Think about Barbra Streisand, the legendary singer and movie star who sports a nose only a mother could love. Would she have had the success she’s experienced if she’d succumbed to pressure as a teen and had a nose job? No one will ever know, but it is possible.
“I was one of the only girls in my high school that didn’t get one … And if anybody needed it, I probably did. But my mom always told me, ‘Barbra Streisand didn’t get a nose job. You’re not getting a nose job.’ And I didn’t. I’m proud to be on a positive show and to be a voice for girls and say, ‘You don’t need to look like everybody else. Love who you are,’” Streisand is quoted saying.
And then there is actress Jennifer Grey, who starred in Dirty Dancing which made her a star. After making the movie, Jennifer had a nose job.
Grey is quoted as saying, “I went in the operating theater a celebrity – and came out anonymous. It was like being in a witness protection program or being invisible. I’ll always be this once-famous actress nobody recognizes… because of a nose job.”
Another actor has held onto her ethnic nose and is glad she did. Lea Michele: “I’ve always been proud of my body, my Jewish nose and all of that. Hollywood’s Hollywood, but that’s not going to change.”
Deciding to undergo cosmetic surgery is a big decision and should not be taken lightly. Some teenagers may be too emotionally immature and impulsive to make this choice.
What a young person doesn’t want to do is mistakenly undo that which makes her unique, even if that body part, such as a large nose, isn’t what is considered ‘conventionally’ attractive. It may be the unconventional aspect of the face or body is precisely what makes the person good-looking and interesting.
Cosmetic surgery is referred to as aesthetic surgery. This means it changes a part of the person’s body because he doesn’t like it. Reconstructive surgery is different. It corrects defects of the body or face, such as a cleft palate or an injury caused by a burn or bite. Women who have cancer and undergo mastectomies sometimes opt to have breast reconstruction.
Teenagers (and their parents) who are contemplating plastic surgery must be aware that body parts that seem too small or too large may end up being the ideal size when the body stops growing, and body parts coalesce.
Teenager girls are still growing. In fact, breasts, thighs, the butt and hips keep on growing until the age of 20 because a young woman’s body-fat increases in response to hormonal fluctuations. Body fat is required so a woman can have menstrual periods and the capability to reproduce.
A nose job or rhinoplasty may be performed on a teenager because the male does at the age of 16.5 years, and the female nose at 15.5 years is essentially finished growing. Before a part of the body can be cosmetically altered, it must be fully developed and no longer growing. Additionally, the patient must be mature enough to understand what the procedure entails and the aftermath (such as pain and recovery time.)
A type of plastic surgery that may be appropriate and safe for a younger person is ear surgery (otoplasty) when the individual’s ears stick out significantly.
Rhinoplasty (nose job) is frequently done on patients who are in their junior or senior year in high school, but shouldn’t be performed before them.
Liposuction is not recommended for those younger than 18 and augmenting breasts is usually not done until a girl is older than 18.
Look and think hard before you leap. Once done, you cannot recapture your look of origin and may regret it.
Jessie Flesner is a freelance writer in New Albany, Indiana. She writes for www.SurgicalTools.com about a wide variety of health care industry issues.
Jessie Flesner is a freelance writer in New Albany, Indiana. She writes for www.SurgicalTools.com about a wide variety of health care industry issues.