Utah's Botox patients skew young
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Most Botox patients are now younger than 45 in Utah — a state already notorious for its high rates of cosmetic procedures.
The intrigue: Only Vermont has a larger share of Botox users who are millennials or younger, according to data from Qsight, a medical aesthetics and medtech data provider.
By the numbers: People born after 1980 accounted for 53% of Utah's neurotoxin patients during the 12 months ending in August.
- Nationally, just 41% were in that age group — though their numbers are growing, Qsight senior data scientist Duey Xu tells Axios.
- Millennials "have rapidly gained ground in recent years," now up to 35% of procedures, Xu says.
Caveat: Utah has the youngest population of any state.
What they're saying: Botox appointments are becoming about as mainstream as hair appointments.
- "Injectables have gone from being a whisper topic to something people openly talk about with friends, colleagues, and even on social media," American Society of Plastic Surgeons president C. Bob Basu told Axios.
Context: Any taboo around cosmetic procedures evaporated long ago in Utah, where highways are lined with billboards carrying messages like, "God's remodeling his temple. Isn't it time to remodel yours?"
- In a study last year, about 14% of some 1,400 Latter-day Saints surveyed by Utah State University's Utah Women & Leadership Project said they underwent major cosmetic surgery, while 20% said they got less drastic procedures.
- By comparison, about 4% of Americans have reported cosmetic surgery, researchers wrote.
Between the lines: Wealthy Latter-day Saints and those with the highest "religious salience" were more likely to undergo cosmetic procedures, per USU's report.
Zoom in: Nationally, younger patients are "increasingly seeking 'preventive' treatments, and overall, interest in lip fillers and masseter toxin injections is on the rise," Rebecca Small, a physician who specializes in advanced aesthetic treatments, told Axios.
- With lip fillers, synthetic hyaluronic acid is injected into lips to add volume.
- Masseter injections are Botox shots into jaw muscles, often to offer a slimming effect.
The bottom line: No matter how casually people are talking about injectables, "these are medical procedures, not just quick beauty fixes," Basu asserts.