Lunchtime used to be for, well, eating lunch. Then it became a time to fix your face with a Botox jab.

Now, it is a chance to sample a buffet of beauty quick fixes.

You can tweak just about any part of your body these days with new non- and minimally invasive procedures which take about 15 minutes to an hour.

While a new body used to require deft scalpel work and take weeks of recovery, 'lunchtime treatments' now allow you to return to work instantly, sporting a more contoured face, bigger boobs and even a perkier butt without having to go under the knife.

Such quick transformations have come about due to medical advances, stronger pain-killing creams and the fact that they are cheaper than going for full-on plastic surgery.

As Dr Yvonne Goh, medical director of Medical Aesthetics @ Cluny in Cluny Court, puts it: 'Aesthetic procedures are constantly evolving with advancing technology, enabling doctors to address a wider range of aesthetic problems more effectively.'

NEW ON THE MENU

Indeed, the new tweaks you can make to your body with old quick-fix procedures such as fillers, Botox and intense pulsed light or IPL treatments have exploded.

Take a filler such as Restylane, a hyaluronic acid-based gel which is injected into the skin to fill out wrinkles and lines.

'Fillers were introduced to correct wrinkles,' says Dr Moon Hyoung Jin, a facial plastic surgeon from Seoul who was in town earlier this month to conduct a talk on aesthetic trends in South Korea and Singapore.

'Now they can be used to contour the entire face and be injected into the forehead, nose, chin and cheeks.'

He notes that the demand for non-invasive procedures has spiked among his patients, with about 20 per cent of them asking for fillers. This is a four-fold increase from four years ago.

Dr Low Chai Ling, medical director of The Sloane Clinic, which opened its third branch in Ion Orchard in July, says the technology behind the procedures has improved as well.

The availability of 'safe, effective treatments lowers the entry bar for people contemplating aesthetic enhancements', she says.

Agreeing, Dr Ivor Lim, consultant plastic surgeon of Ivor J. Lim Plastic Surgery in Camden Medical Centre, notes: 'Modern non-invasive therapies need shorter treatment times and are now equipped with safeguards to prevent complications such as burns.'

For example, IPL and Thermage machines now come with heat sensors to prevent the skin from overheating.

Other improvements include stronger, more effective numbing creams to minimise pain.

It is no wonder that aesthetic treatments are a booming business for doctors.

The eight doctors that Urban spoke to estimate that the number of patients seeking aesthetic treatments have doubled or more over the last two years.

New favourite nips and tucks include Botox jabs to slim the jaw and fillers to define the nose and cheekbones.

People are also increasingly more open to having their bodies tweaked.

While their core group of patients used to be women in their late 30s and above, doctors say they are seeing patients from all walks of life, both male and female aged 18 and above.

One reason is cost: Non-invasive procedures cost less compared to surgical options.

A Botox jab starts at about $300, while a filler starts at about $700. In comparison, the typical starting price for plastic surgery is a neat four-figure sum.

Do note, though, that surgery gives permanent results while non-invasive procedures require maintenance treatments ranging from once every month to two years.

These treatments do carry risks, even though they may be non- or minimally invasive.

For many who want to look good fast, though, the pros seem to outweigh the cons.

You could think of lunchtime quickies as a beginner's guide to the world of aesthetic medicine.

'They are a good starting point for individuals who are starting to explore what medical aesthetics has to offer and do not require drastic measures yet to look better,' says Dr Calvin Chan, medical director of Calvin Chan Aesthetic & Laser Clinic in Wheelock Place.

'Most people these days want a natural look and feel and the subtle improvements from non-invasive procedures best fit their needs.'

As Dr Yeak Hwee Lee, medical director of Singapore Aesthetic Centre in Novena Medical Centre, puts it: 'Botox can erase in 10 minutes wrinkles that take 10 years to form. Fillers can fill up age furrows that form over 15 years in the span of 15 minutes.'

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times.