It’s no secret that plastic surgery rates are on the rise in the UK – a trend that’s been blamed on social media, selfies and porn (we’re making the last one up, but isn’t porn getting the rap for everything these days?). Last year saw a 17 per cent increase in plastic surgery procedures in the UK, year on year. And new studies from the BAAPS (British Associaton of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons) say that an increasing number of young people are flooding through their doors looking for surgery.
It's something that's worrying BAAPS president elect Michael Cadier. ‘They're still immature, vulnerable and it's too big an operation with too many potential life-long implications,’ he told BBC Radio One's Newsbeat. ‘There are potentially other avenues they should be exploring.’
Research released by BAAPS at the end of last year revealed that boob jobs remained the most popular surgery, while the number of liposuction procedures taking place saw the biggest relative increase ('non-invasive' procedures, such as Botox, weren't included in the data). But there's also been a massive surge in demandfor labiaplasties in the UK. Okay, maybe we can blame that one on porn. And it's young people opting for this. Former Apprentice winner-turned-Botox clinic founder Leah Totton has recently said on Radio 4 that her clinic has Botox enquiries from girls as young as 14, which she turns away.
But seriously, where has this pursuit of perfection at all costs – to the point where our labias aren't good enough – come from?
The thing is, I understand it to an extent. Two years ago, when I was 24, I underwent a rhinoplasty procedure, and to be honest, I've never regretted it. I was a few months out of university and had managed to land a job in journalism that paid me a decent enough wage to save for the £5,000 procedure.
I’d hated my nose ever since the age of 12, when my classmate Elliot pointed to a picture of a parrot and said, ‘That bird has an ever larger beak than you!’ Charmer. But when I cried to my mum about my insecurities, she insisted I’d grow out of them and learn to finally embrace myself, flaws and all. And while I did make peace with my midget height, temperamental skin and wide hips, my nose continued to be a source of misery for me throughout my teen years and well into my twenties.
Talking to my surgeon ahead of the procedure, he ensured I had realistic expectations of the end result. I wasn’t expecting a perfect button nose or for my face to miraculously transform into Kate Upton’s. It would be less of a makeover and more of a subtle tweak. And that was fine by me.
Going under the knife was terrifying and recovering at home for a week with two black eyes with my face wrapped in bandages was less than fun. But when I looked in the mirror for the first time and didn’t hate the nose that stared back at me, it was worth it all. My nose isn’t perfect, but perfection wasn’t what I was striving for. I just didn’t want it to be a constant source of insecurity and misery.
But I was 24, not 18, and there’s a world of difference. And, age aside, I’m aware that I got lucky, in that my expectations matched reality – I didn’t expect it to change my life, I just wanted my nose to be a different shape. Not everyone enters into having plastic surgery with that perspective. When my friend Emily (now 25) turned 18 (the earliest you can legally get cosmetic plastic surgery without parental consent), the first thing she did was use the savings she’d been given from her grandparents to pay for a nose job. ‘I hated my nose and the way it made me feel,' she told me. 'Every picture taken of me from the age of 14, I was covering my face with my hand. I couldn’t stand how I looked and I was convinced that one I had my nose done, I’d finally feel beautiful.’
But Emily was expecting the procedure to change her whole life, not just her nose, and when that didn’t happen, she felt just as miserable as she had before. ‘The moment I saw my new nose, I was thrilled. I loved the change. But the feeling was short lived,' she said. ‘Soon, I began dwelling on my weight, the size of my thighs, how far my ears stuck out and whether my teeth were straight enough. No sooner had I changed my nose, my insecurities transferred to other areas. I was devastated to have spent that much money and put my body through such a drastic procedure to still feel insecure.’
The problem is that even at 18, you don’t know yourself or your body well enough to decide what you want to permanently change (via invasive, major surgery, no less). At 14, I was despairing over my 30AA boobs and frantically stuffing my Tammy Girl bra with kitchen roll. Little did I know that just four years later, I’d see my boobs go up three cup sizes.
A spokesperson for the BAAPS agrees that plastic surgery isn't a decision to be taken lightly, saying: 'Young people considering cosmetic surgery should think it through carefully. Although they may be concerned about how others see them, they must remember that it is their body, not anyone else's that will undergo an operation. They may see advantages in surgically obtaining the benefits they want, but will also have to face the risks of surgery, and carry the scars for life. They also may need to have further surgery in the future – something that young people often don't realise.
'Younger patients often feel that surgery will solve all of their problems but should remember that while surgery can make changes to the body, there are limitations as to what can be achieved, and these vary from individual to individual. Surgery alone will not make someone happier or more attractive. It can give patients bigger or smaller breasts, flatter tummies – but that’s all it can do.'
Seven years on, does Emily regret her surgery? ‘At 25, I wish I'd waited to make such a huge decision. I'm not saying I wouldn't have still undergone the procedure, but I think I would have had a more realistic expectation for the end result. I think what young people might not realise about plastic surgery is it doesn't fix all your problems. If you have low self-esteem, you'll just find something else to despise about yourself.’
So maybe we're asking the wrong questions. The rise in plastic surgery among teenagers is a symptom, rather than the problem itself. The real question is, why are a significant proportion of our teenagers so self-concious about their faces and bodies they're willing to go under the knife to look exactly the same as everyone else?
Follow Katherine on Twitter @KatRomeroMay
Picture: Rory DCS
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.