Brazil ranks second in the world for the number of cosmetic surgeries performed. In 2020, that number was 1,306,962.
Apparently, people started finding out about cosmetic surgery when Hollywood stars started having it. From the 1940s to the 1950s, the most common procedures were nose jobs and facelifts. A lot of people are still getting nose jobs with Brazil ranking first (87,879), then Türkiye second (66,950), and then the USA (55,436).
Although Brazil took first spot for the number of cosmetic surgery procedures in 2019, the USA took back first place in 2020.
Globally, the cosmetic surgery that women want most is a breast procedure, but in Brazil it is liposuction. While liposuction is usually intended to make you thinner, in Brazil it is intended to accentuate your body shape. The second most common procedure is breast enlargement, followed by eyelids, abdominoplasty, then breast lift.
Apparently, the Brazilian Butt Lift did not start out in Brazil but with people wanting to imitate the shape of Brazilians’ butts because they were appealing. In the USA, this procedure was performed 61,000 times in 2021.
Brazil has a tropical climate, so people show their skin and the outlines of their body, and it is apparently for this reason that body-shaping surgeries are so common here.
Today 25% of patients are male. They get liposuction, nose, ears, hair restoration, and other procedures done.
Results of a 2018 survey showed that most cosmetic surgeons use social media like Instagram and Facebook. Only 19.7% did not use it. They put out messages about cosmetic surgery to a wider audience on social media by posting comments and before-and-after photos of cosmetic procedures. Although cosmetic surgery is expensive, you can also find information on social media about ways of paying, like installments.
The reasons Brazilians are having so much cosmetic surgery done are that there has been an increase in medical universities, which has meant an increase in cosmetic surgeons, allowing the average person now to have easier access to clinics. Another reason is that people are taking more selfies. Certainly, a lot more people are posting selfies on Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms. I suppose a lot of people expect a comment like “Gorgeous! Aren’t you beautiful!” Plus, more people have set up a home office because of the pandemic, which has meant they’re seeing themselves on a screen more, during online lessons and meetings.
People in Brazil don’t hide the fact that they have had cosmetic surgery. They think “Cosmetic surgery will get rid of the bits I don’t like straight away, and I have the money,” which makes me think there’s a bit of a status element to it. There are some who have had cosmetic surgery numerous times, not just once. They go about changing their bodies to achieve the ideal. A lot of doctors are concerned because there are people who think of their body as an object.
Cosmetic surgery involves surgical operations, so the rate of failure is not zero percent. I have heard in the news about someone losing their life from a liposuction procedure in Brazil. I think it is important to first consult a surgeon and listen very carefully to the advice about post-surgical care and so on.