Doing a Kylie? 8 in 10 of us would consider getting cosmetic work

The countdown is officially on for Christmas, and along with gift-buying and party-planning, many Irish women are feeling overwhelmed by something else entirely.

Three in four Irish women admit they feel under pressure to look their best during the festive period, and over half of us (51%) say we’re worried about the ageing process.

Indeed, a shocking eight in ten (86%) of women said they’d consider having non-invasive cosmetic procedures like fillers, laser treatments and anti-wrinkle injections to help counteract the signs of ageing.

The results come as part of SHEmazing’s! Cosmetic Beauty research, which saw 994 women give their opinions on ageing, cosmetic procedures and the need to live up to a social media ideal of beauty.

Along with increased pressure from all sides to look our best, it seems cosmetic work – both surgical and non-surgical – is no longer just for the celebrity elite.

For many of us, the thought of getting a cosmetic procedure might be a long way off, but that’s certainly not the case for the 16% of participants who say they’ve already undergone one, be it surgical or non-surgical.

Of those, a whopping 18% made like the Kardashian-Jenner sisters and had their first procedure before the age of 20, while the majority (51%) chose to have work done in their 20s.

"The cosmetic beauty industry in Ireland is experiencing rapid growth. In the past year alone, Ireland has seen the rise in convenient lunchtime procedures such as derma and lip fillers," says SHEmazing!’s Susan Vickers.

And if you’re looking for Christmas present ideas, you might be in luck, as 54% of women surveyed said they be more than happy to receive a voucher for a cosmetic procedure as a festive gift.

Of course, cosmetic procedures aren’t the only answer when it comes to looking our best – and over half of us count regular exercise as a key way to prevent signs of ageing.

As for other lifestyle changes, 38% of us do our best to get enough shut-eye, and 54% try to maintain a healthy diet.

Speaking about the "eye-opening" results, Susan said the rise of social media could be to blame for women’s unrealistic ideals of beauty.

"The rise in digital media and social networking platforms has fuelled young people’s obsession with aesthetics," she said, citing Instagram and Snapchat as two examples.