It’s official: We’ve got Royal Wedding fever. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement, and it got us thinking about what our overseas neighbors in the U.K. do to look their best.
Turns out, both U.S. and U.K. people on RealSelf are fans of fillers. In the last three months, fillers and toxins like Botox, Dysport®, and Xeomin were both in the top five most-researched minimally invasive treatments on RealSelf.
Where we differ: People in the U.K. care more about hair restoration, while we Americans are busy researching non-surgical fat reduction like CoolSculpting and SculpSure.
“Both are a good option for patients looking for minimal downtime,” says Dr. David Shafer, a plastic surgeon in New York City. He adds that CoolSculpting kills fat cells by freezing them, while SculpSure uses laser technology. Both treatments take about one hour per area, and are ideal for people with a small amount of unwanted fat despite dieting and exercising.
Dr. Shafer sees a particular uptick in interest around the holidays. “We get new people coming in around the holidays wanting to try something for the first time,” he says. “Most people are anticipating a new year, have parties to attend, are going home to see family and friends, or just want to boost their appearance.”
Dr. Rita Rakus in London sees the same holiday-related spike. “Many people visit my clinic to ensure they look their best during this camera-ready season,” she says.
Dr. Rakus’ patients are most interested in fillers for the lips and cheeks to provide a quick and natural-looking remedy for lines and wrinkles.
“The holidays can be a particularly tiring time because of the busy social calendar,” she says. Between the extra drinking and lack of sleep, that festive and full calendar “can take its toll, making people look older.”
Patients also like to use the holidays to recover from more time-consuming procedures. “We see a lot of patients who want surgical procedures before the holidays so they can use the break time for recovery without having to use up vacation time,” Dr. Shafer said.
The key to success?
“Don’t wait until the last minute,” said Dr. Shafer. Both doctors recommend planning ahead for treatments, so that you’ll have the results you want by the time you want them.
The good news? The Royal Wedding isn’t until spring — plenty of time to plan.
