TL;DR
Today's cosmetic surgery runs on scalpels, silicone and syringes of gel. The lab work coming next looks different: treatments that get the body to rebuild its own tissue. The face is closest. A cream aimed at aging "zombie" cells lowered skin's biological age in a small company test, a cream that helps cells replace worn-out power plants made crow's-feet slightly shallower in 48 women, and the FDA has cleared a 75-person trial of a shot meant to regrow lost tissue under the eyes. The breast is next, with dissolving 3D-printed scaffolds that fill with a woman's own fat in trials, and a drug that may help more of that fat survive, so far tested only in rodents. The penis comes last, for a biological reason: its tissue stops answering growth signals after puberty. The parts that could change that, tools that turn genes back up and erectile tissue grown to order, are untried for this or still in rabbits and pigs. Put together, our odds that drug and cell treatments reshape the face and breast with no permanent implants are 50%, likely by 2042. For the odds that regrowth replaces cosmetic surgery and a timeline of the breakthroughs that lead there, subscribe.
Below the line, for paid subscribers: eight parts for face, breast and penis; our Odds board on 9 milestones, starting with "THE WHOLE MACHINE: drug or cell treatments reshape face and breast, no permanent implants"; our labeled speculation; who could build it; and every source.