Cosmetic Surgery and Self-Care: How to Get Comfortable Spending on Your Appearance

The idea of self-care has been around since the 1970s, but it’s only recently that it’s become such a hot buzzword. At its core, it’s the concept of making room for your needs among your many priorities. It’s not about selfishness or vanity. It’s about taking care of yourself so you can be your best in all aspects of your life.

Self-care is making time for valuable relationships. It’s eating well, sleeping well, and getting healthy exercise. It’s mastering stress, rather than letting stress get the better of you. It can also be looking your best so you feel your best – not to impress someone else, but for your self-confidence.

Beauty and Self-Care

We might wish gender roles in our society were different. But the reality is that beauty ideals for men and women are deeply embedded in our psyches. It’s basic human nature to care about our appearance. We want to make a good impression on others – for people to notice, respect, and love us. 

The world has certainly changed to the point where more and more women are succeeding at work based on their skills, intelligence, creativity, and interpersonal savvy. But looks still matter. A woman has to care about her appearance as part of her personal and professional image — her brand. That’s true for men, too, though ingrained biases continue to hold women to a different standard. 

It’s also true that after a life of being judged by our appearance, we can internalize feelings of self-worth based on our looks. We may try to deny it, but we feel better about ourselves, more confident and self-assured when we feel good about our appearance. That can affect the way we think and behave.

According to a 2019 survey conducted on behalf of Real Self by The Harris Poll, more than a third of American adults are considering cosmetic treatments, and the most common reasons are “to improve self-esteem/confidence” and “to look as good as I feel.”

Investing in Your Self-Worth

Women have become accustomed to spending money on their clothes, their makeup, and their hair to look and feel their best. A survey by SkinStore, described in Allure magazine, found the average American woman spends about $300,000 over her lifetime on cosmetics alone.

While most self-care advocates don’t suggest excessive spending to attend to your needs – it can have the opposite effect when you get the credit card bill – they do recommend personal reflection on what matters most to you. If the steps you take to improve your appearance boost your feelings of self-worth, that can be money well spent.

How Cosmetic Surgery Has Become a Better Value

Plastic surgery techniques and technologies continue to advance by leaps and bounds every year. With each innovation, the options become faster, more effective, less expensive, and safer. With each innovation, the options become faster, more effective, less expensive, and safer. A continuum has also emerged, ranging from the surgical standbys of tummy tucks, facelifts, and breast surgery — all greatly improved in recent years — to less invasive treatments like CoolSculpting and dermal fillers that rejuvenate the skin and recontour the body with little or no downtime.

Where plastic surgery was once a luxury for the rich and famous, it has now become a commonplace and widely accepted way to improve our appearance. And the results, in the hands of a skilled plastic surgeon, are so subtle and natural that others often notice them with “Wow, you look great!” comments, rather than questions about surgery.

Do It for Yourself

If you’re spending money on cosmetics to hide facial imperfections or shopping for clothes that conceal unwanted bulges or the lack of curves, it might be time to consider cosmetic surgery. 

But do it for yourself. Ask yourself the question: “Why am I thinking about this?” If it’s for you, to make you feel good about yourself, that can be a sound self-care reason. If it’s to impress someone else or make them happy, you’re probably not going to feel satisfied with your results.

Dr. David Kim and Dr. Eugene Kim at Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery have developed an impeccable reputation for their stunning, natural-looking results. Contact them today at (310) 746-5475 or send an online request to schedule a consultation.