Though it went by in a flash, 2021 has officially come to a close – and it was an undeniably fun 12-month run for beauty. The year saw all sorts of colourful, interactive trends designed to demonstrate individuality and creativity.

But as great as the year was for hair, skin, makeup, and nails, we're looking forward rather than back: 2022 is gearing up to be even more interesting for the beauty industry.

To help you get a jump on the new year, we have gathered all that’s sure to be 2022's biggest beauty treatment and procedure trends.
Read on:

Lips are getting permanent pigment

While the past few years have been all about lip volume, 2022's most major lip treatments will focus on the smaller details that make a big difference. Classic lip filler isn't going anywhere, but it's making room for two up-and-coming cousins: lip flips and lip blushing. With a lip flip, a doctor or other licensed provider injects a bit of Botox through the upper lip muscle. This forces it to relax, which quite literally flips the top of the lip to make upper lips appear larger and plumper without adding actual volume. The result is what many consider a more natural-looking boost, and it can also help obscure gum visibility.

If you're already familiar with microblading and nanoblading, two other semi-permanent and tattoo-like treatments, then you already understand the idea behind lip blushing. It's essentially a professionally-administered lip tattoo that adds natural-seeming pigment strategically through the lips for semi-permanent colour. The idea is to get the look of your favourite tinted lip balm, but without applying anything at all. As a bonus, the placing of the lip blushing pigment can help make uneven lips look more symmetrical and full, too.

Treatments that contour without makeup

In 2022, expect to see even more long-term contour procedures and treatments. For that coveted sculpted look, there's the more invasive (and controversial) buccal fat removal surgery, for which searches are up 16 per cent. In buccal fat removal, a cosmetic surgeon will make an incision on the inside of the cheek and physically pop out the pads of fat – called buccal fat – that contribute to fuller-looking faces or "babyface." The result is a slimmer-looking face, often with contoured hollows.

An increased curiosity about procedures like buccal fat removal can also be attributed to just how often we're forced to study our own faces – especially during the past two years of nonstop video calls. Plus, with the addition of improved technology and tools for beauty treatments and procedures, as well as videos on social media and customer reviews, those who are interested in trying out a change, like a lip flip or buccal fat removal, can see what to expect before they try for themselves.

Body contouring is rising in a major way, too, searches for traditional body contouring are up 35 per cent. Many times, the surgical route combines tummy tucks, arm lifts, breast lifts, and thigh lifts, and is a go-to option for some after significant weight loss. Because body contouring is major surgery, its increased popularity could be due to remote work.

For those with more demanding or public-facing schedules, fear not – there are plenty of less-involved methods of body contouring also on the rise. Emsculpt is a new aesthetic favourite. In Emsculpting, a high-tech device uses intense (but not painful) electromagnetic force to essentially contract and manipulate muscles like exercise does, but in a significantly more powerful way. The result is more toning and definition on areas often resistant to traditional workout toning, like stomachs.

Meet the newest injectable

Finally, there's the new class of 2022 injectable trend. Platelet-rich fibrin injections, also called PRF injections, have been around for a while, but aestheticians predict a mainstream breakthrough in 2022. It's similar to pro-athlete-loved platelet-rich plasma injections, in which doctors extract your own plasma and readminister it to trigger the body's healing processes.

But in the case of PRF, the results are more cosmetic and less purely therapeutic. PRF draws your own blood and combines it with a protein blend that becomes a highly-concentrated mix of stem cells, white blood cells, and, of course, fibrin. It's then reinjected back into the individual and used to stimulate collagen, elastin, and even hair growth. Rising in popularity for its efficacy in slowing and reversing signs of aging, this treatment trend is definitely one to watch.