Added Tax refund at airports and tax refund counters at terminals within three months if they produce the receipt for tax refund issued by the medical provider.

South Korean government started the 10% tax refund program for plastic surgery in April 2016 to encourage international tourism. You can find the list of medical providers who are designated as medical providers for foreign patients by the government.

 

What are the trending procedures in America?

Fox eye lifting

@DrNizarhamadeh Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, and Ariana Grande after fox eye lift.


@tiktok Fox eye makeup trending on TikTok.

While forehead and eyebrow lifting are common in South Korea, the fox eye lifting is quite different. Generally, eyelid or eyebrow lifting is reserved for mid-aged people in South Korea, but in America, it is very popular among younger people. They prefer a cat eye look which is considered attractive. Fox eye lift is a type of canthoplasty surgery that reconstructs the eyelid, and for people who want a quicker job, thread lift can be achieved in about twenty minutes.

 

To style their edges, African Americans get botox at the hairline

Botox is known to reduce wrinkles and fine lines on the face and temporarily reduce muscle mass, but it also blocks nerve signals that activate sweating, which can be used to treat excessive sweating. When you excessively sweat after edge styling, which is popular among African American, you not only get flaking but also ruin the style. To avoid this mishap, some people are willingly spending $300-500 to get botox shots. This procedure is often called blow tox, and it can last up to 3-6 months. According to Nielsen IQ, African American consumers spent more than two billion dollars for hair last year, and this is more than any other race group. After the exercise boom in America, many people often sweat even in cooler seasons, so the procedure is purportedly popular in all seasons.

Source:Washington post

 

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