Scotland's rapidly growing cosmetic industry is part beauty - and part beast. A surge in innovation and availability of clinics means consumers have more treatments to choose from than ever before, and the opportunity to benefit from world-class expertise to enhance their looks and rejuvenate their skin. While the only option for previous generations was to go under the knife with expensive plastic surgery, advances in lasers, energy devices, and injectables such as Botox mean that roughly 90% of the procedures being carried out today are non-surgical, minimally invasive, and much more affordable.
On the flipside, an explosion in unregulated practitioners is being blamed for a surge in people suffering horrific injuries and disfigurements - sometimes with little prospect of compensation. On August 26, the Herald will launch its latest in-depth series investigating the state of Scotland's cosmetic sector, how we got here, and what's next. READ MORE: Scotland and Alcohol: Read all the stories from the series here Scotland's housing emergency: Read all the stories from the series here The New Highland Clearances: Read every story from the series here Over the week, health correspondent Helen McArdle will explore the statistics on cosmetic surgery and find out why doctors are turning away from private hospital chains to set up their own dedicated cosmetic hubs.
We will look at how cosmetic surgery evolved from wartime advances in plastic surgery, and how techniques honed on burns.