Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Articles

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.

Most men tend to be awkward with anything that involves some kind of social interaction. Blame it on generations of conditioning to never be too vulnerable, not even among those closest to us.

That’s changing slowly, though. And, believe it or not, plastic surgery is an indicator of it. Men have always been concerned about their appearance. I can vouch for that, not just as board-certified plastic surgeon but also as a card-carrying member of the gender. What’s changing is that it’s finally becoming more acceptable for them to say and do something about it. The taboo’s fading.

And it happens to be coinciding with the de-stigmatization of male plastic surgery. It’s easy to imagine that only a few years ago, a guy would never dare tell his best friend that he was thinking about getting Botox to iron out a few premature wrinkles. Today, he’s likely to not only tell him; he may even invite him along.

The number of men interested in undergoing cosmetic procedures is surging. The total number of cosmetic surgical procedures performed among men in 2015 was 1.2 million, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). That’s just under 10% of the total number of cosmetic surgical procedures done that year, but it’s more than triple the number of men who went under the knife in 1997, the first year the ASAPS began tracking annual statistics.

The number of men considering plastic surgery is increasing, too, according to the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. In a recent survey, 31% of men said they were “extremely likely” to consider a cosmetic procedure. A little less than half said a boost in confidence was the main reason for their interest. A quarter said they wanted to “look younger” in an effort to remain competitive in their careers.

Confronting reality

In my most recent blog posts, I’ve tried to unpack how influential our jobs can be—for both men and women—in shaping our interest in plastic surgery. The workforce is growing younger by the year. And where experience once earned you stature, now it’s more likely to render your voice irrelevant. What more and more are seeking, in turn, are ways to sharpen the edges of their experience, if you will. Think nonsurgical cosmetic treatments that can shave a couple years off a face, while maintaining a very natural appearance.

Of course, work isn’t the only reason. At no point in our history have we been faced with more images of ourselves. Even if you maintain a modest social media presence, you still probably see a portrait of yourself when you log into your laptop, send a text, and scroll through your friends’ posts. It can have a cumulative effect. We all have at least one feature we’d like to change. If you’re faced with that feature—say, a receding hairline or prominent forehead wrinkles—a dozen times a day, day in and day out, it has a way of growing roots in our thoughts.

Being particular

The most popular cosmetic surgical procedures for men are liposuction, eye-lift surgery, breast reduction, tummy tucks, and facelifts, according to recent annual statistics from the ASAPS. While not all that different from the top procedures for women, the details of the procedures often dramatically diverge between the two sexes. Rhinoplasty, for example, is not the same surgery for men as it is for women. The same can be said of injectables.

So, if you’re considering male plastic surgery, seek out a board-certified plastic surgeon with extensive experience in treating men. If you can’t find a gallery on their website, don’t be shy about asking during your consultation.