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Posted By: Rhonda C Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 03/04/08 02:17 AM
A report released by The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery indicates cosmetic procedures such as Botox and Liposuction are on the rise. This story talks about the report and says $13.2 billion was spent on cosmetic procedures in 2007. This is a lot of money!
Posted By: M o e Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 03/04/08 06:13 AM
I'm not surprised. I'm forever hearing about some teenager getting implants or some celebrity getting botox or bigger lips or cellulite removed. So many people are on this quest for perfection that is totally impossible for the average person. There's nothing wrong with taking care of one's self but this seems to be going overboard. Yet it is widely acceptable. And it's a minority of people who are making big bucks.
Posted By: Rhonda C Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 03/04/08 02:56 PM
Great points, Moe. You wonder what kind of message we are sending to teenage girls. It's hard enough being a teenager these days but the pressure to be perfect (or at least society's perception of perfection) is unbearable.
Posted By: M o e Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 03/04/08 09:12 PM
I just reviewed a book by a woman I met a few years ago who started the Beautiful Women Project. Her daughter shocked her with news that her 13 year old friend was saving up for a boob job -

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Posted By: -Diana- Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 03/15/08 08:23 PM
Personally, I don't feel sad about the availability of cosmetic procedures. I'm glad to know that people have choices like that today. There are a lot of people who suffer with features that are terribly unattractive and in the past, there was little that could be done. It seems that those people who don't have such flaws are always the first to criticize those who would like to have their flaws fixed and label these people as "shallow." I agree that there are some people who exaggerate the severity of their flaws and undergo these procedures without serious thought. But I have never personally known someone like this. Far more common to me are people who comdemn any sort of vanity and who would refuse even to have a gigantic mole removed! I'm not sure who these people are that are spending billions on these beauty procedures but they are not anyone I know!
Posted By: Mindy Baby Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 03/15/08 09:24 PM
Frankly, visiting and reviewing spas has given me a chance to discuss cosmetic surgery with a vast array of aestheticians. The consensus? Go for it! Improving self-confidence is important and for many, "improving" their appearances helps them feel more self-assured. So why not go to a qualified surgeon for a procedure to enhance your appearance? I agree, just do your "homework" first.
Posted By: Lady J Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 03/15/08 09:46 PM
some places consider things like glycolic peels and dermabrasion as a cosmetic proceedure. When I think about it I think about plastic surgery, nOT A PEEL OR dermabrasion.

I wouldn't mind getting a couple things fixed, but first I need to loose more weight ;0)
Posted By: -Diana- Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 03/15/08 09:58 PM
Sometimes I think it is strange that no one ever seems to criticize kids for getting braces but plenty of people criticize a woman for getting a wrinkle fixed.
Posted By: Lady J Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 03/15/08 10:19 PM
Amen to that Diana
Posted By: Lady J Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 03/15/08 10:20 PM
Or better yet, no one get criticised for fixing a cleft pallete, pinning large ears, or getting moles removed.. but heaven forbid a simple eyebrow lift, some restaline, or other small minimal proceedure.
Posted By: CindyCindy Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 03/31/08 10:16 PM
I think the cosmetic procedures are going to keep increasing into the future. They will become more cheaper and more accessible and more accepted. Its a differnt topic whether people need them, when is it ok to get it done and so on. But it is true that the more insecure people get the better it is for the cosmetic procedures market.
Posted By: -Diana- Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 04/04/08 03:40 PM
I think your prediction about cosmetic procedure is probably right, Cindy. Perhaps one day, it will even be like it is today with computers and TVs -- some of the poorest people have them when they sometimes can't even put food on the table!
Posted By: rebekah05 Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 04/09/08 02:15 PM
I would like to see more women be more confident as they are in their own skin. I think we have the media to thank for much of this.
Posted By: Porttia Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 04/11/08 04:52 AM
Hi everybody !

I am new to your site and I am finding it interesting ! I hope I am doing this correctly because I'd like to share what I personally have seen.

First of all, I want to tell Jase...hey guy, you do not need to fix anything with plastic surgery or botox ! You're a very handsome young man ! But I agree, many of us here in the U.S. , including myself could lose a few extra pounds. I have a son who is so cute...just like YOU! I have always told my children that we are all made in our Creator's likeness (whomever you believe your Creator may be..no offense to anyone)...and they don't make JUNK. People have different facial and body characteristics because that is what is supposed to be...so be proud that you are different. Be proud that one of your eyebrows lift up higher than the other. THAT is what makes you YOU ! You are special. Why would you want to look like everyone else. With the same type of eyebrow? The same type of mouth? The same size nose? Different is so much better. And when you have children and you pass on your family trait (your turned up eyebrow) are you going to still love that child? Or will you make that child so insecure about themselves that they will want it FIXED like you did. Or will you do the right thing and promote security within him and tell him how unique he is and that it's what is inside that matters most of all. The wrapping is disposable in the END or should I say the Beginning...again whatever it is that makes YOU you !?

I feel so much pity for these women and how they look when they get these botox injections. Do you really think they are making themselves look prettier or more beautiful ? Some people take it to the extent where they can't even go from one expression to another. They have one look....one expression...UGLY. Their lips are way too big and puffy and their foreheads don't crinkle and they no longer have those beautiful sweet dimples. And all these wrinkles that were part of who they were...poof they are gone...and they change. They are no longer Jilli's Meme with those soft wrinkles that Jilli so likes to touch when she sits on her Gramma's lap. Gramma changes and doesn't like to be called Gramma anymore...Gramma looks younger than Grandpa, hey wait, Gramma looks younger than her sister, But wait...now Gramma looks younger than Mamma, and now Gramma is gone and left Grandpa because in her mind Grandpa is too old for her now.

My husband and I have seen this 3 times now in the span of our marriage. It is a sad sight for the rest of the family left behind.

I remember my Mimi, my father's mother. I used to make the skin on her hand (her wrinkles)stand straight up and would make my little village. Her skin was baby soft and as white as a marshmallow, she was 4f' 6" and that big around too ! When I sat on OR tried to sit on her four inch lap and just snuggled into all that soft, warm loose skin...I knew I was loved and I was safe. She felt and smelled so soft and sweet just like a marshmallow too. I miss her so much. What I wouldn't give to play in those wrinkles AGAIN !

But I DO think BOTOX and PLASTIC SURGERY are both miraculous if someone does REALLY need it MEDICALLY. Some people need their nose done in order to breathe, obviously if their facial features are making it hard for them to perform or go out into the world they need help surgery wise...Also these men and women who lose 100-200+ pounds and have all this loose flesh yes, it's a beauty fix but I do feel that they should be entitled to plastic surgery if they want it and I also feel that insurance should pay for it. I may be wrong here but I feel that they did do this difficult thing and saved a lot of money for the insurance companies by becoming healthier so why not offer this surgery to them.

But when Botox and Plastic surgery is used just for a "beauty fix"...or to fix an insecurity issue people need to find something else to make them feel good about themselves. Do something for SOMEONE ELSE. Go to a hospital and VOLUNTEER. Buy flowers for a complete stranger. Just walk up to someone let's say in a wheelchair...maybe an elderly person and give them one rose...pass out 12 roses to 12 people. Give a rose to a caregiver. There are much better ways to "increase self esteem and to feel 20 years younger and to lose weight" with all the money you'd spend on that "make me Vainer" surgery. There's some child in your neighborhood tonight or the next neighborhood over that has a child that went to bed hungry tonight. Keep your eyes open and deliver that family &10-&20 worth of groceries when they aren't home OR tell them an angel told you to give this to them. Go to a hospital and read to someone or just visit even when they say they don't want you sometimes they really need someone to just listen or to sit with them and say nothing at all. That's what I tell my children to do and I tell them that they are beautiful. And when they do things like this and other people don't see it they feel like beautiful angels inside and when other people do see them they often tell me that I have beautiful children. My children have self-esteem and feel good about themselves. But being beautiful sometimes I think it is something learned...not a state of being for someone else to be "wowed over" or "stunned into silenced over" or "what is the word I am looking for?"....Anyway, Yes, I think BEAUTIFUL is something that has to be learned at HOME. I was taught at home that I was "fat, ugly, useless and that I would never amount to anything and that I was just like my father, and endured horrible beatings and other abuse that I thought would never end".

I thank God everyday that I am just like my Dad...he got out...eventually I did too...and because I was smart enough to put myself in therapy eventually when I left my mother's house...I learned how to love myself before I brought children into this world. I learned that giving, kindness, and love towards others is what beautiful really was...it's what you feel inside. What you feel inside is what radiates to the OUTSIDE and all people have to do is to look at you and see all the radiance and beauty that is spilling out of you...THAT is when YOU KNOW YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL You are Beautiful. I also learned that at 110 pounds I was NOT FAT and with 96.9 class average my 4 last years of high school I wasn't stupid. And my Dad was very handsome, 6'4", blonde and blue eyed, muscular, brilliant and I guess I wasn't ugly on the outside either but I didn't know that! LOL But see what a learned response can do ? Let's teach all our kids that they are beautiful inside and out for their UNIQENESS and let's stop the INSANITY of NEEDLESS BOTOX and PLASTIC SURGERY.

Peace,
Porttia
Posted By: Porttia Re: Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise - 04/11/08 04:56 AM
YOU are so right Rebeckah! You could be my sisters twin sister if that is your real pic you are using. That is unreal !
Have a great evening.
Porttia
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