Priya Kumari – Enigmatic Horizon Staff (Sub Editor)
The obsession with physical beauty has always been one of the traits of human beings. Contemporary humans have even gone as far as to depend on modern technology, which includes machines that can change one’s unique aesthetic features that nature has created in them.
The father of plastic surgery, “Sushrut,” gave rise to this concept in the early 600 B.C. The concept of plastic surgery became popular after World War I and World War II for the victims of the war.
Aesthetic surgery came into being in India as late as the 1990s. Most people generally confuse aesthetic surgery with plastic surgery. However, there is a huge difference between the two. Aesthetic surgery, or cosmetic surgery, involves changing body features or body parts. These include hair transplant, liposuction, tummy tuck or abdominoplasty, breast enlargement and reduction, nose and ear surgery, facelift, eye lift, dermabrasion, wrinkle reduction, and lip enhancement. Most physicians do not recommend undergoing such surgeries. Plastic surgery is performed after a surgeon recommends it due to some medical necessity, such as a severe wound or burn.
According to research conducted by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ISAPS), India was among the top ten countries that performed the highest number of aesthetic surgeries. In the 2011-2015 report, 15 million people across the world undertook aesthetic surgery, out of whom 466,231 were from India. India ranked 8th out of 25 countries, according to this research.
Initially, aesthetic surgery was mainly undergone by celebrities due to the demands of their profession. In professions such as acting and modeling, it is important for one to have a good-looking body, which is why many opt for this procedure. However, according to a report that was conducted by Max Super Specialty Hospital, Saket, it is not only the elite and celebs who go for aesthetic surgery. Nowadays, the craze for looking perfect is even affecting the middle-class in many countries, including India. People, especially youths between the 18-25 age cohort, tend to be more obsessed with their outer beauty, and therefore they get highly influenced towards such a medical procedure.
Social media is trending today among youngsters, and it can also be considered the most influential and powerful medium. Through social media, youths are influenced by various kinds of advertisements that highlight the benefits of outer appearance and implant them in their minds. Thus, the advertisement makes them feel that an individual needs to look good, if they want to be positive and confident. They believe that their friends, peers, and society will not accept and value them if they don’t have a perfect shape.
As a result, on social media, this idea of beauty influences young people and implants it in their minds. Thus, they may begin searching on Google for the best aesthetic surgeons in town. This may eventually lead a youth to kill the beauty in themselves due to their desire to look like someone else. Youth should focus more on healing their inner beauty.
While posing for pictures, youths often find that their original look is imperfect, and thus they become dependent on camera filters to hide the flaws of their skin and other features. Eventually, they get convinced that aesthetic surgery is a permanent solution to having the kind of look that they desire.
Although considered safe by cosmetic surgeons, there are various cons, side effects, and risks that the patient may need to endure later on. A cosmetic procedure might later lead to serious complications along with pain and discomfort. Plus, the results might be temporary. In some cases, people even face terrible outcomes after undergoing cosmetic surgery, which may or may not be reversible.
Aesthetic surgery may leave serious scars, and individuals can even take a long time to heal, depending on their skin’s elasticity and blood combination. Even if the surgery goes well the first time, there is a possibility that one may get tempted to undergo another surgery to change other “flaws”.
There are various other ways to keep an individual fit and look younger and more beautiful. Yoga and exercise are among the best tools that can help one maintain their fitness, look young, and have glowing skin. There are many natural ways to keep one’s skin looking bright, young, and glowing permanently without injecting anything unnatural into the body or undergoing surgery. Various yoga exercises also exist that can help one achieve glowing skin. Along with this, yoga also relaxes our mind, helps us sleep better, and helps us have a perfect body structure. Therefore, youths should focus on meditating, exercising, and practicing yoga if they want outer beauty along with inner beauty.
