In 2017, over 900,000 breast augmentation procedures were performed on women between the ages of 19 and 34. There were also over 500,000 rhinoplasties performed and over 1 million Botox injections. Cosmetic surgery has always been prominent in society with the primary demographic typically being middle-aged women who would be hoping to cease the look of aging. There has been a major increase in young women receiving cosmetic surgery in the past couple of years due to various reasons such as social media, self-esteem issues and accessibility. The reasons behind wanting to receive cosmetic surgery are constantly evolving. This is due to the fact that the first cosmetic procedure was over 2000 years ago and society has recently undergone major technological advancements that introduces reasons that were once not an issue.

Cosmetic surgery, specifically reconstructive surgery, dates all the way back to 400 B.C.E. This was a time where the most common procedures were skin grafts and nose mends or in the Romans case, reconstruction of mangled faces and ears. In more recent years, reconstructive surgery prominently consists of treating the military for disfigurement caused by the war and removal of cancer. The popularity of cosmetic surgery has drastically risen as it’s becoming more mainstream and is slowly losing the stigma it once carried.

Due to the technological revolution, social media has become extremely influential on today’s society. There are both positives and negatives that come from the emergence of social media, one of the negatives being the detrimental way people view one another and themselves. Cosmetic surgery is typically most common among celebrities and their social media gives young women a new reason behind wanting to change the way they look. Social media allows young women contemplating cosmetic surgery to gain access to these celebrities and get a glimpse of what they hope to potentially look like after a cosmetic procedure. Kim McDonald, Registered Nurse and surgical consultant at the Toronto Cosmetic Surgery Institute says, “it definitely has gone from people wanting to look like everybody else, to be normal looking or they want to fix or correct things that they didn’t feel were right to now people wanting to look better.”

Social media has given a whole new meaning to the word “perfect.” What young women see on social media is what they are trying to achieve in real life. “I think there is this new social media need to be perfect, to have perfect shape. I think the media has made this vision of what beauty is to be something that is airbrushed and in some ways unattainable. So, there is definitely a strive for even beautiful young women who look great to want to look greater, better or thinner” says McDonald.

Self-esteem is something that takes years to build, and the smallest things to knock it down. The way in which women view themselves can vary in different aspects of their lives. The accessibility of cosmetic surgery makes it easy for young women who are unhappy with an area on their body to simply go and change it. It has become so common that people no longer consider accepting their flaws because there will always be a knife or a needle that can fix them. Young women are constantly comparing themselves to other women and searching for a solution that make-up or push-up bras can’t fix. Whether it’s lips fillers or a butt lift, surgical and non-surgical cosmetic surgery provides people with this solution and for a few thousand dollars you can purchase the advertised boost in confidence and an improvement in the way you feel about yourself.

While there are many people who support cosmetic surgery and its various reasons behind it, there are also many who don’t. Dr. Jill Andrew, Co-Founder of Body Confidence Canada and strong advocate for self-acceptance, is among those people and says, “young women are living in an image-saturated society where we are constantly getting the message that we are not good enough just the way we are. This indoctrination feeds the consumer market where the goal is to have us buy in order to fix ourselves.” Body Confidence Canada is an organization in Toronto that advocates for body positivity and diversity. Andrew says “the more we can embrace diverse bodies, the more we can advocate against differential treatment based on looks.” Andrew understands the desire for cosmetic surgery and her advice to any young women contemplating cosmetic surgery would be to do enough research, ensure safety and to

“sit with your decision for a while and ask yourself who you are making this change for – yourself or to fit in because sometimes fitting OUT allows you a clearer opportunity to really get to know who you really are and who your loved ones really are.”

With over 23 million procedures performed in 2017 and having social media and self-esteem become a factor behind cosmetic surgery, it poses the question of whether or not women come out of the procedure feeling truly happier about themselves. While this may not account for everyone, McDonald says, “I can honestly say that people are just happier after having the procedure for something that has bothered them for sometimes years and years.” While there is not enough research to say whether or not cosmetic surgery is proven to have a significant impact of self-esteem, McDonald says,

“I often wondered if they would regret it as you know it’s a great deal of money. But really people don’t and women usually say ‘I wish I had done it sooner’.”