Despite a lengthy economic recession, cosmetic surgery is still
on the increase throughout developed countries. What Roberta Honigman and David
J Castle call the “looks industry” is alive and well. It seems everyone is
doing it. It is a quick fix to a perceived embellishment.
But the fix might be more in the head than on the face. Joshua Zimm, from the University of Toronto
and his colleagues published a study in 2013 showing that facial cosmetic
surgery does not significantly enhance attractiveness and only reduces
perceived age by 3.1 years. So objective improvement is, at best, minimal.
The growth of cosmetic surgery is not a reflection of the
increasing ugliness of people but a reflection of our increasing negative
self-perception. The fact that cosmetic surgery is still increasing in
popularity despite showing little positive outcome—objective measure of
attractiveness or youth—points again to our desire to become perfect.
Body image is closely aligned to self-image and self-esteem.
The sad part of this “looks industry” is that the problem is not how people look,
but how they think they look. Because of this, surgery is often ineffective in
changing this psychology.
The Norwegian researcher Tilmann M Von Soest, from the
University of Oslo, followed 1,500 teenage girls for 13 years where 78 girls had
cosmetic surgery. Those that had cosmetic surgery tended to have a history of
poorer mental health for which cosmetic surgery showed no improvement. If the
issue about our body image is a psychological one, and even when successful—and
most people report that they are happy with the surgery two years on—the
intervention will not change your negative self image. In severe cases of such
negative self-image—body dysmorphic disorder—there is no surgical solution but
psychological.
If you undergo any surgery when you are younger, the effect
might look more unnatural since aging will include loss of skin elasticity and
collagen, along with loss of skin fat across your body. You might have a newly
formed nose but the rest of your face (and body) will be sagging.
In one such example of balance, Teri L. Hernandez and Robert
H. Eckel of the University of Colorado, found that liposuction may slim one
problem area but after a year it will create another problem area. Women who had
fat suctioned from their thighs and lower abdomen ultimately put weight back on
in often less flattering areas like the upper abdomen, back and arms. What we
are learning is that the body controls the number of its fat cells as carefully
as it controls the amount of fat. We need to work with the body to maintain healthy
good looks rather than cutting it up.
There is no data on the number of repeated surgical
procedures. Because the problem is psychological,
it is likely that most people will continue chasing their ideal image through
surgery, until either their money or body gives up. At some point you will have
to address the problem in your head.
© USA Copyrighted 2013 Mario D. Garrett
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