Women can feel a little better about themselves this weekend with the news that the supermodel Cindy Crawford has owned up to having had injections of vitamins, collagen and Botox over the past decade, despite endorsing her own range of anti-ageing creams at the same time.

Crawford’s success in staving off wrinkles and lines may inspire many Irish women to follow in her footsteps, and there are plenty of practitioners ready to pocket their payments.

A novel on the Irish cosmetic and aesthetic industry would have all the elements of a racy potboiler. Vanity and greed drive the plot forward and millions of euros are at stake, with tens of millions more set to pour in as SSIAs mature.

The US cosmetic medicine market is estimated to be worth about $12.5 billion (€9.8 billion), and although no concrete figures are available for Ireland, industry sources estimate revenues here could be as high as €50m. Practitioners report demand growing by anything between 50% and 200% annually, but maturing SSIAs are set to provide the industry with its biggest kick. Some €16 billion is tied up in SSIA accounts, and according to one survey, 3% of the country’s 1.1m SSIA account holders are considering spending some of their proceeds on cosmetic surgery.

“It is certainly more than doubling every year,” said Dr Patrick Treacy, the founder of the Ailesbury Clinic and probably the country’s best-known plastic surgeon. “When we started in 2001, there were three pages of ads [in the Golden Pages] for cosmetic surgery; now there are 16.”

In this rapidly expanding market, cosmetic surgery clinics, private medical consultants, the new private hospitals and beauticians all over the country are battling to grab market share.

“It is a cut-throat industry,” said one clinic owner. “I had worked in other industries and thought I’d met every type of person, but I have been astonished by things like people putting out untruths about your business and getting onto your suppliers trying to stop exclusive deals you have agreed.”

Off the record, many industry figures are quick to denigrate each other, criticising everything from their rivals’ medical credentials to the quality of their work, their ethical standards, and their accounting practices.

Soap opera levels of bitchiness aside, this is an industry set to boom in the years ahead, but its unregulated nature is also a cause of concern to many long-established practitioners.

WHILE increased consumer wealth is undoubtedly the primary driver of the market, cosmetic practitioners say television series such as Nip/Tuck and reality TV shows on plastic surgery are heightening consumer awareness that if it sags, bags or drags, work can be done.

“The reality TV programmes show people what to ask and show them not to be frightened. They know they can go into a consultation, ask the right questions, ascertain the suitability of the procedure and go home and make their decision,” said Halina Ashdown-Sheils, who heads Advanced Cosmetic Surgery (ACS), the largest cosmetic operator here.

Improved technology also means that looking younger is no longer the preserve of the wealthy. Non-surgical procedures have mushroomed in recent years, with Botox being joined on the market by laser treatments, no-knife facelifts using polypropylene threads, and other injectables.

These include products such as Dysport, Restylane and Isolagen. Isolagen treatment costs €4,500, but other injectables can be had for just €300 to €500, making them far more accessible than a traditional facelift, which could cost €9,000.