Cosmetic Procedure Addiction Risk Higher Than Gambling for Women, New Study Suggests

A cosmetic touch-up may carry more addictive pull than its routine image suggests. In a new study, 6.8 percent of women showed past-year signs of moderate-to-severe risk for addictive cosmetic procedure use, a rate higher than Israeli figures for gambling (2.6 percent) and gaming (2.9 percent) addiction among women, though those come from separate studies using different methods. Among women who had actually undergone procedures, the risk was far higher: 1 in 5 showed signs over their lifetime. Risk climbed higher still for women who already felt bad about their bodies and leaned heavily on social media, especially when both traits appeared together.

Cosmetic procedures have boomed worldwide. Data cited in the study put the global rise in these treatments, from facelifts to nonsurgical injections, at 40 percent between 2019 and 2023. That growth raises a question researchers are only starting to take seriously: can getting cosmetic work done become an addiction?

A team at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Center for Addiction and Mental Health went looking for an answer, publishing their results in the Journal of Health Psychology. Their findings point to a problem that is neither small nor rare. Across all 1,600-plus women surveyed, including those who had never had a procedure, nearly 1 in 11 showed signs of moderate-to-severe risk over their lifetime.

How the Cosmetic Procedure Addiction Study Worked

Researchers surveyed 1,614 Jewish, Hebrew-speaking Israeli women between the ages of 25 and 71 in February 2025. Recruited through an online panel and paid for their time, participants were selected to mirror the age and religious makeup of the adult Jewish female population in Israel.

To gauge addictive use, the team used a screening questionnaire modeled on the criteria doctors rely on to diagnose substance-use disorders, reworked for cosmetic treatments. Questions asked whether a woman had ever tried to cut back on procedures but couldn’t, whether her cosmetic use caused problems in her life, and whether she kept going back despite bad outcomes. Answers covered both lifetime experience and the past year.

Of everyone surveyed, 710 women reported at least one cosmetic procedure. Within that group, 20 percent crossed into moderate-to-severe risk over their lifetime, and 15.4 percent reported symptoms in the past year. Counting women who had never had a procedure, the lifetime figure dropped to 8.9 percent and the past-year figure to 6.8 percent.

Beyond procedure history, the survey measured how women felt about their bodies, their overall self-worth, how secure they felt in relationships, their attitudes toward feminism and gender roles, their views on aging, and how heavily they leaned on social media.

Social Media and Body Image: The Heart of Cosmetic Procedure Addiction

Three factors stood out once the numbers were run: low body esteem, heavy and problematic social media use, and weaker feminist attitudes, meaning greater acceptance of traditional gender roles.

Low body esteem on its own didn’t reliably predict trouble. Risk spiked when it combined with heavy, problematic social media use. Women who felt bad about their looks and showed compulsive social media habits scored far higher for addictive cosmetic procedure use than women carrying just one of those traits, in both the full group and the group that had actually gone under the needle or knife.

Social media may be feeding that loop. Constant exposure to filtered photos, beauty ads, and celebrity influence can chip away at how women see themselves, the researchers noted, making a procedure feel more urgent for anyone already uneasy about her appearance.

What Surprised the Researchers

Several factors the team expected to matter faded once everything was accounted for. Overall self-worth and a sense of security in relationships showed no independent link to addictive use. Negative feelings about aging looked connected early on, but that tie dissolved in the fuller analysis.

Age made no difference at all. Women in their late 20s were as likely to show warning signs as women in their late 60s. Religion did register: more observant women reported lower risk than traditional and secular women, though that gap faded when the analysis zeroed in on women who had already had procedures.

A Growing Problem Without a Formal Diagnosis

Gambling disorder and gaming disorder now sit in the World Health Organization’s ICD-11 system, grouped alongside substance-related conditions. Addictive cosmetic procedure use carries no such recognition, yet these numbers hint it may be at least as common as either recognized disorder, at least in Israel. As the authors put it, “These findings are concerning.”

Researchers were upfront about the limits. Because the data captured a single moment in time, it can’t prove cause and effect. Getting procedures might drive women to feel worse about their bodies or push them toward social media for validation, rather than the reverse. The sample also covered only Jewish, Hebrew-speaking Israeli women recruited online, a group that may already be more plugged into social media than the general public, which could have inflated the links the study found.

For now, the takeaway is blunt: the boundary between a routine touch-up and a hard-to-quit habit is one a real share of women appear to cross, with social media and body image sitting at the center of the risk. Whether medicine will one day treat this the way it treats gambling or gaming remains unsettled, but the figures here make a solid case for paying attention.

Disclaimer: This article summarizes findings from a single peer-reviewed study and is for general informational purposes only. It is not medical or psychological advice. “Addictive cosmetic procedure use” is not a recognized clinical diagnosis; the study measured risk using a screening questionnaire and, because of its design, cannot establish cause and effect. The findings are based on a sample of Jewish, Hebrew-speaking Israeli women recruited online and may not apply to other groups. Anyone concerned about their own relationship with cosmetic procedures, body image, or social media should consult a qualified health professional.

---