Is a pandemic the perfect time for cosmetic procedures?

Pandemic procedures boost business The pandemic has crippled many businesses with some closing their doors, but not all are suffering.

VANCOUVER — Humans are a vain bunch. And right now, we're looking at some parts of our face a little differently. With a mask covering the lower part of your face, you may be wearing more eye makeup or worrying about those little lines, or noticing some small flaws when you get your close-up in a Zoom meeting.

Melissa Running says that since she started wearing a mask, she's become a little more sensitive about one area of her face.

"This is the area where everybody's going to be looking at," she says. "Which is my eyes and the side of my eyes."

And that means more business for plastic surgeons like Thomas Buonassisi at 8 West Cosmetic Surgery.

"It must be up 30 or 40 per cent," he says. "And it's substantial."

Dr. Buonassisi has been so busy, he's been working longer hours and extra days just to fit everyone in.

Running recently lost some weight and feels she needs a bit of a lift around the temples. A bit of filler at 8 West and just a few minutes in the chair, and she's done – one of the many people getting pandemic facial procedures.

Some of the most popular procedures have been fillers, brow lifts and Botox. And some patients are going a bit further with cosmetic surgery - because of COVID they can isolate at home and no one‘s going to ask any questions.

"It becomes this very convenient time for people to have surgeries because they can throw their mask on and no one actually knows," Dr. Buonassisi says.

In Running's case, the filler softened the area she was concerned about, but she hopes people will notice the change.

The before and after photos are subtle, but she knows the difference, even though she looked just fine to us before.