Cosmetic Surgery in Your Middle Aged Years
All those who have hit the big 30 may start to feel anxious about losing their beauty. Don’t fret, you’re not alone! Aging is the natural and normal process that everyone goes through. But sometimes, complicated feelings may arise as we watch our bodies change with age. Suddenly, wrinkles are appearing where once it was firm, taut and smooth skin. Overtime, the skin loosens and just as teenagers may grow into panicky frenzy over changes in their growing bodies, so do middle-agers. It may be an uncomfortable process, and not everyone is ready to let nature take its course just yet. So growing into your 30’s or 40’s, many want to look their best in both their love lives and careers. However, in this day and age, hitting the big age of thirty is the new twenty where there is the option to reinvent yourself at midlife; some adults do age well, while others who do not, are taking action to preserve their youthful appearances through surgical means.
DOES COSMETIC SURGERY SEND A NEGATIVE MESSAGE ABOUT AGING?
But if aging is a natural process, shouldn’t it be left alone to run its course? Many common complaints and disapproval voiced against cosmetic surgery may run along these lines: Getting cosmetic surgery may seem to be an act of defiance against nature and is just a foolish pursuit. But does it really send a negative message about aging? Does it really make people preoccupied with the inevitable, is it a waste of time and an obsession?
There have been stories about botched plastic surgery jobs, but in many of those cases, the services were inexpensive, unethical and shady. Wearing your laugh lines, crow’s feet and wrinkles proudly is one way to go about it, but the problem is that not everyone ages gracefully. However, look at any sweet old grandmother and this puts things into perspective. Even with a head of grey hair and being 60 pounds overweight, she is still typically seen as sweet and lovable. Aging is fine, people are beautiful inside even when they are wrinkly. Anti-aging surgery serves as a way for those who are not ready to let go and grow into that image just yet. Some may so choose to spend their money on appearing as youthful as possible, but it won’t stop the aging process. To be energetic and truly holding a youthful spirit, a balanced diet and exercise routine is essential for both a young appearance and vitality.
COSMETIC SURGERY AND SELF-ESTEEM
So it must be said then, what cosmetic surgery can do is certain. It can alleviate a horrendous condition of chipped, yellow teeth and humongous eye pouches that may get in the way of functioning at an optimal level. What it cannot do is to replace a balanced and healthy way of life that would bring about a healthy self-esteem. While it may reverse the appearance of the aging process, it cannot stop the aging process itself.
Just as anything taken to extremes such as substance abuse, can be harmful for the user, using cosmetic surgery in excess is not a healthy way to live. Before going under the knife, an initial discussion with the surgeon usually tells you whether what you want out of surgery is doable or not; but the surgeon will probably not go into whether it will make your overall day to day life any better. Still, having realistic psychological expectations before surgery is a must for the sake of safety and to avoid great disappointment. The first step to setting realistic expectations is to understand the advantages and disadvantages of anti-aging surgeries. The second step is to figure out your own motivations for wanting anti-aging surgery, and whether this is something that can be satisfied through surgery alone. But for now, we shall look into what is trendy when it comes to anti-aging procedures. Nothing backs it up more than the statistics.
TRENDIEST COSMETIC SURGERY PROCEDURES FOR THE MIDDLE-AGED
Wonder what’s in style? According to the latest statistics on cosmetic surgery in South Korea, one of the most popular type of procedure is anti-aging surgery. As its name suggests, it reverses the appearance of aging and a popular request is the non-surgical face lift.
NON-SURGICAL FACE LIFT
To combat the effects of damage from the sun, unhealthy smoking habits and menopause, non-surgical face lifts is a less invasive solution. Mainly because it saves on time and is perceived as a less painful process than full-on surgery. Procedures that fall under this category include botox, chemical peels, dermal fillers and laser skin treatment. Not just for women, but botox is becoming very popular among men too. How these three processes are done have been explained in some of our previous blog entries, for more in-depth information for each individual treatment process, you may wish to look them under our anti-aging surgery section as well as the TouchUp community page; this is where a community of like-minded folks gather and discuss issues related to Korean plastic surgery, sharing everything from insights to personal stories. Now, onto the advantages and disadvantages of anti-aging treatments.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF NON-INVASIVE ANTI-AGING TREATMENTS
Before deciding on getting any of these anti-aging treatments, it is of paramount importance to consider these three simple questions:
- How much do I want to be spending here?
- Do I want instantaneous results?
- How often am I willing to return for these procedures?
To expound on the first point, the average cost of a face lift is between $7000-12,000. As for a non-surgical face lift, this very much depends on the number of treatments involved as it all adds up. So that is a question of importance to ask yourself. How many treatments are you willing to commit to? While having to return for multiple treatments may be a downside to this option, there are upsides as well. Perhaps, one of the definite, main advantages here is that the results show up much quicker. It takes far less time for results to show than say, another anti-aging procedure that removes saggy eye bags such as blepharoplasty.
A FINAL WORD ON ANTI-AGING TREATMENTS
As with most cosmetic surgery procedures, there are risks and complications attached to even with the non-invasive anti-aging treatments. To reduce any unwanted complications, always seek out a licensed, trained, ethical and reputable surgeon. Seoul TouchUp also advises that interested parties stick with offers for cosmetic surgery services that fall under the average price range, as indicated on our Korean plastic surgery costs page. This is because there are many clinics all about Seoul, and not just Seoul, but in Daegu and other parts of South Korea too, where not every one of them offers a licensed practice nor the value for your money. To avoid any mishaps, it is advisable to visit licensed surgeons from ethical clinics who offer honest services.
Finally, while anti-aging treatments can reduce the appearance of sagging or wrinkling skin, it cannot reverse the aging process. Such claims that it will do so is unethical. What cosmetic surgery can do here is to smartly conceal through manipulating the skin, but it does not remove the aging process. A permanent solution to look well and feel young, is this: firstly, set realistic expectations, treat yourself with love and respect for being who you are right now, not who you should be or want to be. Because a real and total acceptance for being who you are and where you are right now, is what is needed before doing any kind of anti-aging surgery. Then, a regular and proper diet, exercise and sleeping routine is the next important thing. With this knowledge on what anti-aging surgery can and cannot do, you have completed the first major step. To be even better prepared, feel free to visit our English-based Korean plastic surgery forum where a growing community offers insights, their own stories and where also the experts related to the cosmetic surgery industry may answer your questions. Don’t worry, because a wealth of information awaits you.