Cosmetic procedures may become addictive for some women, researchers say

Cosmetic procedures may become addiction-like for some women, with low body esteem and problematic social media use linked to higher risk, new research suggests.

A study of 1,614 women aged 25 to 71 found that one in five who had undergone treatments met the threshold for moderate to severe risk of addictive cosmetic procedure use.

Low body esteem and problematic social media use emerged as the strongest risk factors.

Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Center for Addiction and Mental Health examined what they described as addictive cosmetic procedure use, or ACPU, among Jewish Israeli women.

ACPU refers to repeated cosmetic treatment behaviour that may resemble addiction, including feeling unable to stop, continuing despite negative effects or craving further procedures.

The study was led by Vera Skvirsky alongside Uri Lifshin, Dvora Shmulewitz and Mario Mikulincer, from the department of psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Center for Addiction and Mental Health.

The researchers surveyed women from the general population rather than focusing only on patients at cosmetic clinics.

Among women who had undergone cosmetic procedures, 20 per cent met the threshold for moderate to severe lifetime risk, while more than 15 per cent reported symptoms within the previous year.

Across the full sample, nearly nine per cent of women showed moderate to severe signs of problematic cosmetic procedure use.

The researchers adapted questions based on mental health criteria used to assess substance-related disorders.

Participants were asked whether they had tried unsuccessfully to stop having cosmetic procedures, felt compelled to continue despite negative consequences or experienced cravings linked to treatment.

Previous research has linked cosmetic procedures with body-image concerns and body dysmorphic disorder.

Body dysmorphic disorder is a mental health condition in which a person becomes highly distressed by perceived flaws in their appearance, often flaws that others may not notice.

The new study examined whether repeated cosmetic procedures may, in some cases, resemble a behavioural addiction.

Women with lower body esteem were more likely to report addiction-like patterns, particularly when this was combined with high levels of problematic social media use.

Participants who reported problematic or excessive social media behaviour appeared especially vulnerable when they also felt dissatisfied with their appearance.

The researchers also found smaller links between addictive cosmetic procedure use and lower feminist attitudes, lower attachment security and more negative attitudes towards ageing.

However, those links were less consistent when several factors were analysed together.

The findings come amid a sharp global rise in cosmetic procedures, with international estimates cited by the researchers suggesting interventions increased by around 40 per cent between 2019 and 2023.

The researchers stressed that the study does not suggest cosmetic procedures are inherently harmful.

Instead, they said repeated engagement may, for some people, take on characteristics similar to behavioural addictions already recognised in mental health research.

The researchers said: “Cosmetic procedures have become deeply normalised in many societies, and for many people they may be a positive experience.

“But our findings suggest that for a meaningful minority, the behaviour may begin to resemble other compulsive patterns we see in addiction research, especially when low body esteem and problematic social media use are involved.”

The study was cross-sectional, meaning it captured a single point in time and cannot prove cause and effect.

Researchers said it remains unclear whether problematic social media use contributes to addiction-like cosmetic procedure behaviour, whether treatments influence body image and online engagement, or whether other psychological factors drive both.