Plastic Surgery

With all the new "make over" reality shows, plastic surgery seems to be getting more and more popular. What does everyone think about botox (which I guess isn't really surgery) and all the other stuff that's now available to make you look younger, thinner, etc.?

Girl...you can ask some of the other women here in the forum about how I feel regarding plastic surgery OR I should say cosmetic surgery.

I don't like making blanket statements because everybody's different and their reasons for having something done are personal. They also have deep feelings about the WHY's...so let me say that I don't mean to step on ANYONE's toes by expressing my own feelings about this, k?

I do not like the message(s) we are sending out to the world that cutting or rearranging your features means you are better somehow. I think (and I'm basing this on some interviews AND discussions) that some people have surgeries because they have OTHER problems of low self-esteem, deep depression and blame their looks somehow on this mental state, or have been told by their peers/friends/family repeatedly they are not good enough.

In other words, what I'm saying here is that some people (notice I say SOME, not ALL, k?) have cosmetic surgeries because they think it will make them smarter, prettier, or a better person. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only that, the REAL underlying problem is still there, isn't it? The low self-esteem, etc...???

I think it is a waste of money and I think we are also sending the WRONG message to our youth by making it the "IN" thing to do too. What about the young people who cannot afford the tatoos or plastic surgery? Do they sink even lower in the self-esteem boat?

Okay, stepping down from soapbox now...lbut not without asking one question of anyone considering plastic surgery and that is, "Who did you (or would you) REALLY have the surgery for?" Your self? Or to impress others? If it's door number 2, then....

JJ

I guess I believe the good or bad of cosmetic surgery depends on the situation. The TV makeovers are over the top, completely changing people.

I do like to see the change that good dental work (braces, whitening, etc.) can do for a person's smile (and their willingness to show a real smile). I know people who've had the stomach bypass surgery(I think that's the non-tech. term). It's taken one of my friends a long time to get comfortable with her new size and realize she can sit in a wooden chair without worrying that it might break. She still has a lot of the old issues to deal with but she has a lot more freedom as far as activities and is so much healthier and happier than she was. Of course, I'm not sure if either of those examples constitute cosmetic surgery.

I have been called hawk nose and a number of other names because of my nose. My siblings and I even got out a tape measure to see who had the longest nose. One of my brothers won. Yet I don't want to change my nose because it would be like changing my whole face and that would be freaky.

I've also been called flatsy and a number of other names because of my flat chest. Now that I would love to change just because it would be fun to look good in a tight shirt, low cut dress, or negligee.

I'm not sure about Botox and all that. Maybe it's messing with my face in general that scares me because of the things that can go wrong.

Anyway, I think changing something because it bothers you night and day and you don't think you can ever be happy because of said cellulite, wrinkles, or because you have Michael Jackson syndrom is pretty unhealthy. But I think cosmetic surgery is okay if you are realistic in your expectations and not expecting the surgery to change your life or your feelings about yourself.

I 100% amen jawjaw's entire post and would like to add. Here in Orange County, one of the highest average incomes in the USA and only 50 miles away from the plastic fantastic dreams of Hollywood, plastic surgery has become rampant. I thoroughly support anyone who feels they need surgery after serious accidents or illness, or if they were born with a deformity, but what we have here is Recreational Slice 'N' Dice. People with tight unnatural faces and obnoxious boobs. Some of them look really weird, not very human. A friend and I have been known to burst out laughing at these people because they really do look stupid. Other places have fashion victims; our fashion victims are often surgery victims as well. The Plastic Operation Du Jour Club. After about the third surgery, these people look downright scary (witness Michael Jackson and Pamela Anderson.)

When I see anyone who looks that fake, I assume that the fakeness extends to their personality and I really don't care to know them at all.

----------------------------------

Oh, and Botox:
It was recommended by a doctor that I get a prescription for it because of my severe migraines. So far I've resolutely refused because we don't have the research to know if 20 years from now, faces will be permanently paralyzed (because that's what it does) or any other long-term effects. It's a poison, OK?

I have Botox injected into my forehead and above my ears (in the scalp) about every four months due to migraines. It kind of paralyzes (sp?) my forehead and I can't make the same expressions as I used to but since Imitrex is bad on the heart, I choose Botox over it any day of the week. It's expensive and hurts but it puts an end to my horrible headaches. The side affect of a smooth forehead isn't so bad either! I'd take wrinkles over a Migraine tho!

Dianne, Imitrex scares me too, but I take it because I can't stand being debilitated for days on end. Right now Botox scares me a little more because of the research void, so I don't take it. Maybe someday when more research has been done...???

I don't take issue with you and others who take Botox for migraines, because that's a medical decision and not a vanity action. Nor do I have a problem with mastectomy survivors who opt for implants. What churns me is the cavallier attitude of people who routinely cut themselves up for someone else's beauty standards.

I guess my solution to the forehead wrinkles was to grow bangs! Anyhow, I don't have fine wrinkles, just Grand Canyon crevices.

You wont believe how affordable cosmetic surgery is. They are now operating tours where a group of ladies get together to go overseas to a super exotic spa for 7 to 10 days and get procedures like Face Lift, Eye Lids, Breast Implants etc done and packages start from as low as $5000 all inclusive

I've also seen documentaries about the danger of going to other countries to get cosmetic surgery done.

There are some things where "saving money" isn't probably a bonus. I would say cosmetic surgery is one of them.

D.

I'm with you on this, Danita. They don't have to follow the same standards in other countries.

I'm all for a woman getting plastic surgery and I really feel that many women are doing it just to feel good about their appearances.

I personally know two women who had face lifts and it looked so natural and rejuvenating. I must tell you neither of them have a "tight" look at all. I personally know six women who had "nose jobs" and I can tell you all of these women were very pleased with the results.

The one woman who had her face lift done is in her late fifties and divorced. She has two daughters who think it looks great. She said it "put a spring in her step." She said she could also feel herself "strut" into a room. The other woman was 62 when she had her face lift done and she looks fabulous. It looks natural. I'm not for botox but only because I wonder about putting something like that into your face for the purpose of eliminating wrinkles.

When I was in my early to mid-forties my opinion at that time was, negative to this type of surgery. Now I see it as a personal choice for women if that's what they want. I certainly think the extreme work done on celebrities does look stupid, thinking of Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton, Pamela Anderson to name a few.) Still there are others who've had it "tastefully" done.

My mother had a consultation done several years ago regarding a face-lift. The doctor asked her first why she wanted it done and what her expectations were about it. The doctor cautioned her that it would not change any personal problems in her life. She never did have it done but I think she regrets it a little. She's 79 now and was in her late fifties when she went for the consultation.

[ November 25, 2005, 08:04 PM: Message edited by: ladybug ]

i see cosmetic surgery as a personal thing, so can't take issue with those who feel they need it. guess i'll take my lumps as they come.

i do have a problem with the tv reality shows that do the big makeovers. that takes it out of the personal realm and into the public eye.

i watched one where a very average looking couple went to separate places for several months for makeovers including nose jobs, teeth, all the usual stuff. at the end, they were revealed to each other and their families at the same time. they looked great - and then i saw their 3 teenagers who all looked like mom and dad USED to! what did that say to those kids? something like, "oh, hi, kids - we thought we were so homely, we had total makeovers. but don't worry, when you go under the knife you'll look just like us again!"

flipperjo, I do have a problem with these shows too. I could just imagine how those kids must have felt. Where was the mom and dad they knew?

I only watched the show once last year and I thought that maybe a few of those people on it had more serious issues. They came out looking like totally different people. How does a family relate to that?

My friend in Arkansas said this show made her feel badly about her own appearance! Trust me ladies, this is a very good-looking woman who needs nothing done.

So, what do shows like this do to the morale of people who think they need something done?

A complete facelift here in the Cleveland area currently costs $25,000.00. All these shows do is frustrate the vulnerable segment of our society.

I agree that cosmetic surgery is a personal decision. There are myriad reasons women elect to go under the knife. Many women are indeed capable of making an 'improvement' and moving on without developing an obsession to get more surgery. Many are not, but it's still their decision, and, eventually, their cross to bear.

Personally, even though I would love to have my abs and breasts back to pre-childbearing perkiness, I have decided I will never put myself under the knife unless it is for a life saving procedure. I have actually had some huge improvements in the gravity department due to weight training at my gym, but if I wanted to run naked on a beach in Brazil without worrying about what other Americans thought of me, I would need a couple of areas adjusted.

I worry about America's obsession with Youth. I worry about the time wasted on obsessing about physical flaws. If I could have back all of the time I wasted in crazy diets and physical self-obsession, I would recouperate nearly half of my life. And if I could have back all the money I've wasted on those diets, gadgets and beauty products, I could pay my mortgage twice over.

The older I get, the less worried I am about what other people think. I don't embrace each new wrinkle and gray hair as some personal 'Red Badge of Courage', but I simply refuse to waste any more time.

I think physical self-obsession keeps women down. I know I'm not the only one who has sacrificed time and money in a pursuit of a physical 'perfection' that simply won't ever exist. There will always be another wrinkle, another gray hair, another pound to lose or muscle group to tone. But there will never be another minute to replace the one lost in worry about those things.

I think about the hobbies I have taken on over the years, but eventually gave up due to "lack of time." I could be proficient in playing the guitar and violin, I could be a black belt in karate, I could be a really fabulous artist in the pencil and charcoal medium, and I could be a world-class clogger. I didn't have time to find excellence in those areas, but I had time (and money) to pour endless hours into beauty regimens, diets, dreams of how perfect my life would be when I hit that magic number on the scale or how good I would feel about myself when my beautician finally found my perfect hair color... and guess what? I still have a few pounds to lose, muscles to sculpt, grays to cover and wrinkles to fret over, and I still can't play the guitar or wear a black belt unless it happens to go with my outfit. I still can't produce a drawing much more complicated than a jointed stick figure, and I can only clog well enough to impress a dance club full of drunk revelers when they play Cotton-Eyed Joe by The Rednex.

I truly believe that some point some of us have to draw the proverbial line in the sand over the pursuit of physical perfection and try to encourage women, as an entire sex, to move further along in the cerebral department. I see the diet-surgery-Youth obsessions as roadblocks to positive momentum, sort of like a mental Molasses Swamp from the original Candyland board game.

It would take a lot of surgery to make me perfect by some people's standards, and it's not something I would personally contemplate doing. I look my age, and it doesn't bother me a bit. With my health history, I'm just glad to still be around.

I was a bit bothered by the comment about breast cancer survivor's who opt for reconstructive surgery. I have some survivor friends who have done just that, and I firmly believe it was the right choice for them. As someone said, it's a personal choice.

Breast cancer survivors or people badly mangled in accidents, fires etc. or even those with fixable birth defects have every right to be as good as they can be and should do whatever it takes for them to feel normal, whatever the hell normal is anymore. I understand and even applaud them BUT these silly asses that are never quite thin enough, or wrinklke free enough or young enough are pitiful senseless fools. That said, the world is full of them so say the plastic surgeons sunning themselves on their yachts in the south of France.....

I must say I would never criticize a breast cancer survivor or anyone like Chatty mentioned above who chooses to have reconstructive surgery.

Chatty is very right when she says they have a right to feel as good about themselves as they can.

I'm a breast cancer survivor who decided against reconstructive surgery. I've had so many surgeries, and more to come, and they were done and being done to make it so I can live an almost normal life.
Any type of plastic surgery, not for me! I've had enough of the other kind....you know....the kind that saved my life!
Lynne

NHJackie, I've reread every post in this thread and no one criticized breast cancer survivors who opt for reconstructive surgery. Where did you see that?

LSmith, I can truly understand your reasons for not wanting any more surgery. I hope you are well now and feeling great!

Hello Everyone - I scar very easily so plastic surgery is not an option for me even if I wanted it. I was at a new years eve party where this woman looked rather freakish with a frozen face and obvious fake teeth. Scary looking, but a nice woman. I feel bad that she did that to herself.
I do eyelid exercises to keep mine from drooping. Look up while raising eyebrows. Leave eyebrows raised while closing and opening eyes, lower eyebrows. Repeat. I think it helps and has the added bonus of waking me up if tired.
I've heard some good things about Thermage as a substitute for surgery. Light pulses. Makes your body generate collagen. That seems like a less risky alternative.

Yoyo....Welcome!
My daughter has an appt. with her Dermatoligist to find out about Thermage.
If it is totally invasive, I would consider having it done on the "wings" under my arms.
I've lost so much weight, my grandson tells me I'm flying when I do my exercises.
But that's ok.....I really don't care what other people think of me now. They should have seen me when I was 60 lbs' heavier!!!
Lynne
P.S. I'm originally from Eureka, CA. Know S.F. very well!

Whoops.....I meant if it's not invasive.
Excuse the "senior" moment.
Lynne

Have heard nothing but very psoitive things about Thermage and actually seen some results. LSmith once enough of this weight disappears and I too have wings I plan to give it a whirl but nothing for me that involves cutting. I am a big chicken....cluck, cluck!!