New Burnsville Clinic Reflects the Changing Face of Plastic Surgery

Therese is what you might call a true believer.

She is glowing with enthusiasm as she drags a vacuum cleaner into the Contour Clinic's lobby, a sleek tan space with a touch of 1960's flair. 

"You're looking awesome by the way. Are you starting to feel it?" asks Dr. Dave Christianson, co-owner of Contour, Burnsville's newest aesthetic medical center.

"Yeah," Therese says, turning to others in the room. "What can I say? Dr. Dave made me a woman again." 

Therese is the cleaning lady at Contour, and one of its most devoted clients as well. She had her first comsetic procedure done in 1998 and she's never looked back. When discussing a Botox photo opp, Therese eagerly volunteers, but ultimately the honor goes to Queenie Dahlin (featured in the video above), who spearheads marketing and business development for the clinic.

Meet the new, surprising face of cosmetic enhancement, which is no longer the exclusive domain of celebrities and Edina housewives. Instead, the new clients are more likely to be of modest to moderate means, said Christianson and Dahlin.

"The client is the everyday person, from every walk of life," Dahlin said as Therese scoured the floor with the vacuum.

The clinic, which opened in mid-March, chose Burnsville because of its centralized location and a vast, largely untapped well of possible clients, many of whom do not hail from the country club set.

"I think that's a big fallacy that it's only rich people. Not even close," Christianson said, flicking at a fine gauge needle full of Botox.

No-knife, low-cost procedures surge in popularity 

Contour offers mostly non-surgical procedures like Botox, an array of plumpers and fillers and a fat freezing process called CoolSculpting, among other things. Though the clinic does offer surgical remedies, Christianson and company focus mostly on these quick, non-invasive procedures, which cost anywhere from $100 to $1,500—a chunk of change, to be sure, but not impossibly expensive. 

Unlike more invasive measures, clients do not have to take a month off of work to recover in hiding. Some take less time than a half hour lunch break.  

"The non-surgical facelift ends up looking a lot more natural than a facelift. It is significantly less expensive and there's no downtime," Christianson explains. "Downtime after a (surgical) facelift is four to six weeks, that's why plastic surgery is dropping, dropping, dropping and what we do is increasing."

Statistics kept by medical trade groups support Christianson's claims. According to an annual report by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), cosmetic medicine is making a big comeback as the recession wanes and minimally invasive procedures are carrying the day. In 2012, over 10 million cosmetic procedures were performed. Of those, surgical procedures accounted for just 17 percent of the total number of all cosmetic enhancements.

Since 1997, the number of people going under the knife has increased by over 80 percent, while the number of nonsurgical procedures has increased a whopping 461 percent.

Statistics also show that aesthetic medical treatments are also gaining ground with one very stubborn demographic.

Cosmetic medicine is gaining ground among mainstream men

Both the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and ASAPS have noted a marked increase in male patients. According to the latter, in 2012 men underwent almost 1 million cosmetic procedures, 10 percent of the overall total. That number represents a 106 percent increase over 1997, the first year the organization began releasing stats. The numbers reveal a major shift in attitude among men, who have been leery of and sometimes even hostile toward cosmetic medicine in the past, Christianson said. 

"They are coming around," said Christianson, though he added that Contour's client base is still 95 percent women at this point.

Clinics like Contour have become more agressive about marketing to men as well. The Burnsville location has a decidedly man-friendly feel: It's got a sort of "Mad Men" chic, with lots of neutrals, sleek furniture and complimentary shots of Bailey's for courage.