Cosmetic procedures have grown incredibly in China as an increasing number of people decide to go under the knife.
A new report from HSBC has revealed that sales to Chinese consumers are poised to double to 800 billion yuan (US$122 billion) by 2019, up from 400bn yuan in 2014.
The statistics suggest that China is set to become the industry’s third-largest market in the world, behind the US and Brazil, according to China’s Association of Plastics and Aesthetics, which said that around seven million Chinese people paid for enhancement procedures in 2014. The association confirms around 60,000 of them had their procedures performed in South Korea (Asia’s plastic surgery “headquarters”), up 45 percent from the year before.
According to the report, smartphones are fuelling the industry’s growth. China’s social media and selfie obsessions are thought to be creating a new Chinese vanity craze and a market for cosmetic surgery.
Chinese consumers have clasped onto apps such as Meiren Xiangi or BeautyPlus, which offer enhancement of photos by plumping cheeks or widening eyes. These virtual plastic surgery features have been the gateways to other apps, such as GengMei, which match users to a market of plastic surgeons who can help their doctored pics come to life.
“The pursuit of physical beauty has become big business in China,” HSBC analysts said in the report.
The number of plastic surgery clinics in China is increasing by 30 percent each year, with an entire Chinese beauty enhancement ecosystem emerging. Cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have seen an outburst of plastic surgery and enhancement parlours. Korean doctors have started Korean-Chinese joint ventures in China, seeing a market potential.
Non-surgical, lunchtime procedures are also becoming big business, with homegrown Chinese injection makers booming. Whilst it is true that the Chinese market is still in it infancy, with an estimated 50,000-100,000 beauty salons now illegally performing procedures, HSBC says the government is expected to step in and increase regulation.
