Katie Rodriguez here, dumbfounded, intrigued and unsure what to think about the booming beauty industry. For years, ads, videos, reviews and confessions from random people, dermatologists, influencers and the like, have flooded my social media feeds touting the wonders of Botox, microneedling, salmon sperm facials—you name it. Endless tips and tricks promising to prevent or slow the inevitable (aging) from happening, many with hefty price tags and an upkeep that never really ends.
As a part of this increasingly blurry health, wellness and beauty world, the Botox industry in particular, continues to grow. According to Grand View Research, it is currently valued at $5 billion annually with a 9.7-percent growth rate per year—and that’s just the United States. The firm reports the U.S. as the largest Botox market in the world, accounting for 42 percent of the global market in 2024.
Planned Parenthood, faced with record cuts last year, is looking to tap into this lucrative market, my colleague Pam Marino reports in the Weekly’s most recent issue.
Marino details how, since the passage of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” landmark legislation that rolled back a number of social safety net programs, that Medicaid reimbursements stopped, forcing Planned Parenthood Mar Monte (PPMM)—the largest Planned Parenthood affiliate in the country—to lay off dozens of employees and close clinics across the state. PPMM continues operating both local Planned Parenthood health centers, in Seaside and Salinas.
Anticipating even more federal cuts coming Jan. 1, Marino reports how Planned Parenthood is getting creative with its funding strategies.
“Good for them,” was my initial thought, sidestepping the larger question of what it means to have a booming industry predicated on diminishing self-acceptance. The nonprofit provides critical services for so many women across the country, from general health care to cancer screenings to birth control.
PPMM is looking at other “health and wellness/beauty” treatments, although they have not yet hit local clinics. You can read more in Marino’s story here.