According to dictionary.com, cosmetic surgery is defined as plastic surgery used for improving a person’s appearance by the restoration of damaged skin, removal of wrinkles, or blemishes. Medical News Today goes a step further by classifying it as surgery concerned with improving the aesthetic appearance of a person.
Armed with both of these definitions, I took the brave, first step of looking in the mirror and asking myself the loaded question, “Do I need cosmetic surgery for my nose?” As a struggling actress who’s making the courageous leap from an underpaid receptionist to a hopeful, overpaid, SAG card wielding, paparazzi hounded starlet, the answer to this question is a resounding “Yes!” And this is where I came across this nose job practice in Birmingham which really helped me.
After all, a slimmer, sleeker, upturned schnoz might prove to be my Willy Wonka golden ticket that leads to the yellow brick road of stardom! The more that I think about it, the more eager I am to book an appointment for a consultation at the plastic surgeon’s office down the street—or not.
Truth be told, the more that I stare at my long-bridged, spread-nannied, Dorito-shaped beak, I begin to question whether rhinoplasty will really prove to be a golden ticket or a tarnished token symbolizing cosmetic failure. A recent article printed in “The Daily Mirror” can be blamed for my skepticism, fear, and doubt.
Actress Jennifer Grey did an interview with the British tabloid this past August. Referring to her nose job, Grey says, “I went into the operating room a celebrity and came out anonymous. It was the nose job from hell. I’ll always be this once-famous actress nobody recognizes because of a nose job”. While it’s true that I have yet to break through the ranks of being a small bit background actress” I figure that it might be safer to be a pretty, undiscovered, actress, rather than a formally beautiful thespian who is now forced to drink from the bitter lake of botched rhinoplasty.
Perhaps, I’m a bit rash regarding my decision to back away from the surgical scalpel that will transform my beaker into a roman work of art. However, my stance on the subject only solidifies once I begin paging through the latest issue of “Us Weekly”. I am instantly reminded of how absolutely handsome the late Michael Jackson was until he succumbed to the crazed knife-wielding surgeon who turned his former nose into what can only be described as a constantly bandaged, wisp of a triangle.
I’d give my right arm to not only possess Joan Rivers’ comedic timing but also what was her former pert, little nose. Lil’ Kim was a legend in her own time in the world of hip-hop, what with being the only female rapper to front the all-male group Junior M.A.F.I.A. Sadly, now the only thing she is known for is her pumped-up breasts and a nose that is infamously bad in its own right.
While it’s true that the aforementioned people are celebrities and thus are forced to look their best even if it means going under the knife, I am curious how the average person on the street feels about cosmetic surgery, nose jobs to be specific. Out of the 1348 reviews that the website RealSelf.com received based on the question of whether rhinoplasty was worth it, an overwhelming 81% of patients who had the surgery said it was.
Others went on to say that the estimated $6000.00 they paid to shave off the length of their nose or simply reshape the size or narrow the width was money well spent. Still not convinced by what I read, I decided to do some research on what the risks of the surgery were and what things I should expect post-surgery.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the complications often associated with rhinoplastic surgery can include recurring nosebleeds, scarring, pain, and discoloration. And perhaps, it is these very risks that lead only 252, 261 Americans in 2010 to have the surgery as compared to 2000 when a whopping 389,155 US citizens had their noses operated on.
By the time I reach the last page of the tantalizing, though often gossipy, supermarket rag and have finished doing my research on the internet, I’ve made a final, firm, and crystal clear decision regarding my nose. I will go the way of Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, and Nina Simone. I will keep and learn to love my perfectly imperfect nose and make no excuses for (or more importantly) changes to it.
