Davis

As many as 10 to 20 percent of women have inverted nipples—those that retract inward rather than protrude outward—according to one widely-accepted estimate, though there’s no way of knowing for sure.

It’s a congenital condition that usually occurs when breast tissue adheres tightly to the base of the nipple, enough to prevent it from sticking out. If you’ve had them from birth, inverted nipples are usually harmless, though they can complicate breastfeeding. If they developed later in life, it’s worth having them checked out. They can be a sign of a medical condition, like breast cancer.

Either way, if your inverted nipples are a constant source of insecurity for you, know that they can be de-inverted with plastic surgery. In fact, nipple procedures have risen sharply in popularity over the last few years, mostly as a result of a growing awareness that such a procedure exists. While more of them are being done than ever before, the increase isn’t necessarily disproportionate to a rise in plastic surgery in general.

As various before-and-after photos flood social media, it seems to be fostering a growing awareness of our bodies, which, in turn, is stirring a desire to improve our appearance, nipples included.

What to expect

As far as what the procedure entails, basically, the abnormally tight connections to the nipple are divided and the nipple is sewn onto itself. It’s a fairly straightforward surgery, though those with fairly large nipples may also need to undergo nipple procedures at a later time. Generally, it’s not recommended that the two procedures be done at the same time.

You should also be aware that your nipples may be more visible under your clothing—which is probably something you’re not used to dealing with.

A less invasive option

Sometimes a small fat graft or a filler, like Juvéderm Voluma or Radiesse, is injected under the nipple to help support the release and prevent the tissue from reattaching and contracting again. The injection procedure costs a fraction of the surgery, though the results are temporary, while the surgery’s are permanent.

Keep in mind, this injection procedure is different from the budding trend where hyaluronic acid fillers are being injected into nipples to increase their volume.

Use of injectable fillers is increasing year over year. And it’s not just the number of fillers that’s growing, but the number of places that patients are starting to request them, too: lips, ear lobes, hands, under eyes, pores, cellulite dimples, and, now, nipples.

For the most part, the industry has come out against nipple fillers. It’s not an FDA-approved use of hyaluronic acid fillers. Even more, it could increase the risk of nipple or breast infections and interfere with breastfeeding. All for a procedure that may be very painful and, best-case scenario, yield results that last only three to six months.

Before Anna Faris got breast implants more than a decade ago, at age 30, the actress needed to come to terms with her staunch stance against plastic surgery. To that point, she had been very public in her belief that it was an anti-feminist practice.

“I was always a negative-A cup, so when I was 30, I was getting a divorce, I had just finished House Bunny, and I’d sold another movie. All of these new things were happening to me, so I got my breasts done,” Faris, now 43, said in a recent cover story Women’s Health magazine. “I never, ever thought I’d do something like that. I always thought plastic surgery was caving in to ‘the man,” you know? But it came down to a really simple thing: I wanted to fill out a bikini. What would that feel like?”

Faris said she never had any regrets about her decision to go through with breast augmentation. But that doesn’t mean she’s not still surprised by her decision. “I kept thinking, Am I betraying my own gender by doing this?” she said. Faris knows now that she wasn’t. “I wish that we were more supportive of each other,” she said. “I think that people should be able to do whatever they want, whether it’s getting braces, bleaching their hair, getting extensions, getting a boob job, getting vaginal surgery, or getting a nose job.”

The decision

Breast augmentation has become the most popular cosmetic surgical procedure performed over the last decade, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. In 2018 alone, nearly 314,000 procedures were done, a 4% increase over the previous year and a 48% increase over 2000.

Before the surgery, you’ll consult with a board-certified plastic surgeon. (It’s a good idea to schedule consultations with multiple surgeons. And be prepared to continue looking if you don’t feel completely comfortable with any of them.) At the consultation, you’ll describe the size and shape you’re going for, and the surgeon will make their recommendations pertaining to implant type, positioning of the implant in relation to the muscle, and incision location.

There are two types of implants to consider, saline and silicone. But even after you pick the type of implant, there’s still the shape and size to consider. There are actually 3 different shapes of silicone implants: smooth round, textured round, and textured anatomical teardrop. The round implants give breasts a fuller look, while smooth implants feel softer.

Perhaps the most critical piece of this process is good communication between you and your surgeon. The surgeon needs to fully understand your desires and expectations, while you need to commit to fulfilling your role as the patient.

The recovery

The surgery itself is typically done as an outpatient procedure and takes a little over an hour. A long-acting anesthetic is often administered. It’ll make you feel virtually pain-free for 72 hours. You’ll spend about an hour in post-operation recovery before being sent home. Once the anesthetic wears off, most patients describe feeling chest tightness or soreness, not pain.

And most can return to work in 3 to 5 days, though you’ll need to avoid heavy lifting and upper-body exercise for two weeks. Often, patients feel so good after a week, we need to slow them down so that their body can fully heal.

Even if you only occasionally glance at Instagram (Is that even possible?), you probably know who Megan Markle is. What you may not realize is how profound an impact she’s having on women’s appearances.

Ever since her marriage to Prince Harry two years ago, scores of women around the world have become increasingly obsessed with every little detail of her wardrobe, hair, and even her nose.

Plastic surgeons have been reporting that Megan Markle’s nose is now one of the most popular celebrity-inspired requests they get from their patients, dethroning reality TV royalty, Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner.

What is it, exactly, about Markle’s nose that’s earned it a place in the modern-day pantheon of idolized physical features? Ironically, it seems to be the fact that it’s hardly perfect. Pull up a profile photo of her. You should be able to notice a very slight hump on the bridge of her nose that’s almost undetectable when you’re looking at her straight on.

It’s not just her nose. Patients are also asking for her prominent cheekbones and beautifully-contoured jawline.

This isn’t the first time the royals have influenced plastic surgery trends. As recently as 2011, there was a flood of interest in butt lifts after Pippa’s rear—a smaller, more athletic version of the Kardashian butt—famously stole the show at Kate Middleton and Prince William’s wedding.

The interest in Megan Markle’s nose / features appears to be following a larger trend, where both men and women are seeking out procedures that simply enhance, rather than transform, their own natural features. Many a beauty writer has noted that what makes Markle’s features so covetable is their approachability.

As she continues to champion a number of causes, including female empowerment, gender equality, animal rights, and the arts, that sentiment’s only likely to grow.

Plastic surgery’s most-requested celebrity features

Curious about what other famous faces (and assorted body parts) are in high demand? RealSelf, the online cosmetic treatment marketplace, recently released its data on the subject, collected from thousands of plastic surgeons. Here are some highlights, along with the procedures they’ve popularized:

• Kim Kardashian’s butt

Procedure: Brazilian butt lift

• Beyonce’s butt
• Jennifer Lawrence’s nose

Procedure: Rhinoplasty

• Kate Middleton’s nose and smile

Procedures: Rhinoplasty, braces/dental implants

• Madonna’s complexion

Procedure: Fillers (face and hands)

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that interest in cosmetic treatments, both surgical and non-surgical, is surging, largely because we’re part of that movement. I’m a board-certified plastic surgeon, and you’re reading this on my blog. But I’ve also cited lots of other sources in recent posts who’ve reported the same news. And here’s another: One in three Americans is considering undergoing a cosmetic treatment sometime over the next year, according to a recent report from RealSelf, the online cosmetic treatment marketplace.

What struck me even more was that nearly half (43%) said they’re motivated by a desire to improve their self-esteem and confidence. And 26% said their desire stemmed specifically from “wanting to appear youthful at work” or “looking for or starting a new job.”

Woke as we’re becoming as a society, ageism in the workplace remains a prevalent concern. And not just for women. In a recent post, I highlighted a number of procedures that are on the rise among early-middle-age men as a means for them to remain relevant in their work. Within the next year, millennials will comprise half the workforce in the United States, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. And in another 10 years, it’ll be up to 75%.

Suddenly in the minority, it’s only natural that those who aren’t millennials could feel that much more vulnerable.

‘It’s really about restoring confidence’

Nancy DellaRocco, 54, an executive for Harvard Business School, is someone who spends a lot of time in front of people, public- speaking and pitching executives. But her confidence began eroding in her thirties, when she started losing her hair. In time, she started to think that people were too distracted by her receding hairline to truly hear anything she was saying.

“You’re used to seeing men with male-pattern baldness, but there’s such a stigma when you’re a woman,” she told the financial news site, Moneyish. “I was going to meetings and leading presentations—and I needed my hair! It sounds like a vanity thing, but it’s really about restoring confidence.”

Following a hair transplant, DellaRocco’s self-esteem rebounded in abundance. “I’m running 120 programs a year with over 11,000 executives from around the world, and doing media online, and I’m feeling really good about myself and my job.”

Attractiveness matters, after all

All the traditional benchmarks remain in play for prospective new hires—work experience, a strong resume, marketable skills, and a magnetic personality—but new research also indicates that attractiveness is much more of a factor than most have been willing to let on.

For example, a recent study conducted at Johns Hopkins University discovered that people with successful nose jobs appear more attractive, more successful, and healthier to other people than they did before their surgery. “While we are not suggesting that [a nose job] is the only way to improve one’s appearance, improving our attractiveness and health as compared to others conveys a competitive advantage,” writes Dr. Lisa Ishii, one of the study’s lead authors.

Other studies have shown that obese candidates are less likely to be hired or promoted than their peers with healthy bodyweights. Researchers have also exposed a clear connection between attractiveness and income, with people who are considered good-looking earning as much as 22% more than their “average”-looking counterparts.

The takeaway here is that a crisis of confidence, particularly when it’s rooted in one’s career, is not baseless. Maybe a cosmetic treatment isn’t the answer for you. But that doesn’t mean you need to accept your life for what it is. Confidence is a funny thing. It can return as quickly as it disappeared. But the longer it goes ignored, the harder it becomes to restore it.