Forget the breasts: Brits are more insecure about their hair!

Mr Debashis Ghosh

NHS Consultant
GMC Number: 4657664

Medically reviewed by a licensed NHS consultant

Last updated: 15/08/2019

FINDINGS:

• Over one and half million people a month search about hair insecurities. 
• People google their hair insecurities 1,197,860 more times a month compared to breast insecurities.  
• 102,200 people a month search about insecurities surrounding their private parts. 
• According to Google, men are more insecure about their private parts than women
• One of men’s biggest insecurities is their “low hanging testicles”

Plastic surgery has become increasingly popular, with over 1.8 million cosmetic surgical procedures performed in 2018. So, what is it that we are most insecure about? Interested to discover more about what body parts we are most insecure about, Flawless sought to find out which body parts people Googled questions about changing the most, as this is a clear indication of what people are most insecure about. 

To achieve this, Flawless inserted different body part parts into keyword analysis tool SEMRUSH, surrounded by terms like “how to change” or “how to make smaller/bigger” before creating a total search volume for that body part. Flawless.org revealed that Brits were most insecure about their hair, with this collating the most google search volume.

BRITS’ BIGGEST BODY INSECURITIES:

1. Hair 

Hair was the most searched body part! Nearly 2 million people searched a variation of hair insecurities, including hair loss and hair removal. It appears we are super insecure about our hair. But why? The two most googled searches included hair loss and hair removal, making it appear that we are either insecure because we have too much or too little hair. Despite Brits being twice as more likely to search about their hair than their breasts- hair procedures are not the most common plastic surgery treatments. 

Although Dr Newson (a plastic surgeon) stated, that there has been a “rise in celebrities and other influencers admitting to having a hair transplant, causing an increase in the procedure.” So, it is likely that in 2020 hair plastic procedures will be one of the most common treatments in the UK. 

2. Tummy 

It comes as no surprise that many of us are still insecure about our tummies, being the second biggest insecurity Brits are googling. Liposuction and tummy tucks are in the top 3 most common plastic procedures carried out in the UK. Tummy tucks alone accumulated 121,220 searches a month. 

3. Breasts 

Brits third biggest insecurity was revealed to be their breasts. It appears we are always looking to change our chest area, with plastic surgery for our breasts being a very common procedure. The two most googled searches included breast augmentation and breast implants. BAAPS’ members stated that breast augmentation was the most popular cosmetic procedure for women. However, men too can also be insecure about their breasts, with over 1000 male breast reductions being performed each year. 

4. Genitals

There’s no shock that many people are still searching about insecurities regarding their private parts. Issues downstairs can often be challenging and uncomfortable to confront. So, it is common for people to turn to the internet for answers. However, Flawless.org’s research revealed that men are more insecure about their private parts than women. 62,320 men searched about their genitals (penis and/or testicles). However only 39,880 women search about their vaginas. So, it is clear men are more insecure about their private parts than females. 

Common insecurities included queries around “low hanging testicles” (nearly 9,000 searches by Brits every month) and increasing the size of a penis (around 7,000 monthly searches). However, women were most worried about the smell of their nether regions, with over 4,000 British women searching for answers on Google. 

FULL RESULTS:

1. Hair – 1,587,000
2. Tummy – 628,010
3. Breast – 389,140
4. Eyes – 316,000
5. Nose – 173,460
6. Lips – 92,170
7. Acne – 78,150
8. Butt – 61,510
9. Penis – 51,730
10. Vagina – 39,880
11. Jaw – 35,660
12. Wrinkles – 24,430
13. Ears – 17,320
14. Balls – 10,590 
15. Freckles – 5,500

Please note: Figures represent number of Google searches per month.