# Are Cosmetic Procedures Really About Looking Younger? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 18, 2024, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405 "2024-07-18T03:52:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/21 "2024-07-18T14:21:49Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Yes, it’s not clear to me that the two pictures are comparing “before cosmetic treatments” to “after cosmetic treatments” rather than “younger (with cosmetic treatments)” vs. “older (with cosmetic treatments)”. I obviously can’t say for certain, either. But what is clear to me is that, five or so years ago, she still looked like herself; now, she no longer does. And that’s the part that makes me sad, for the person who’s had the work done, and who now has an unrecognizable face. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/22 "2024-07-18T14:38:15Z")
I’ve had 7 plastic/reconstruction surgeries to my face. Each one was to fix things a car wreck caused. Before the surgeries I was always asked what outcome did I expect. And was then given their opinion of my overblown expectations. I thought each time this surgery would be the miracle one. All the problems would be gone. No more issues. Never happened. I still have problems. I was never vain. I looked ok. I didn’t scare small children. After the carwreck, I did. All I wanted was to be where I was. My surgeon finally said, “you will never look like you used to. Get that in you head” I think he did a great job over all. I’m still not happy with my face. I see the flaws and scars. The thing that gets me is how do people do it, electively? For mere beauty. An off beauty, that is supposed to recreate youthful appearance. Because, believe me, these surgeries hurt. They’re not cheap. You’re uglier by far for at least 6mos after. You’ll swell at times for the rest of your life. You’ll have to learn to smile again to not look weird and upset cheeks implants. Your eyes won’t blink right. Your breathing thru your nose may forever be compromised. You’ll look in the mirror and not see yourself. It’s not fun. What happened to aging gracefully? I would give almost anything to be able to do that. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/23 "2024-07-18T14:54:40Z")
Susan Lucci looks pretty good. I have always admired Barbara Bush for not doing that, she wasn’t ashamed to age. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/24 "2024-07-18T15:12:51Z")
There’s an incredible amount of self delusion involved, amplified by friends and relatives too polite to tell them the truth that not only do they not look any younger, but they don’t even look like themselves anymore; they look like a bad imposter of themselves. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/25 "2024-07-18T19:43:36Z")
@Beckdawrek I’m sorry you’ve had to go through all that. The motivations of someone who starts down that road for entirely elective cosmetic purposes are very different from your motivations. That makes a big difference in how they see themselves in the mirror. As well, for a vain but uninjured person, the first faint wrinkles of 40 are a disaster, a _disaster_ I tell you. If they can put those at pay for a few years, all is well. Lather rinse repeat until they look like a monster. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/26 "2024-07-18T20:48:07Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > You’re uglier by far for at least 6mos after. This isn’t true for most elective cosmetic surgery. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/27 "2024-07-18T20:57:54Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Anyhow in her early 50s she invested in some fairly discreet cosmetic surgery and turned back the clock on her face and body a bunch, while still looking complete and consistent. Fast forward 10 years and the same work is starting to look distinctly unnatural. The mask doesn’t fit so well anymore. Another 5-10 years it won’t look natural at all. So while it will be youth-_like_ in some aspects, the total effect won’t be youth_ful_. One of the plastic surgeons my sister knew (she worked in a hospital) said that a nosejob will gradually be more and more recognizable as you age. Well, unless you get one of those Porky Pig turned up noses that are recognizable immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/28 "2024-07-18T21:07:24Z")
there is this effect that I truely dislike: - sunk in eyes - raised brows - tensioned/stretched forhead - motionless upper face … are giveaways as soon as a person appears on the horizon - one can tell …a good example of this are : [![](https://prospect.org/downloads/15131/download/Sammon-Pelosi%20102620.jpg?cb=91b780c109dcf0252cac619fd2244928) ](https://prospect.org/downloads/15131/download/Sammon-Pelosi%20102620.jpg?cb=91b780c109dcf0252cac619fd2244928) [![](https://imgl.krone.at/scaled/3402014/vc7d118/full.jpg) ](https://imgl.krone.at/scaled/3402014/vc7d118/full.jpg) in a way this is becoming a “generic look” (and not in a good way) … just like the “california girl look” became somewhat of a generic standard. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/29 "2024-07-18T21:32:10Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > So it it really about looking youthful or is it just conspicuous consumption to tell the rest of the world you can afford to rennovate your face? I think sometimes it goes beyond wanting to look younger, and instead it’s about looking different. Michael Jackson is the one that comes to mind. He looks so radically different before and after, and it certainly didn’t make him look younger. I always had the impression that he just wanted to look different. [![](https://www.veraclinic.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/image-12.png) ](https://www.veraclinic.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/image-12.png) (By the way, I don’t count the skin color change because he reportedly suffered from vitiligo, and he was dealing with light patches of skin as best he could.) But the changes he made weren’t to make him younger. Even in the early 80s, when he started to peak, his most iconic look was after he had a nose job. A more petit nose didn’t make him look younger. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/30 "2024-07-18T22:18:14Z")
There’s an old joke “She’s had so many plastic surgeries that she smiles when she sits down”. Some folks DO look like they’ve had that much done. I watched a few episodes of a show on Discovery or similar, featuring some Beverly Hills plastic surgeons. A lot of their work was fixing other doctors’ botched work; occasionally they’d show someone seeking surgery, for whom it was clearly some kind of weird obsession. One young man had things tweaked and implanted practically everywhere; IIRC they refused to do the work. Some of seems, from that, to be the result of some kind of body dysmorphic disorder, or other unhealthy obsession. Me, I’d go for something that made me look more like the person I ought to look like, barring whatever “misfortune” (e.g. a tummy tuck to get rid of the effects of 2 pregnancies and major weight loss; dermabrasion to repair damage from decades of acne, and the like). ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/31 "2024-07-18T22:23:54Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > But then I got to thinking, a lot of people who undergo cosmetic procedures look a little ridiculous. Could be confirmation bias. You don’t notice the people who don’t look a little ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/32 "2024-07-18T22:26:17Z")
I disagree. You will not see, in your mirror a perfect face. It will get better. But you can’t see yourself as others do. They might not notice but YOU will. 6 mos was a generous time frame. My nose has never looked right. People tell me it’s ok, but I KNOW it’s not. And it will swell on the left side nearly squishing my eye at the oddest times. I know nothing about Botox, I can cop to that. What I’ve seen it do to faces is not something I’d wish on anyone, though. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/33 "2024-07-18T22:44:24Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > What prompted this thread was the appearance of Matt Gaetz at the RNC rocking that botox look. He looks like a plastic toy of Butthead licensed from MTV back in the 1990s. OMG - he actually _does!_ > [@Atamasama](#): > > Michael Jackson is the one that comes to mind. He looks so radically different before and after, and it certainly didn’t make him look younger. I always had the impression that he just wanted to look different. > [@Atamasama](#): > > (By the way, I don’t count the skin color change because he reportedly suffered from vitiligo, and he was dealing with light patches of skin as best he could.) In many ways the change of skin color was the _least_ of the changes. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/34 "2024-07-18T23:14:41Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > 6 mos was a generous time frame. My nose has never looked right. People tell me it’s ok, but I KNOW it’s not. And it will swell on the left side nearly squishing my eye at the oddest times. Facial reconstruction surgery after getting your face smashed in is very different than a regular cosmetic nose job. Having seen 3 cosmetic nose jobs in my immediate family, I can tell you you’re incorrect about this. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/35 "2024-07-18T23:26:13Z")
I’ve heard the saying “When contemplating plastic surgery your two choices are clear. Do you want to look old or do you want to look old and weird.” ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/36 "2024-07-19T00:14:49Z")
Ok. Fair enough. My reconstruction was done and healed before I started with the surgeries to cosmetically improve the looks. So I’ve been on both sides. My Sister, who’s face I’ve known all my life, had a couple of purely cosmetic procedures. (No Botox). Does not look better. Different. And she had a very difficult healing period every time. Individuals vary. We can agree on this, I hope. ---
**Author:** ![Boudicca90](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boudicca90/32/16818_2.png) [@Boudicca90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boudicca90)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/37 "2024-07-19T00:28:07Z")
There are plenty of other reasons to have plastic surgery other than just to look younger. Plenty of us trans people get surgeries because we aren’t comfortable in our bodies as they originally were and/or don’t think we can pass as well. I’ve had breast augmentation for that reason. I gave HRT a few years to see if I would be happy with what I developed naturally and I wasn’t, so I got implants and I’m much happier with my body. I’m also considering facial feminization surgery, but it’s somewhat less necessary and way more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/38 "2024-07-19T00:38:12Z")
We can certainly agree that reconstructive surgery after an accident is a whole different story and isn’t a vanity thing. I am sincerely sorry that you went through all of that. Growing up around a lot of wealthy and vain people in the Jewish community in Los Angeles, I saw a lot of before and after nose jobs (all of them coincidentally medically needed for a deviated septum 🤨) and they all took a week or so to heal up. Most of the time, the difference wasn’t very dramatic. Like the nose didn’t have a small bump anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/39 "2024-07-19T00:48:17Z")
Gender-affirming surgery, like post-accident reconstruction surgery, isn’t really cosmetic surgery, undertaken just to look better or younger. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405/40 "2024-07-19T00:51:02Z")
Yeah, @hajario . The summer between sophomore and junior year in high school was nose job summer. One girl had a very large nose for her rather small face, and she had a decent (but I thought too small) nose after. The sad thing was how her personality changed. She was funny and wise-cracking before. Outgoing. After she became excessively girly, flirty, and not very interesting any more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cosmetic-procedures-really-about-looking-younger/1004405.md?page=3)