Americans age 65 and older are suddenly the fastest-growing customers for cosmetic surgery
Boomers are the suddenly the fastest-growing customers for cosmetic surgery.
Baby boomers are the wealthiest generation in history. And Father Time has taken something they desperately want back.
As an investor, that's a combination that piques my interest.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons just released its 2025 data, and one number jumped off the page: Cosmetic surgical procedures grew 7% overall, but procedures among patients age 65 and older surged 24%. That was by far the fastest growth of any age group.
And these aren't simply older Americans getting a little Botox before a reunion. Among patients 66 and older, demand for breast augmentations, tummy tucks, arm lifts, thigh lifts and facelifts all increased by double digits.
There are roughly 61 million Americans over 65 already, and the youngest baby boomers won't all reach traditional retirement age until around 2030. These folks comprise the wealthiest generation in history: According to the Federal Reserve, baby boomers control $90 trillion in assets. That's over half of all household assets in the U.S.
This combination - a demographic conveyor belt of affluent consumers entering the ages when gravity becomes an issue - is a compelling investment thesis.
And there's another accelerant: GLP-1 drugs. Novo Nordisk's (NVO) Ozempic and Wegovy, Eli Lilly's (LLY) Zepbound and similar drugs have helped millions of Americans lose enormous amounts of weight.
Unfortunately, losing the fat doesn't always make the excess skin disappear along with it. In 2025, 4 out of 5 plastic surgeons reported receiving consultation requests related to GLP-1 use. Procedures associated with restoring volume or tightening skin also showed strong growth.
So we potentially have three trends colliding at once: Aging, plus GLP-1 weight loss, plus a growing willingness to spend on aesthetics.
The economics are interesting, too.
Sell the plastic surgeon, buy the shovel
Most purely cosmetic surgery is paid for out of pocket, as Medicare generally doesn't cover procedures performed solely for cosmetic purposes. That gives the industry considerable pricing freedom, although it also means demand can weaken quickly if consumer confidence or asset prices fall.
The obvious investment idea would be to buy plastic-surgery clinics like AirSculpt Technologies $(AIRS)$. But I think there are better ways to play it.
A clinic might collect $10,000 or $20,000 for a procedure - but it also needs surgeons, nurses, real estate, marketing and a constant stream of new patients. I'd rather own the companies selling devices, implants, injectables and disposable products to thousands of those clinics.
And I've now narrowed the group down to a handful of names I think offer the best risk/reward.
3 ways to play the aesthetic boom
The safest place to start is AbbVie $(ABBV)$. The company became the heavyweight in medical aesthetics through its acquisitions of Botox and filler manufacturer Allergan, as those businesses generated billions of dollars in revenue for AbbVie.
That gives AbbVie recurring exposure to aging consumers trying to address wrinkles and facial-volume loss - without making aesthetics the entire investment thesis. If the boomer boom fizzles, you still own one of the world's largest diversified pharmaceutical companies.
For investors wanting much purer exposure, Galderma $(GALDY)$ (CH:GALD) may be the cleaner play. The Swiss-listed dermatology company owns Dysport, Restylane and Sculptra, putting it directly in the path of rising demand for neuromodulators, fillers and facial-volume restoration.
Sculptra is particularly interesting for this theme because it stimulates collagen production, rather than simply filling wrinkles. That fits nicely with an aging population increasingly focused on restoring lost facial volume, as evidenced by recent sales growth of 12% in its injectable-aesthetics business.
Then there is Establishment Labs (ESTA) - the higher-risk, higher-growth option. The company owns Motiva breast implants, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved in 2024. The U.S. rollout is working; second-quarter revenue grew roughly 32%, while U.S. Motiva sales more than doubled. That lines up with the surge in breast procedures among older women.
Of the three, AbbVie's stock is the defensive way to play it; Galderma shares are the purest large-scale aesthetics play; and Establishment Labs' stock offers the most growth but also the most execution and valuation risk.
Personally, these aren't my favorite ways to play this theme. I'm more interested in a company sitting directly at the intersection of aging, GLP-1 weight loss and cosmetic restoration - and I'm already accumulating shares. I'll break down the company and why I think it offers the best risk/reward in my next free "Let's Analyze" newsletter. You can subscribe here to get the research when it goes live this week.
Boomers have the money, GLP-1s are creating a new class of aesthetic patients, and Father Time remains undefeated. I want to own the company getting paid when people fight back.
Robert Ross is the founder of TikStocks and author of "A Beginner's Guide to High-Risk, High-Reward Investing." A former chief equity analyst at Mauldin Economics, Ross writes the investment newsletter "Let's Analyze" on Substack and hosts the weekly "Room to Run" podcast.
-Robert Ross
