About 4 in 10 American adults have taken steps to try and look younger, according to a survey published by Pew Research. This includes hair coloring and taking anti-aging supplements as well as undergoing both nonsurgical and plastic surgery cosmetic treatments.
The survey, conducted from Sept. 2-8 with 8,750 U.S. adults responding, was “aimed at understanding how Americans are thinking about and experiencing aging,” researchers at Pew said.
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Of the four items Pew asked survey takers about, coloring their hair to cover up any gray strands was the most common way people have tried to look younger.
About 27% said they did this, while 21% said they have taken anti-aging supplements. Only 3% said they have plastic surgery, while 5% confirmed having nonsurgical cosmetic treatments done.
At least 40% said they did at least one of the four, though. Pew noted that people were asked specifically if they did this to look younger, and the survey is not “meant to account for everyone who has done or would consider doing these things.”
Gender differences
Women were more likely than men to have either already taken or considered taking these steps to look younger.
Of those surveyed, 45% of women said they colored their hair and 28% said they took anti-aging supplements, while 8% and 13% of men have done those.
“Relatively small shares of men and women say they have gotten nonsurgical cosmetic treatments or cosmetic plastic surgery to look younger,” Pew researchers said. “Still, women are four times as likely as men to say they have done these things.”
With many of these treatments on the pricy side, it was usually women in the “upper income tier” who were more likely than those in the middle or lower income brackets to have partaken in them.
Plastic surgery trends
Looking at the latest data, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons found that overall demand for plastic surgery procedures remained steady in 2024 despite “economic headwinds.” The total number of cosmetic surgeries and “minimally invasive treatments” remained stable in 2024, the society said, with 1% and 1.5% increases year over year.
Injectables, which are typically used by people wanting to look younger, went up. Botox, for instance, saw a 4% year over year increase, and hyaluronic acid fillers grew by 1%.
