There were 51,140 surgical procedures last year, compared to 45,406 the year before.
Rachel Gardner, who is also the author of 'Cherished' a book on body image, has been speaking on Premier's News Hour. She said: "I wonder if there's a big increase in terms of social media and a lot more emphasis on how we present ourselves and judge ourselves on how we look.
Most common operations:
Breast augmentation up 12% to 9,652
Eyelid surgery up 12% to 8,689
"And I think there's also a sense if you can do something and you have the money, why wouldn't you do it?"
She said that we need to educate young people about their value: "Your self-esteem, your-self-worth can't start with how you look, it's got to come from somewhere much deeper.
"And I believe that the God who made us, He's the one that can inform us about our self-worth."
The figures also showed that men's cosmetic surgery is on the rise.
Rachel Gardner said:" Sometimes we believe the myth, that it's just women and how they look but men and teenage boys increasingly are feeling under loads of pressure to look a certain way."
On young people she said: "We need to be reminding them that who they are is worth much more than how they look."
Listen to Premier's Hannah Tooley speak to Rachel Gardner here: