Stigma attached to cosmetic surgery, Botox

TORONTO, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- There is a stigma to invasive anti-aging treatments such as Botox or cosmetic surgery -- specifically, some think it is vain, Canadian researchers say.

Lead author Alison Chasteen, an associate professor of the University of Toronto, says younger adults are more negative than older adults about using anti-aging methods.

"These results suggest that despite the rapid growth of the anti-aging cosmetic industry, age concealment has not yet become universally accepted," Chasteen says in a statement. "This is important because it shows that despite the emphasis on looking younger in society, there are possible negative social consequences to fighting the signs of aging by engaging in cosmetic age concealment."

The study assessed the reactions of 122 younger adults (mean age 19) and 123 older adults (mean age 70) to people age 60 or older using facial creams or Botox injections. Researchers also assessed participants' perceptions of the middle aged or older adults' vanity and typicality to their age group.

The study, published in the Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, finds older adults had more positive feelings than the younger adults did toward those who used the anti-aging techniques, but both groups viewed mild methods -- sun-avoidance and facial creams -- more favorably than major methods such as Botox or cosmetic surgery.

Both groups considered middle-age people to be more "typical" of those using anti-aging techniques.