College Student Plastic Surgery on the Rise

In years past, most plastic surgery patients were wealthy older women on a quest to look and feel younger, but now high school and college students are frequenting the offices of plastic surgeons to get procedures to make their bodies perfectly proportional or more “beautiful.”
Most students are inquiring about consultations not to achieve a desired unattainable essence of perfection, but simply to tweak a “physical flaw” that bothers them. A minor rhinoplasty (nose job) is one of the most popular procedures done for students between the ages of 16-24, many asking for the surgery as a graduation gift.
And more commonly than the minor tweaks, are the procedures to feel comfortable physically, as opposed to mentally within their own skin. Young women are under going breast reduction surgeries to rid themselves of the pain their large breasts inflict on their backs, as per a recommendation from their chiropractor.
“My breast reduction was the best decision I ever made, it gave me the confidence to feel beautiful, especially in a bathing suit, along with the ability to exercise comfortably,” said “Amber,” a junior at the University of Central Florida.
I myself, at 23, receive regular injections of the products Botox® (a botulism toxin to minimize and erase fine lines and wrinkles that can also be used to relax certain facial muscles), and Juvederm XC (a dermal filler used to smooth nasal fold lines and off label augment my lips). I also am an avid fan of chemical peels, a facial rejuvenation procedure that I under go to achieve a smooth, even facial skin texture.
“Botox® and dermal fillers are preventative and young adults using the products should find that they do not develop fine lines, wrinkles and volume loss at the rate their non-injected peers are and their results will last longer and become more effective,” said certified injector, Alix O’Brien PA-C, who received a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston College, and a second Bachelor of Science in Physician Assistant studies from Wagner College.
Other popular procedures among college students include breast augmentation, otoplasty (ear surgery), and liposuction.