Room For Growth In Cosmetic Treatments

by Adrienne W. Fawcett, Feb 26, 2007, 5:00 AM

• Comment
• Recommend
• Tweet
• 

Hollywood's stars and starlets paraded into the Annual Academy Awards last night in glittery dresses, orb-like diamonds and stiletto heels. They also sported facial complexions as taut and rosy as the carpet beneath their feet.

Based on those images and news media coverage of Botox and other brands of non-surgical cosmetic treatments, it seems all of America, like Hollywood, is smoothing out its forehead and plumping up its lips. The word Botox appears in the news every 26 seconds; Restylane every 24; and Juvederm, which hit the market in January, is mentioned by the news media every 11 seconds, according to Google's news search engine.

Despite all the publicity, everyone in America is not, in fact, going Botox.

New research prepared by Synovate Inc. and exclusive to Marketing Daily has found that most Americans over 18 are aware of Botox and other non-surgical cosmetic treatments. But only 1.8% of Americans has ever gone under the needle, and of those, almost half said they were unsatisfied with the results.

Not surprisingly, women are more likely to fill in their frown lines than are men: 2.4% of women and 1.2% of men say they have used Botox or a similar cosmetic treatment. That's 2.1 million ladies and 1 million gents, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

But let's keep that in Vegas. A high percentage of people who use these treatments do not tell their friends about it: 71% keep it private.

"Botox-type treatments are definitely not yet in the mainstream," said Tom Mularz, senior vice president at Synovate, which conducted the online survey of 1,000 adults in the U.S in February. "It appears more education is necessary. Over half of respondents either don't have enough information or have no opinion about these types of treatments."

From January through September 2006, Botox marketer Allergan Inc. spent $335.4 million on marketing for Botox plus $2.3 million to promote the brand for use in underarm sweat control, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

Allergan reports that doctors performed more than three million procedures in 2005. Injections cost $350 and up, and usually last for three months; many patients need more than one injection per visit.

Because of the price commitment, people with higher income levels are more interested in doing something about those frown lines. According to the Synovate study, Botox and other brands are used by 2.7% of respondents with household income more than $75,000, compared to just 1% of people who earn less money.

There is potential for growth in the wrinkle-reduction business. The Synovate study found that 15.5% of respondents said they would consider using Botox or a similar non-surgical cosmetic treatment. And Millennium Research Group predicts the patient population for Botox and "dermal filler cosmetic injectables" will double to 6 million people by 2011. It cites the youth-oriented culture, greater accessibility to procedures and new products as reasons for optimism.

• Comment
• Recommend
• Tweet
• 

Be the first to comment on "Room For Growth In Cosmetic Treatments "

Leave a Comment