Last year, YouGov conducted a national poll and found that 2 out of 5 Brits are unhappy with their appearance (49% of women compared to 34% of men). With nearly 100,000 Brits googling monthly for cosmetic surgery related topics, cosmetic surgery specialists Flawless.org decided to find out which country is unhappiest with their looks.
Flawless analysed Western countries with the largest populations around the world and then checked the monthly search volumes for the most popular invasive and non-invasive procedures using Google search volume analytics tool SEMrush.
Countries analysed from largest to smallest population
The following Western countries were chosen: USA, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Canada, Australia.
UK Google Search Volume Findings
The MOST popular procedure in the UK is Botox with an astonishing 493,130 related keyword searches monthly. Specifically, for ‘Botox’, there are on average 27,100 monthly enquiries!
In second place, with more than 360,000 combined searches is the saviour for receding hairlines – hair transplant.
Third place goes to liposuction, which is unsurprising as YouGov stated in their findings that nearly 50% of Brits do not feel comfortable with their weight.
| UK | Average Monthly Keyword Search Volume | Combined Keyword Volume for All Related Searches |
| Cosmetic Surgery | 6,600 | 99,880 |
| Botox | 27,100 | 493,130 |
| Hair Transplant | 33,100 | 361,990 |
| Liposuction (Fat removal surgery) | 27,100 | 161,000 |
| Rhinoplasty (Nose job) | 22,200 | 149,970 |
| BBL (Brazilian butt lift) | 18,100 | 115,490 |
| Breast Reduction | 4,400 | 79,540 |
| Breast Enlargement | 6,600 | 62,940 |
| Dermal Fillers | 9,900 | 56,920 |
| Blepharoplasty (Eyelid surgery) | 8,100 | 29,500 |
| Otoplasty (Ear reshaping surgery) | 1,900 | 9,960 |
| Abdominoplasty (Tummy tuck & abdominal tightening surgery) | 2,400 | 7,260 |
Lastly, the LEAST searched cosmetic procedure in the UK is abdominoplasty. The abdominal tightening surgery is searched 7,260 times a month (combined keyword volume for all related searches) – making it 69 times LESS likely to be searched for in comparison to Botox.
Interestingly, attitudes towards googling procedures for breasts and bums have changed in the last five years. The blue line shows the Google trend of “boobs” and the red for “bum”. This is not so surprising since Brits are now 2.8 times MORE likely to search for BBL than breast enlargement.
Worldwide Google Search Volume Findings
Botox is the MOST searched for procedure in 8 out of 11 countries considered (UK, USA, Canada, Spain, Germany, France, Poland, Brazil).
People are more likely to google breast reduction than a breast enlargement in an English-speaking country. For example, the UK is 2.3 times more likely to search for a reduction than enlargement, USA 4.3 times, Australia is nearly 3 times and Canada 3.7 more likely.
In seven of the countries analysed worldwide (UK, USA, Australia, Canada, Germany, Poland), hair transplant places in the top five as the most searched cosmetic procedure.
Interestingly, whilst hair transplant is the SECOND-MOST searched for in the UK and in the top five within the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, Germany and Poland, search volumes are very low in Mediterranean countries (bar France), with Brazil and Mexico the LOWEST searched.
A spokesperson from Flawless made the following comments regarding the findings on cosmetic surgery trends within the UK and worldwide:
“The keyword search volumes per country are not entirely surprising. Beauty/cosmetic trends are forever changing in countries, regions, and worldwide. Enhanced beauty standards, which we are continuously exposed to via the likes of the media, and social media will have major impacts on different generations to come, it is therefore important to take the time to thoroughly research the cosmetic procedures you are thinking of getting done.
We believe that if there is an increase in searches, then the more informed people are likely to be. Undergoing cosmetic surgery can be positively life-changing and can result in improved physical health, improved confidence, psychological benefits, and permanent results.”
