Beauty - A Simple Concept That Is Truly In The Eye Of The Beholder
Beauty And What This Plastic Surgeon Thinks About It
Beauty has become a shape . It is a changing shape. That shape is mainly formed and controlled by some device which affects part of the body's natural outline. What is considered beautiful in the eyes of one race may be thought horrific by another. Beauty then is in the eye of the beholder, and for centuries beauty has been a changing shape. Beauty is defined in many different ways. Beauty can be transient. Is beauty something superficial? Is beauty something more?
What constitutes beauty? How important is someone's appearance or the way they look? We all have our own ideas of what constitutes beauty or what looks good. Again, beauty standards differ from one individual to another as well as from one society to another.
For someone with a congenital or acquired deformity, looking more "normal" is a wonderful gift. For someone self-conscious about a facial feature, redefining that feature is rejuvenating. For the many shades of change between those two extremes, feeling beautiful about one's appearance gives comfort and confidence. Two different people may have the same feature. - one may consider it beauty, the other a disfigurement.
Why beauty remains a mystery is simple to see. No two people can define beauty in the same manner. Even among plastic surgeons, who are generally considered to be experts at judging beauty and physical appearance, there is constant debate. What is the goal of plastic surgery? Is it to make someone beautiful? To give them beauty? No. Whether its changing a portion of the body to make it look normal or improving a "normal" facet of the body to make it look even more aesthetically pleasing, the goal of the plastic surgeon is to help the patient feel good about him or herself. They ideally strive to make a person feel beautiful on the inside and the outside. But like everything else, there are always right and wrong reasons. People must realize there are no quick fixes. A plastic surgeon cannot give someone beauty. Beauty is something a person gives themselves! Beauty is not a feature. Beauty is a reflection in the mirror. Beauty not just a physical characteristic but also a frame of mind. And plastic surgeons do not operate on the mind.
Realistic Beauty
What is realistic beauty? Is beauty ever realistic? When you decide to have a cosmetic procedure , it is very important to realize what can and cannot be done. By educating yourself on the particular procedure you are considering, you will have a better idea of its limitations and will have more realistic expectations. Procedures should be delayed until the patient has sufficient emotional and physical maturity to make an informed decision about any type of surgery.
To think that by coming in for surgery you'll walk out a model is unrealistic. By being realistic in your expectations there will not be any disappointment. If you are hoping for a miracle, it won't happen. It is far better to ask exactly what you can expect then to assume how it will turn out. However, from my experience most patients are quite happy and excited with their results. They will come back after having procedures done and tell me how much more confident they feel and more self-assured.
Human beings have always been intrigued and fascinated by beauty and have gone to great extremes to either be beautiful or to attain beauty. However, beauty can be dangerous. Many modern cultures seem obsessed with beauty. Beauty is certainly controversial. Cosmetic surgery procedures are definitely becoming more socially acceptable worldwide. How beauty and cosmetic surgery are viewed together is critical to understanding what realistic beauty is on a personal level.
Beauty & Plastic Surgery
Beauty and plastic surgery are synonymous to some people. In the Western world, the outlines of the human bod y have been controlled by what society thinks is beautiful and what beauty means to them. But now many consumers have their body's faults corrected by cosmetic surgery with breast implants or liposuction for fat reduction.
The "plastic" in plastic surgery does not refer to the petroleum-based material used in containers, toys and numerous other consumer products. It comes from the Greek, plastikos, which means "to mold or to shape." In fact, we can trace the origins of plastic surgery back to around 700 B.C. -- the age of the Assyrian kings. During their time, a prominent nose was considered a symbol of power and authority and nose augmentation, rather than reduction, was the preferred surgery to obtain beauty. Before guns were used in battle, the mighty sword cut off many a nose (and other body parts) so some of the earliest plastic surgery procedures were used to reconstruct body parts -- such as noses and limbs -- lost in battles or duels.
Plastic surgery, as we know it today, has its roots in World Wars I and II, when battlefield surgeons developed techniques to reconstruct wounded soldiers' injured limbs. This was done for beauty - the beauty of looking normal. To a reconstruction patient, beauty simply means restoring normal shape and function. Plastic surgeons in the first half of the 20th century also refined procedures to restore faces and bodies disfigured by accidents, diseases, and birth and developmental abnormalities.
Some plastic surgeons began to use these same methods for those unhappy with their appearance for other reasons. In the beginning, these surgeons who performed "beauty surgery" were seen as suspect and even disreputable. Even today, some people associate cosmetic surgery's current popularity with socioeconomic factors, such as the growth of disposable income and the desire to remain viable in a job market growing younger by holding on to one's beauty for longer than nature intended. Others believe it is our inherent right to hold on to our beauty for as long as we can. Whatever the reason, plastic surgery is on our minds today more than ever. Beauty and plastic surgery are mixed in a way never imaginable. Beauty will continue to define what plastic surgery procedures remain popular. For some, plastic surgery can be a way for some people to attain beauty. For others, plastic surgery can be a way to maintain their beauty. In a way, beauty and plastic surgery are linked forever. However, the manner and direction in which they are linked is up to each individual person
Remember: Beauty is ALWAYS in the Eye of the Beholder