Cash-conscious swap facelifts for chemical peel

Britons turned to chemical peels instead of facelifts during the recession last year, said Britain's largest cosmetic surgery provider.

The Harley Medical Group said its Obagi Blue Peel was dubbed the recessionista's facelift by clinic staff as the number of chemical peel treatments, which start from 95, tripled last year compared with 2008.

However, numbers of surgical treatments also continued to grow, according to the business. They said breast operations, which cost from 4,275, remained the most popular surgical treatment, with mothers making up 60 per cent of patients, though numbers of patients wanting to change the appearance of their nose also increased.

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Post-baby surgery accounted for 90 per cent of tummy tuck operations and 75 per cent of all breast uplifts, the figures showed.

The number of men opting for cosmetic surgery also continued to rise, with men now accounting for 18 per cent of all patients seen.

Boytox – Botox for men – and Sweatox – anti-sweat Botox – both drove growth, the group said.

Group director Liz Dale said: "Non-surgical procedures, which saw big growth last year, have continued to be a strong area for us and now account for 32 per cent of all our business. The surgical side of the business is also continuing to grow."

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