The Irresistible Desire of Reaching Perfection

“Magic Mirror in my hand, 

Who is the fairest in the land?”

Snow White – Brother Grimm

We all grew up with Brother Grimm’s famous fairy tale ‘Snow White.’ As you all remember, the Evil Queen’s unstoppable urge for beauty led her to attempt to murder her stop daughter Snow White since the magic mirror defined her to be thousands of times more beautiful than the Queen herself. 

If we analyse the story, we clearly see that the ‘incomparable beauty’ of Snow White was both her curse and blessing at the same time. That was nothing but her beauty, which caused her misfortunes, and it was also the beauty that saved her from all her misfortunes. After seeing Snow White’s impeccable face, even the loyal man of the Evil Queen, the huntsman decided to deceive the Evil Queen. 

In today’s reality, time is everything. As an inevitable result of it, we have already lost our patience for anything. We look for instant satisfaction and instant changes that will reshape our lives within no time. Our expectations are more closely linked to the concept of ‘miracles’ than it was years ago. 

Therefore, it wouldn’t be awkward to say that today’s reality has closer relations with fairytales than yesterday, thanks to the drastic steps made in medical technologies and cosmetics sectors that may give us any physical changes if we pay the bill.

But why do we want that? Are we becoming the so-called Evil Queen, whose sole motivation was to be the most beautiful in the world? Or are we just trying to survive in today’s world, where people do not dedicate their time to anything they didn’t feel attracted to at first sight? 

So what is beauty? Why are we constantly looking to have it and trying to prolong the time we own it? Who decides whether beauty is a necessity or a luxury? Why do we frequently check whether celebrities have had plastic surgeries or not? What is the reason for me having a search about Jolie plastic surgery in my search engine???!!!

What is plastic surgery?

To clear the clouds and to make a small ground analysis, it is better to define plastic surgery initially. In a nutshell, it is a surgical operation to restore, reconstruct, or alter the human body. Medical authorities divide plastic surgeries into two main categories: 

• Reconstructive Surgery aims to reconstruct a body part or improve its function. Craniofacial surgery, microsurgery, hand surgery, and burns treatment are some examples we can give.
• Cosmetic Surgery (or aesthetic) surgery aims to improve the body’s appearance. These are Botox, tummy tuck (Abdominoplasty), breast reduction, breast augmentation, cosmetic dentistry, eyelid surgery (Blepharoplasty), nose reshaping (Rhinoplasty), eyebrow/forehead rejuvenation, cheek lift, facelift, and removal of fat (Liposuction).

We are talking about a massive market expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.6% from 2022 to 2030 to reach USD 145.7 billion by 2030. The global cosmetic surgery and procedure market have never been so popular in history before. According to international health statistics, the most common plastic surgeries are as follows:

• Nose reshaping (rhinoplasty)
• Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty)
• Facelift (rhytidectomy)
• Liposuction
• Breast augmentation (augmentation mammaplasty)
• Neck lift
• Dermabrasion

To be more and more…

Today, medical tourism has a remarkable share in the tourism market. Many countries have made tremendous investments to become a part of the main actors in the medical tourism industry. If we look at the relevant data, we see that the majority of the patients prefer medical tourism for the following operations, including but not limited to dentistry, cosmetic surgery, in vitro fertilisation (IVF), weight loss, cardiovascular health, dermatology, liver & kidney transplants, and spinal surgery. And for many items on this list, it is hard to guess whether the purpose is better looks or a combination of better health and better looks. 

An excellent example of it could be dentistry. We experienced the unbearable pain of decayed teeth in our lives at least once. The moment we feel the pain, we rush to a dentist; however, it is not the same when we see our first light grey spot on the tooth. Although it is a warning for health, we do not act until it hurts or starts to look ugly. So, it is not as easy as it seems to decide why we have these operations done. It could be solely the urge for beauty, exclusively for our health, or most of the time, the combination of both, although we are unaware of it. 

So, now we see the facts. We can sense the reasons for our google searches about plastic surgery. But what is a wise way to handle this issue? Are you ready to take your paper and pencil? If you try to follow the steps below, finding the secret reason behind your wish will become easier. 

1. What do you want to change in your looks? 
2. What is going to happen if you change it? 
3. Will you be satisfied if you have this change on your body? 
4. Do you think you will continue with other modifications? 
5. Are you afraid of the operation? 
6. If the outcome doesn’t meet your expectations, how would you feel? 

These questions are only some examples for broadening your point of view. You can enrich the list by adding other questions to help you better understand your situation. Even by answering these questions, you will have a distant and overall look at the issue. The most important thing is to discover the inner goal that will lead you to do what you really want. 

If your answers indicate that having a plastic surgery operation will turn you into a happier and more satisfied person, you could let it be done with inner peace. But if your responses indicate that there are also other things you should solve and the willingness to plastic surgery is the tip of the iceberg, it would be more ingenious to talk about these issues with a psychologist and discover your inner self. 

Nothing to be ashamed of! It is your choice to have or not to have the surgery done; however, asking for professional help to make the right decision for yourself and taking therapy would be an added value for your future. 

Are we crossing the boundaries?

If we look at the animals, we see that they are trying to look their best to cope with the attention of the opposite sex. Apparently, this instinct is one of those we still have in common. There are cases where we believe that if we have a retrousse nose, many things will become different in our lives. Such beliefs and feelings indicate that we have some self-confidence issues. In some cases, people report that their self-confidence increases after plastic surgery. 

On the other hand, we also read stories about people who become plastic surgery addicts and cannot stop the urge to change their bodies. That shows their self-confidence issues are not solved after the first surgery. So what is a balanced version of it? Is there any? If yes, is there a way to achieve this even version in which we both may have better looks and increased self-confidence? 

Sure, there are ways to make the best out of plastic surgery that we deeply dig into in this article. However, before starting to talk about this issue, we should note that there certainly are plastic surgeries deriving from unpleasant and unexpected happenings, like accidents, fire wounds, or deformations of a similar kind. In those situations, the patient’s intention is nothing but to reach the same level of beauty that they had before. In most cases, the patients also take therapies to overcome psychological and emotional defects. And if we hear that, we all appreciate this responsible behaviour. 

Now the question mark arises whether it is about beauty again. If so, why do we complain about our physical appearances in daily life? And what is it that makes us complain even more if we lose what we have in our hands? Whatever it is, can we fix it solely by depending on the aesthetic surgery operation? Isn’t it the same as waiting for the touch of a fairy wand? Weren’t we grown-ups???

As it might be seen, cutting our connections with reality most of the time seems to be our escape and also constitutes our comfort zone. However, it is wise to act responsibly and approach things analytically because some operations can be highly life-threatening, whereas others can disappoint you in the long term.

Undoubtedly, there is nothing more precious in our lives than ourselves. Therefore treating ourselves the way we deserve should be the centre of our focus. Why do we postpone the privilege of being supported by a professional for future steps until we end up with real problems? We should face our authentic selves with an act of great courage and embrace it with love. 

The primary question is, “Are we acting like the Evil Queen without awareness?” Or are we just trying to reach perfection? Whichever reason we have, the high-tech plastic surgery operations are at our service any time. We can quickly look like Angelina Jolie, but will we become as famous or successful as she is?

“Beauty is the promise of happiness,” says Edward Burke, the legendary Irish philosopher.

Is it? What is left to us is nothing but to complete the remaining absent points in our lives after reaching the desired beauty. Unfortunately, no plastic surgeries pledge that everything will be all right or guarantee that we will find the love of our lives, end up with our dream careers, or our daydreams become true. At this point, we are behind the wheel to decide where to go and at which speed.