Total makeovers, Botox, cosmetic surgery, careers
and relationships
It’s a sign of these weird times. The British economy might still be in the toilet but that hasn’t stopped British women rushing out to buy “Botox treatments at the cosmetic centres. It costs $300 a pop here. Yes, despite the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, cosmetic surgery is the big growth industry. Similarly in Sydney Australia, amongst a recession, it is the fastiest growing cosmetic treatments city in the world,
A report from analysts Frost & Sullivan says it’s a boom time for cosmetic and plastic surgery (which refers to reconstructive surgery for say a cleft lift or birth defect, as opposed to cosmetic surgery which is designed to make you look better). What’s driving this trend?
Part of it would have to be the increased focus on careers. Last year, I did a blog entry looking at how good looking people tended to have better careers. Intelligence helps but studies sadly show that looking like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie help you secure that job or promotion. Two years ago, blogger Penelope Trunk predicted that cosmetic surgery would become a must-have tool for the “go-getters and career-minded”, not just the rich and privileged. Sadly, it seems she is right. How much is career-consciousness driving the growth of cosmetic surgery?
Very much so, says the Los Angeles Times . According to a recent article, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery reports that more men and women are requesting cosmetic surgery because they want to get ahead in a competitive workplace.
Maybe part of that is about trying to get some job security. And also finding a new partner in a world where divorce is so high. According to Canada’s Globe and Mail , more men are going for laser treatment (eg fraxel restore laser ), thermage, and Botox to look younger and fresher in a cut-throat work environment. And the BBC reports that the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons says male breast reduction is the fastest growing part of the cosmetic surgery industry. Get rid of those man boobs (eg with ultrasonic contour) and your career takes off! In Britain, the Daily Mail reports that one in five cosmetic surgery patients are men and city bankers are heading the queue to get rid of wrinkles. The Daily Mail calls them “boytoxers”.
Sydney academic Meredith Jones has argued that cosmetic surgery in Australia will become as standard as whitening teeth or dyeing your hair. It’s all part of a world where nothing is ever good enough any more. It’s a "total makeover culture". Botox, botox, and more botox. And for lasting results, we now have thermage and fraxel laser . Dr Buddy Beaini, cosmetic specialist doctor from MD Cosmedical Solutions verifies the growing momentum of cosmetic treatments within his specialised cosmetic clinic in Sydney Sheraton Hotel Cosmedical Centre.
Jones is on the right track. The growth in cosmetic industry and cosmetic surgery might have less to do with job insecurity than it does with society’s changing attitudes to good looks.
That’s shaped by what we are seeing in magazines, on billboards and what’s coming out of Hollywood. There might be women who want Angelina Jolie’s lips, Elle McPherson’s legs and eyelids like Katie Holmes, and there would be men who would want Brad Pitt’s abs. That would be driving this trend.
That’s part of the story. I also blame the boomers, the generation that refuses to grow old gracefully and accept the fact that everyone gets older. According this report from Cosmetic Surgery Today , boomers will drive the cosmetic surgery market because they are living longer and they will keep working even beyond retirement. Still, there’s no shortage of stories either, like this one, about teenage girls getting breast implants. So it’s not just the boomers, it’s across generations. And when someone like former radical (and being born in 1937, a non-boomer) Jane Fonda goes under the knife to become a more “glamorous Grandma”, you know we have an issue.
Now to my way of thinking, society has a problem when people feel so insecure about their appearance they have to go and spend money on panel beating in order to feel better about themselves. The problem is that society’s definitions of beauty are always changing. In any case, we are dealing with our insecurities the wrong way. It’s a quick fix that doesn’t actually resolve the problem. Besides that, there are cases where the surgery has gone wrong.
A better way to deal with the problem of careers and ageing is to redefine the job and your own role. What do you think? Is a total makeover cosmetic treatment really a must-have tool these days? Does it help careers? Have you had it? Did it help your career? Did it help you find a new partner? Have you noticed better looking people get preferential treatment?
Md Cosmedical Solutions
~the cosmedical specialits~
Dr Buddy Paul Beaini
Sydney Shearton Hotel and Wahroonga
Ph: 1300 885 808
www.mdcosmedicalsoltuions.com.au
No comments:
Post a Comment