Chinese cosmetic surgery increases in value

The Chinese cosmetic surgery industry was valued at 495.3 billion yuan ($71.8 billion) in 2018, according to a report released on Thursday by cosmetic procedure platform GengMei (more beautiful in Chinese).

The report further found that the establishment of cosmetic procedure facilities increased by more than 10 percent in comparison with 2017 in most provinces.

About 22 million Chinese people underwent cosmetic procedures in 2018, and consumers under the age of 28 accounted for 54 percent of the total, the report said.

Those born after 2000 took an 8 percent share among consumers in 2018, and over-95s took 15 percent. Hyaluronic acid injection and double-eyelid surgeries were among the most popular procedures with young people, according to the report.

Guangdong province placed first in both the number and annual growth rate of cosmetic procedure facilities, with 868 facilities that registered 22.87 percent growth.

Many cities in the province, such as Huizhou, Dongguan and Foshan, were among the 10 cities with the highest facility increase in 2018.

Beijing, Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces, along with Shanghai, also made it into the top five provinces or municipalities for facility growth.

According to a Deloitte industry report, cosmetic procedures are becoming increasingly popular among Chinese people, but many remain skeptical of the expertise of service providers.

Founded in 2013 GengMei links consumers with cosmetic procedure specialists for advice, and says it has 36 million consumer users and 20,000 cosmetic doctor users.