Too much too young

by Emma Bower

With a nip-tuck here and some lipo there , more and more of us are going under the knife in the pursuit of perfection.

And even more worryingly, it is becoming increasingly common among the young.

But what is this obsession for having an expressionless face and lips which resemble the beak of a duck, at an age where lines and wrinkles shouldn’t even be crossing our minds?

Hills star

Heidi Montag, star of the reality TV show The Hills, was the latest spring chicken to undergo a procedure of face and body customisation.

At the age of 23, Montag aimed for perfection with 10 cosmetic procedures in one day.

As a result, this surgical knife marathon has left the young starlet fighting for life.

Montag told Access America: “I had too much Demerol and my breathing was five breaths per minute.

They called my plastic surgeon to come in as it was an emergency. When I first came out, it was hard for me to smile and it’s still hard for me to chew sometimes.”

The procedures included a mini brow lift, Botox, a nose job, fat injections into her cheeks and lips, a chin reduction, liposuction to the neck, buttock augmentation, liposuction to her waist and thighs and a breast enlargement.

Despite her traumatic experience, the star said she is willing to undergo further surgery.

A survey by goodsurgeonguide.co.uk, an independent plastic surgery treatment review website, found that 21 per cent of students have said that they would consider spending a proportion of their student loan on a form of cosmetic surgery or procedure intended to enhance their looks.

Four per cent of students, out of the 2,136 students across the UK, said that they actually have spent some of their student loan on a cosmetic procedure.

But why is it necessary for women in their twenties to manipulate their appearance through surgery?

How will these enhanced beauties fare when they reach their 50s and 60s?

Student comments

“I would consider it when I’m older if it is really starting to bother me and I am totally unhappy,” said 31-year-old London College of Fashion student, Kati Kiil.

UAL student Francesca Gildersleve, 20, said: “I had a breast enlargement about six months ago.

"I had cosmetic surgery for the fact that I was very conscious of having small breasts.

"I definitely would recommend cosmetic surgery but only for the right reasons.

"I am so much happier in myself, after having it done.”

Agony aunt, Dr Petra Boynton, wrote: “Our bodies are still growing during our late teens and early twenties, meaning a boob job at this age may not be necessary or healthy.

"We still aren’t sure of the long term implications of breast enlargement surgery in otherwise healthy young women.” But what about men?

Whether you refer to them as ‘man boobs’, or ‘moobs’, latest figures suggest they are an issue that men need to get off their chests.

Plastic surgeons are reporting a record number of ‘man boob’ reductions and it is now proving more popular than female breast enlargement.

The procedure, which removes as much as a litre of fat, typically costs £2,000 and takes around 90 minutes.

Figures from the British Association of Aesthetics Plastic Surgeons showed that there was an overall surge in male plastic surgery by 21 per cent.

“I don’t think that necessarily I would have cosmetic surgery.

"I see it as a very scary process, to go through so much pain just to get a certain look.

"But I think there is definitely pressure to look a certain way especially when you are in your twenties,” said LCF student, Saul Guzman, 25.

With our screens and magazines bombarded with the image of perfection, it is hardly surprising that few of us are considering natural beauty.