More Hispanics Get Botox Cosmetic Procedures

EL PASO, Texas — It comes in a little bottle, but it’s got a lot of beauty in it. It’s Botox. In a tough economy even though some people’s bank statements look ugly, they are making sure their faces don’t.

The American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS) said more people are using Botox.

“Botox along with fillers are in a better economic range, and that’s the reason there’s an increase,” said Dr. Peter Herman, with Dermatology & Aesthetic Center of El Paso.

While Botox is on the rise surgical cosmetic procedures were down 9 percent in 2008. Breast augmentation dropped 12 percent in 2008 and liposuction procedures were down 19 percent, compared to 2007.

Doctors also said more Hispanic clients are getting Botox, the numbers are up 18 percent nationwide. Herman explained why more Hispanics may be turning to Botox. He believes the Hispanic culture stayed away from cosmetic procedures because of an interference in nature.

“There may be a religious component to that, but the feeling now has changed,” Herman said.

Plastic surgeons said more minorities are turning to cosmetic procedures. Hispanics made up 10 percent of the 12 million cosmetic procedures in the U.S. in 2008. African-Americans made up 8 percent, a 10 percent increase, and Asians made up 7 percent of cosmetic procedures in 2008, a 5 percent increase from 2007.

Herman said Botox has more benefits than just beauty.

“When people are job seeking or job hunting, a person with a more relaxed appearance and more cosmetically appealing is perhaps more likely to get a job,” Herman said.

by Miri Marshall-Weekend Anchor/Weathercaster/News Reporter
Posted: 5:24 pm MDT March 27, 2009