With the aesthetics and cosmetic surgery industry set to be worth over £41 billion by 2027, the new ‘Surgeries in Searches’ report from personal finance experts at money.co.uk reveals which procedures are the most popular search terms on Google.
The cosmetics industry in the UK has grown significantly in recent years. Almost 27,000 procedures were carried out in 2019 alone, with many patients choosing to finance their surgeries using credit.
Cosmetic surgery specialists Pall Mall Medical, revealed exclusively to money.co.uk researchers that 60% of patients borrow money to finance their procedures, with the majority (40%) paying by credit card.
However, before making the decision to pay for surgery, those considering a procedure are likely to go online to do some homework.
To find out which surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures are raising the most interest, money.co.uk used insights from Google to reveal the most searched for procedures around the UK and Europe in the last 12 months.
The top 10 most searched for cosmetic surgeries
Looking at Europe as a whole, queries relating to ‘rhinoplasty’ were the most popular, with 34,410 unique searches in the last year. ‘Boob job’ is the second most searched for with 28,690 searches followed by ‘penis enlargement’ with over 24,000, where a lot of the searches were driven from the UK, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
| The top 10 surgical procedures in Europe | No. of searches |
| Rhinoplasty | 34,410 |
| Boob job | 28,690 |
| Penis enlargement | 24,450 |
| Brazilian butt lift | 23,430 |
| Brow lift | 20,010 |
| Nose job | 19,020 |
| Labiaplasty | 15,760 |
| Blepharoplasty | 12,520 |
| Breast augmentation | 10,400 |
| Breast lift | 8,900 |
Alongside invasive surgical procedures, money.co.uk also looked at the search volumes for non-invasive treatments, which prove to be more popular when it comes to online searches.
When comparing both invasive and non-invasive procedures, ‘microdermabrasion’ is the most searched for procedure overall, followed by ‘hyaluronic acid’ treatments and ‘lip fillers’.
| The top 10 non-surgical treatments | No. of searches |
| ‘Microdermabrasion’ | 70,870 |
| ‘Hyaluronic acid’ | 66,940 |
| ‘Lip fillers’ | 62,200 |
| ‘Coolsculpting’ | 35,050 |
| ‘Cryotherapy’ | 35,300 |
| ‘Tattoo removal’ | 25,400 |
| ‘Juvederm’ | 25,110 |
| ‘Hair removal’ | 22,590 |
| ‘Restylane’ | 20,570 |
| ‘Dermabrasion’ | 18,750 |
A snapshot of the UK
From all the countries investigated, the UK has the highest search volume for cosmetic and non-invasive treatments. Interestingly, ‘penis enlargement’ has the same search volume as breast surgery, suggesting men around the UK are just as interested in enhancing their bodies as women.
| The top 6 surgical procedures | No. of searches |
| ‘Rhinoplasty’ | 22,200 |
| ‘Penis enlargement’ | 14,800 |
| ‘Boob job’ | 14,800 |
| ‘Nose job’ | 9,900 |
| ‘Labiaplasty’ | 8,100 |
| ‘Blepharoplasty’ | 8,100 |
The most expensive countries to have cosmetic surgery
On average Switzerland is the most expensive country to have a surgical cosmetic treatment, followed closely by the UK.
Exploring the prices of the top five most searched for surgical procedures, reveals that the average cost of rhinoplasty in Switzerland is £4,994, almost double the average price of the same procedure in Austria.
In the UK, the average cost of breast enhancement is £4,296, much cheaper than in Switzerland where you can expect to pay around £6,976.
To see a full breakdown of the costs, take a look here: https://www.money.co.uk/guides/surgeries-in-searches
