Cosmetic surgery: the TOWIE effect and expert advice for choosing your plastic surgeon

There have been new calls for tighter regulation in the cosmetic surgery industry, with experts warning that young people now consider many surgical procedures to be everyday beauty treatments.

The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) has been accused of normalising plastic surgery, with many of its stars regularly discussing and casually showing off their latest treatments.

An independent report has warned that young people are buying fillers on the internet, throwing 'botox parties' and not doing enough research before treatments because they don't consider them a big deal.

Cosmetic surgeon Mr Kambiz Golchin agrees that the popularity of cosmetic treatments, both surgical and non is on the rise, pointing to figures that show its growth.

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In 2005 the industry was worth £750 million in the UK; in 2010 (the year TOWIE first hit our screens) it was already up to £2.3 billion, and it's expected to be worth around £3.6 billion by 2015.

"It shows you there's a big interest and a growing interest in cosmetic procedures for a variety of reasons.

"I'm not sure whether it's programmes that fuel it or if it's just increasing awareness and interest in making self improvements," he explained.

"Cosmetic surgery - even non surgical procedures - are medical procedures. If it's trivialised so people think of it as a lunchtime beauty treatment, that's wrong. Having fillers isn't akin to going to a salon for highlights. Medical procedures have medical risks and should be treated as something completely different."

Certainly the awareness and availability of cosmetic treatments has grown while TOWIE has been on our screens and various stars of the show have been used as models for new plastic surgery treatments by opportunistic surgeries.

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Lauren Pope, who discovered she had PIP breast implants during the show, previously told the BBC: "These companies need to promote themselves. Why not have us do it? I'm not endorsing a company I haven't dealt with."

Mr Golchin agrees that cosmetic surgery is now far more in reach of 'ordinary' people.

"I see all age groups and people from all walks of life. Cosmetic surgery isn't just for a select few or celebrities. It's now ordinary people that get it done for all kinds of reasons."

He also agrees with the calls for regulation that came out in today's report - in fact, he made the same suggestion over a year ago and fears it will take another couple of years for any of the suggested changes to come into effect.

In the meantime, his advice to would-be patients is to do their homework.

Cosmetic surgery best practice

Ask the right questions and do your research

"It's really difficult to tell if it's a good clinic. Sometimes I read information about clinics and practitioners in terms of their qualifications, that are hard for me to understand as a surgeon. They would be impossible for an ordinary person to know from that if they are reputable or not.

"Quiz them on their qualifications and experience. And bear in mind experience doesn't mean the length of time they've been practising - it's also about how up to date they are with new procedures, how they keep their skills up.

"Any reputable surgeon will have no problem with you asking these sort of questions."

He continued: "Ask about what products they're using and why. For example, with dermal fillers, there are 190 currently available in the UK. But I wouldn't use 180 of them. And really, out of the 10 better ones, I would only consider two or three of them premium, quality brands that I would have injected into my face."

"You'll be able to tell a lot from how transparent the clinic is in what information it will provide and how the practitioners respond to questioning."

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 Avoid deals and offers

"A big problem in the UK and Ireland at the moment is that because of the current times and economy the way people are deciding which treatment they go for and who they have it with is by looking for bargains.

"People are rightly watching their pennies but often the choice they're making is purely based on price so if you're only shopping around and asking clinics how much they charge for your filler, it's a recipe for disaster.

"You're forgetting to factor in the quality and the safety of the product, and the expertise of the practitioner. It's a marketing ploy which should have no place within medicine."

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Be clear about why you want treatment and what your expectations are

"We have a duty of care as doctors so it's important that practitioners discuss and understand the motivation behind what the patient wants done," he said.

"You should expect your practitioner to talk to you about your motives, explain about aftercare and make sure your expectations are realistic.

"I have turned down many women, for example, who have wanted face lifts, because they're too young and it's very important to get age and sequence right. The best face lifts last around six or seven years. So if you start in your early 40s, you'll need a second one by the time you're 50 and then another before you're 60!"

Finally, Mr Golchin reminds would be patients to take their time. Cosmetic surgery is medical and it's worth taking your time to weight up your options, understand what you want and why and choose the best person and most appropriate clinic for you.