Cosmetic work is everywhere now. That’s changed how beauty feels

What was once whispered about has moved into everyday visibility, reshaping how beauty is perceived and pursued.

Ria Bhatia
Jan 05, 2026, 09:24 AM

Facelifts entered the mainstream in 2025

India now records over one million cosmetic surgical procedures annually, ranking seventh globally, signalling a cultural shift.

Bollywood’s long culture of secrecy

“Bollywood has had a very toxic culture of secrecy…creating unrealistic beauty standards,” says Trinetra Haldar. That silence is beginning to break.

Transparency became the new language

Creators, actors, and influencers are increasingly speaking openly about cosmetic work and aesthetic procedures.

Younger audiences are paying attention

“Cosmetic surgery is now underplayed, and it seems more and more accessible to younger people,” notes dermatologist Dr Kiran Sethi.

Transparency and encouragement are not the same

“Being transparent is saying, ‘hey, this is what I have done’ whereas normalising is saying, ‘hey, you could do this too, in order to become beautiful’,” Haldar explains.

Beauty became harder to opt out of

As cosmetic work becomes less detectable, repeated facial ideals like full lips, lifted brows, and sculpted jawlines quietly narrow how beauty is defined.

When choice starts to feel like expectation

While autonomy can be empowering, normalisation risks turning freedom of choice into quiet pressure to conform

How cosmetic work is reshaping beauty standards

“The more normalised surgery becomes, the more ‘perfection’ gets redefined for the coming generations,” notes model Carla Ruth-Dennis Kanungo

The cost to expression

“Sometimes, instead of enhancing one’s features, certain surgical procedures can actually inhibit an artist’s full expressive potential,” concludes Sushant Digvikar, also known as Rani Ko-HE-nur