The boob job hits 60: From the first augmentation to the Pamela Anderson era

Considering that their chief purpose is to sustain life, boobs have a lot of cultural cache. Censored by Instagram, caged by underwire, and intrinsically tied to sex, it’s unsurprising that our fascination with them would turn surgical. This week marks 60 years since the first breast augmentation was performed using silicone implants. According to consultant oncoplastic breast surgeon, Ms Lucy Khan, the operation has risen to become the world’s most popular cosmetic procedure since the first boob job in 1962 — transforming the industry and attitudes towards women’s bodies forevermore. 

Here, as the boob job reaches its diamond anniversary, Khan walks us through how breast augmentations have changed throughout the decades, and what their future holds post-Covid-19. 

1962: Timmie Jean Lindsey received the first silicone breast enlargement in Houston, Texas. The 30-year-old mother of six had visited the hospital to get her chest tattoo removed when surgeons Frank Gerow and Thomas Cronin offered her the opportunity to be the very first person to undergo the groundbreaking procedure. During the two-hour operation, Lindsey’s bust was increased from a B to a C cup, and she was delighted by the results, saying that the surgery had improved her self-confidence. 

1964: Saline implants were introduced as an alternative to silicone ones by Henry Jenny and Laboratories Arion in France. 

1976: Thanks to a change in the law, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is permitted to approve the safety and effectiveness data of new medical devices, including all iterations of the silicone breast implant. 

1988: The FDA announces that manufacturers of silicone breast implants must prove that they are safe. The ’80s ushered in a new wave of breast augmentation, which became increasingly popular during this time. “[It] became commercialised and marketed to the UK public for the first time in the Eighties,” Khan explains. “Women’s increased participation in the workplace meant implanted breasts were often viewed as a status symbol, although they were moderately sized compared with those in the US.”  

1989: Baywatch airs on television and ushers in a new era of implants — especially when former Playboy model, Pamela Anderson, joins the lineup in 1992. Commenting on the boob jobs of the 90s, Khan says: “Cosmetic surgery choices often reflect fashion and celebrity trends and for years, when it came to breasts, the dominant narrative was ‘bigger is better’.

“Men’s magazines from the 90s and through the noughties reinforced this perception. Their choice of female cover models and ‘sexiest’ lists pushed this mindset, while the Baywatch generation, which made a star of Pamela Anderson and her red swimsuit, was very influential,” she continues. “In this era, many women who opted to increase their cup size had the operation paid for or explicitly backed by male partners.” 

Khan adds that plastic surgery’s popularity and implant sizes grew during the 90s, partly due to improvements in silicone, where there was now a thicker gel that retained its shape while feeling soft and more lifelike. “The influence of men’s magazines like FHM and Loaded, which featured women with artificially enhanced chests like Jenny McCarthy and Pamela Anderson as cover stars helped encourage the trend.”

1999: Anderson opts to have her breast implants removed. 

2006: The FDA re-approves silicone gel implants for women aged over 22 — which continued to see a boom in popularity. “In the Noughties, Katie Price, formerly known as Jordan, became a tabloid favourite known for her breast enhancement surgeries. She epitomised the trend for large, gravity-defying breast implants perched high on the chest, a look considered as a bold show of femininity,” Khan explains. 

2010: Breast augmentation becomes the most popular form of cosmetic surgery in the US, with a record-breaking 218,123 enhancements performed. 

2011: Marie Kostad, 84, becomes the oldest woman to undergo the procedure. The grandmother, who hailed from California, increased her bust from a 36B to a 38D. 

The 2010s saw a departure from the “bolted on” look of the 90s and 00s, says Khan. “[Women moved] away from the clear artificial look of the 2000s towards the adoption of a strong natural look with smaller implants fitted to complement their physique. These low-profile models are often wider and project forward less. The increase in breast reduction among celebrities such as Modern Family star Ariel Winter and tennis player Simona Halep suggests comfort taking precedence over a larger bust.”

2012: A UK report discovered that implants manufactured by the French firm Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) had two times the rupture rate of other implants, in what was later dubbed the PIP scandal. It’s estimated that around 47,000 British women were affected, with more than 400,000 women impacted around the world. 

2022 and onwards: In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Khan says that while augmentations remain popular, the “more message for today’s independent women is that all breast shapes and sizes are equally beautiful and that cosmetic decisions about your body should be in your hands alone.” 

Currently, it’s estimated that around 25,000 boob jobs are conducted per year in the UK. 

“You can expect a surge in enlargements over the next year or two as women take the opportunity to have them after the restrictions of the pandemic. Remote working has also made people more conscious of their appearance on video calls so this could be another spur for cosmetic enhancements,” she expects. 

“While they do not last a lifetime, modern implants are extremely durable so, instead of replacements, women with augmented breasts will be increasingly looking for slight revisions and maintenance over time that reflects the changes to their bodies. This means more demand for the rejuvenating breast lift — or mastopexy — where excess skin is removed and the breast tissue is reshaped.”