2016 was undoubtedly the year that people's obsession with their health really took off in the form of #cleaneating, green juices and numerous fitness trends led by a new breed of beauty blogger. So perhaps it is unsurprising that plastic surgeries were down a whopping 40% year-on-year between 2015 and 2016, with the public seemingly being more interested in being the best version of themselves, rather than an altered version of themselves.
Speaking to The Guardian, Natasha Devon, a former model and co-founder of Self-Esteem Team, an organisation that promotes healthy body image in schools, explained the findings in terms of the current social media climate with both fitness bloggers and the latest crop of models being responsible for the shift.
'When I was modelling more than 15 years ago, the casting director had a very definite idea of what they wanted before you walked into the room: you were a prop in their vision and invariably that meant conforming to a very narrow beauty ideal,' she said.
'Now, the models who get booked are the ones with the largest Instagram following. Increasingly, these are people who represent a broader range of shapes, sizes, ages and races. In turn, this representation of diversity has, I believe, contributed to people feeling more comfortable in their own skin.'
Iskra Lawrence
Indeed, Gigi Hadid has often spoken out about not having the same body type as other models of her generation, while plus-sized model Iskra Lawrence recently made her runway debut at New York Fashion Week's Christian Siriano show and Ashley Graham featured alongside other top models on American Vogue's latest cover.
Self-Esteem co-founder Nadia Mendoza added: 'With the web, the vloggers and ‘Insta-famous’ have risen to the surface, and instead of trading on looks they trade on relatability. This means the likes of Zoella, Grace Victory and Iskra Lawrence become the aspirational ones.
'Meanwhile, those who have had surgery, such as Victoria Beckham and Katie Price, have now had their implants removed, which sends out a powerful message to fans. While people like Danielle Lloyd and Alicia Douvall go on Botched Up Bodies to educate on the horrors of how surgery can go wrong. The rise in Botox, teeth whitening, tanning, contouring etc also means there are a lot more options than having to go under the knife.'
It's certainly a positive trend after the plastic surgery obsessed decades of the '90s and '00s. While boob jobs are still the most asked for procedure, brow lifts were down 71%, with people turning to other non-invasive ways to look younger.
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