Hollywood is known for a lot of things, such as being the movie capital of the world. One aspect of Hollywood that gets a lot of media attention is this seemingly endless obsession with plastic surgery, the facelift in particular. It is almost to the point where the Hollywood lifestyle is synonymous with cosmetic surgery.
It is no surprise that, in an industry that promotes youth and beauty, the very people that work in that industry would embrace procedures that help them stay young-looking. However, it has gone beyond just trying to maintain a youthful appearance and almost into the twilight zone for many outrageous celebrities.
Knowing when to stop
You can point to any number of celebrities who have had special procedures performed, and they look natural and remarkably well. But others won’t stop having procedures.
Joan Rivers comes to mind. This woman is in her late 70s, and it seems as though she is trying to maintain the look of a 30-year-old. While she does not look like she’s in her 70’s, she doesn’t look exactly normal. She has a perennially frozen face.
Then there is Cher, who has had cheek implants, facelifts, and rhinoplasty, and while she does look pretty good, it is beginning to look a bit bizarre.
If you have issues with your face, especially if it looks older than your years, there is nothing wrong with contacting a facelift surgeon to turn back the clock. If you have the means and the willingness, and you’re in reasonably good health, with an excellent emotional outlook, then, by all means, you should have the surgery.
But it is when you don’t know when to stop those problems arise. One has to wonder, when some of these people look at themselves in the mirror, what it is that they are seeing? If they saw themselves as the rest of us, understand them, they would stop modifying their appearance. When certain celebrities have gone way beyond the norm, like Mickey Rourke, most people agree that the results are strange.
Effects on an average patient
A side effect of this bizarre celebrity obsession phenomenon is the average person who engages a plastic surgeon’s services to look like one of their favorite celebrities. It’s no secret that we idolize movie stars. There’s nothing wrong with being a fan. That is healthy and normal. But trying to look like them, and going so far as to have plastic surgeries to that end, shifts over to a gray area that may not be considered emotionally healthy.
It is amusing to follow the cosmetic surgery antics of celebrities. It’s fun to read about them. However, the sad truth is that this behavior will catch up with these people at some point, and the results might be unnatural. It is a commentary on our society that certain groups of people feel compelled to go so far with procedures that, in moderation, yield remarkably beautiful results. That overuse can create bizarre and unpleasant-looking visages.
Additional Reading:
PLASTIC SURGERY & THE MEDIA
We sat down with Dr. Hsu and discussed with him the influence of the media over people’s cosmetic surgery decisions.
