Britons fork out more than £3billion a year on Botox... while latest fad in LA is for zapping saggy knees

You would expect the current squeeze on pockets to put a stop to any beauty 'tweakments'.

Not so for age-conscious Britons, who are splashing out £3billion a year to keep their supposed good looks amid the fierce pressures created by social media.

Demand for Botox has jumped, with an ageing population determined to maintain their youthful looks – even when money is tight.

And more vain treatments may be coming our way, with Los Angeles' latest beauty fad seeing saggy knees being zapped so they stay smooth.

Some £3.2billion a year is being spent in the UK on non-invasive aesthetic treatments, such as Botox, figures show.

The boom is being felt across the pharmaceutical industry. Swiss dermatology giant Galderma, which produces its own wrinkle filler, reported a 25 per cent sales growth to $1.5billion (£1.1billion) in the first quarter of this year.

It has seen Britons pay for 900,000 Botox treatments in the past year. Globally, the sector is estimated to be worth a whopping £31billion – with injectables making up 65 per cent of the UK aesthetics market.

This boost is partially being driven by the growing use of weight-loss jabs, which are thought to cause sagging facial skin.

Galderma's boss, Flemming Ornskov, confirmed customers are not skipping their beauty 'tweakments' despite the cost-of-living crisis.

He described this as the 'lipstick effect' – an economic theory which claims that during financial hardship, customers will spend money on affordable luxuries to boost morale.

Mr Ornskov added: 'Are they immune to gasoline prices going up? No. Do they drop an injection because gasoline prices are going up? No.'

Meanwhile, a new procedure has hit Hollywood as worried stars turn their attention to the knees to prevent signs of ageing.

Aesthetic nurse Karen Villanueva, who works for celebrity plastic surgeon Dr Marc Mani, said: 'The knees are the latest area people are looking to treat before they walk the red carpet.

'The best facelift in the world won't help you if your knees show signs of ageing. Knees have become a big deal.'

Ms Villanueva uses an FDA-approved treatment called Sofwave, which uses ultrasound energy to heat the dermis – the middle layer of skin where collagen and elastin fibres are produced.

The procedure takes around 15 minutes and costs $1,500 (£1,125) a session. Three appointments spaced three months apart are the recommended 'dose' to lift and smooth saggy knee skin.