Hyaluronic acid fillers were first introduced into the aesthetics market in the 1990’s and by the early 2000’s they began to boom and quickly became a popular treatment for the early adopters of aesthetic treatments. Over the past ten years, the increasing popularity of social media, alongside the rise of influencer culture has had a dramatic impact on trends within the aesthetics industry. 

Social Media Beauty Standards

‘Instagram Face’ is a phrase used to describe the beauty standard which has been created across social media platforms based on filters and influencers. Although there is no specific definition of this look, it is often characterised by features such as cat eyes, high cheekbones, full lips, pore-less skin and small noses. 

For many years now, consumers have been bombarded with chiseled jawlines, full lips, perfect noses and volumised cheeks every time they scroll on their phones. The phrase ‘more is more’ took over, celebrities and influencers began to post filtered and flawless images to millions around the world, leaving everyday consumers wondering how they could achieve this same look. 

When did the filler trend peak?

It is widely thought that the filler trend reached its peak in 2015 when Kylie Jenner finally confirmed that she’d had lip filler. Google searches for them increased by 11,300% in just 24 hours after her admission and some aesthetic clinics saw a dramatic 70% increase in enquiries for filler.

Over the next few years thousands of social media influencers would enhance their features with dermal fillers with some choosing to share their treatments with their followers and others choosing not to disclose this information. This trend led to a 50% increase in non-surgical treatments worldwide between 2015 and 2019. 

The beginning of the fall of filler…

In more recent years, celebrities and influencers such as Kylie Jenner, Courtney Cox, Blac Chyna and many more have talked about dissolving their fillers and getting back to a ‘baseline’ appearance. Many discussed how they went too far and were left looking botched or no longer like themselves.

Most notably in the UK, influencer Molly-Mae was extremely vocal about her filler journey following her appearance on Love Island. In 2019 an image of her went viral and she received huge backlash for the amount of filler she’d had with many saying she had gone too far and didn’t look like herself anymore. Shortly after this she had all of her filler dissolved and said she regretted getting filler so young and prefers now to embrace her natural look, something she has since encouraged her followers to do too. In 2024 she said she hadn’t had filler for almost five years. 

Molly-Mae promoting having filler dissolved and embracing a more natural look to her 8 million Instagram followers is without a doubt a catalyst for the recent decrease in popularity of filler in the UK. An audit by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons showed that the number of people who had filler injected in 2023 decreased by 26% from the previous year. 

Less is more has become a widely used phrase in recent years in place of more is more, with many influencers now sharing and promoting a more natural look with collagen stimulating treatments.

High profile filler complications

There have been hundreds of stories in the media over the past few years from patients who have had botched filler and been left with complications due to inexperienced non-medics performing medical treatments. The countless stories of people who have been left with life-long issues following a filler treatment has helped to raise awareness of the dangers of filler being injected by the wrong hands.

Of 2,824 aesthetic treatment complaints made to SaveFace in 2022, 69% of these were due to dermal filler. 1300 of these complaints were specifically down to lip filler treatments. This staggering number of filler complications has certainly played its part in the decline of filler popularity in the UK. Patients are now much more aware of the dangers and are therefore opting for more low-risk treatments. 

It’s important to remember complications can happen with most aesthetic treatments, even in the most experienced hands. To minimise risk of complications you should always go to an experienced and trained medical practitioner for any injectable treatments, including dermal filler. 

Which treatments are trending now instead of filler?

Collagen stimulating treatments are the biggest trend in the aesthetic industry right now. Whilst they have always been available, they are now lots of patients go-to treatment. Collagen stimulating treatments include polynucleotides, micro-needling and lasers such as Secret PRO or Excel V+. 

They are popular as they are low-risk and encourage collagen regrowth and stimulation to provide a more youthful and natural appearance. There will always be a place for dermal fillers, but it can’t be denied that consumers are now looking for more natural treatments which provide more natural results. 

If you’d like to find out what treatments are suitable for you, please get in touch to book a consultation with our highly experienced doctors and nurses.