A recent survey conducted by Allergan notes that women are choosing aesthetic enhancement treatments not only to boost their appearance, but also to raise their confidence.

In the survey, titled “The Changing Face of Beauty: A Global Report,” researchers asked nearly 8,000 women in 16 countries their opinions about plastic surgery and whether they would choose a treatment for themselves.

According to a media release from Allergan, the survey found that, among women seeking aesthetic treatments, a desire to boost their self-confidence (42%) is equally important as their desire to improve the aesthetics of sagging skin (42%); and that 74% of women make the effort to look good primarily for themselves. Partners (37%) and friends (15%) have less influence.

In addition, per the release, general “beautification” (63%) is a bigger motivator to undergo plastic surgery than the need to address the signs of aging (50%), except in China, where the desire to change or enhance a specific feature was the key trigger driving the need to seek treatments.

Also, the survey states that 65% of women agree that facial fillers are more socially acceptable than they were 5 years ago.

“When it comes to women’s beauty goals, some key cultural differences are apparent. In Europe women embrace ageing naturally and subtly. In Asian markets, women want a more obvious transformation, while in the Middle East women want to look more beautiful with fast, enhancing results that accentuate their best features,” says Caroline Van Hove, senior vice president, International Medical Aesthetics, at Allergan, in the release.

“What is especially exciting about this new research is the discovery that women around the world are united by an increasing desire to control how their looks evolve with time,” she adds.

“There has been a real change in attitudes in recent years,” says Mauricio de Maio, a plastic surgeon from Brazil, per the release.

“Today, it is what women feel about themselves that matters most to them. Although they are coming for aesthetic reasons, such as treating facial lines and folds, their real goal is to feel and look better,” de Maio adds.

The release includes more statistics about skin quality and facial fillers.

For more information, visit Allergan.

[Source(s): Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Beauty, Allergan]