Cosmetic Surgery - How Young is Too Young?

How young is too young for cosmetic surgery? This is a question that is asked with a great deal of regularity, probably because there is not simply one answer.

However, if you are asking this question, whether you are a teenager who wants cosmetic surgery or their parent, then the simple answer is probably that now is still too young!

(I'll assume that you are not one of those dreadful parents who are trying to get their kids to get cosmetic surgery...)

There are a number of factors that cause a person to wish to get cosmetic surgery, which can be outlined as follows:

Your features, especially your facial ones, appear to have a flaw that makes you stand out from the crowd, but not in a good way. This could be a lack of balance or symmetry, the nose could be too large compared to the rest of the features, or perhaps the bum seems too flat for the size of the hips and waist.

In other instances, cosmetic surgery is felt to be an option for turning back the clock. The face lift is the most obvious example of this, but there are many other examples as well, including eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty), breast lift surgery, hair transplant surgery and wrinkle removal.

Or maybe some feature has been damaged by an accident, for instance a broken nose, chipped teeth, a torn earlobe, and so on.

The final example of a reason that people may choose to get cosmetic surgery is where the patient actually looks quite normal, and what they want is quite simply to look more stunning!

All of these reasons for getting cosmetic surgery are quite legitimate, and there is no reason to consider one more valid than another. However, when it comes to teenage cosmetic surgery, we do have to be a bit more careful, and analyze the motives of the patient a little more.

Where a teenage feels that they are looking old for their years, this is probably the most concerning, and we should be careful that there is not an underlying psychological reason behind their wish for surgery. In the unlikely instance that a teenager is looking ravaged beyond their years, it will be better to be looking at the causes of this, rather than dealing with the cosmetic aspect.

Where a teenage potential patient knows that they look normal, but would like simply to look more beautiful, this is okay, and quite common, but they should be encouraged to wait. It is very normal for people to find that they "grow into" their appearance, and as we get older, many of us learn to love our imperfections, or at least accept them.

Surgeries that generally should be avoided while still growing include nose reshaping surgery, as very frequently a nose that seemed too big for the face when younger can seem more in proportion later on. For obvious reasons, breast surgery should definitely be a no-no until the mid-twenties at least. Cheek implants and similar should be discouraged until all "puppy fat" has gone, so again that is likely to be a bad idea until well into one's twenties. When the youthful fat has disappeared, the features can suddenly gain definition that they didn't have before.

There are those cosmetic procedures where it has become more acceptable, and even encouraged, to have while young. Ear pinning surgery is one of those, as it is one of the safer surgical procedures. Similarly, cosmetic dental work is often a good idea to have while young.

Where cosmetic surgery reaches its closest proximity to reconstructive plastic surgery, it becomes far easier to accept it as an option for young people. There is no compelling reason why a child should have a badly crooked nose as a result of an injury, or torn ear cartilage due to an earring being pulled out, and this should not be fixed until adulthood. This becomes more a matter for the parents to decide, finances permitting.

But in instances like these, it is quite possible that the benefits the child may get from the increase in confidence may pay dividends for their whole life. The important thing is that each separate case is looked at on an individual basis, and the benefits are weighed up against the risks and disadvantages.