Bigger is no longer considered better when it comes to breast implants.
New research conducted by The Plastic Surgery Group shows that women are opting for C-sized implants over DD, and are also opting for smaller nipples and areolae during breast surgeries that allow them to be reshaped and repositioned.
“We have seen a 30 percent rise in women requesting a smaller nipple size in the last year,” consulting plastic surgeon Dan Marsh said in The Plastic Surgery Group’spress release. “This is tied into the trend towards smaller breast augmentation sizes.”
Dr. Marc Mani, a Beverly Hills-based plastic surgeon, has noticed this trend among his clientele.
“There is definitely a trend towards smaller and more natural-looking implants,” Mani tells PEOPLE. ” Something I’ve noticed in my practice is that many women seem to think their areolae are too large, even when they are totally normal and proportionate. But luckily the size of the areola and the nipple can be adjusted according to the patient’s desires. The nipple is like the nose of the breast, and women are paying more attention to the way it looks today.”
The Plastic Surgery Group’s study asked 131 participants to rate the attractiveness of various sized nipples, and found that nipples that occupied 25 to 30 percent of the breast were rated the highest. Nipples larger than 50 percent of the breast were deemed too large by the majority of study participants, while nipples that took up 15 percent of the breast were rated as too small.
“There is more of a focus now on nipple size in general,” says Mani. ” Women do come in for nipple issues alone: too large, too small, too shy (or inverted), and we have techniques for all types of nipples.”
As for why there has been a trend towards smaller implants, Mani believes people now want their surgery to be more subtle.
“Plastic surgery, in its ideal form, is a deception,” he says. “We are trying to create something that is more beautiful but that looks like nature made it, not a plastic surgeon. People’s tastes are getting more refined and aware of this fact, and so any breast enhancement that looks artificial is, from this perspective, an abject failure.”
SOURCE: PEOPLE