Just like there are trends in fashion, hair, and makeup, we have seen trends in plastic surgery come and go. For some time, it was trendy to have very large breasts; as in breasts so large that they looked fake. Now, we have an increasing number of women removing their breast implants altogether. A few years ago, the trend was the bubble-butt or the Booty Boom. A few years before that, everyone wanted “Kylie lips.” What is important to understand about trends is that they come and go. That’s just how trends work. When considering something as significant as plastic surgery, there are many things to consider. We discuss them here.

There is No Ideal Body Type

Since the dawn of the 20th Century alone, we witnessed several different body types take the limelight. Early in the 1900s, what was called the “Gibson Girl” was the ideal. This body type was created by corsets, not by Mother Nature. In the 1920s, all women wanted to look like the Flapper, with virtually no curves. By the 1950s, it was the hourglass figure a-la Elizabeth Taylor that garnered all the attention. Just a decade later, though, society was in love with the waiflike stick-thin figure.

The point to understand here is that trends may affect your fashion choices but should not affect how you feel about your body. Your body type is determined by your genetic code. There is little control over this. There is some degree of control, though, over the smaller details, such as how tight the abdominal muscles are and how shapely the breasts are. Some of the things we can control don’t even require plastic surgery. A healthy lifestyle may be highly successful at maintaining a relatively thin frame and toned muscles.

Where Plastic Surgery Comes In

Plastic surgery can help refine various parts of the body. Various procedures that are popular include those that correct the signs of aging, that sculpt the body after pregnancy or weight loss, and that enhance features that are naturally small, such as the breasts.

What is necessary for plastic surgery to be successful is that it bring more harmony to the face or body. Undergoing plastic surgery to achieve the current “ideal” could lead to dissatisfaction or even self-consciousness within just a few years. We want to empower our patients to know that they, not societal trends, determine what is ideal for them. When plastic surgery is approached from this perspective, it can lead to years of heightened self-confidence.

Explore your options for facial or body enhancement with us. Call 513.985.0850 to schedule an appointment with board-certified female plastic surgeon Dr. Donna Krummen in our Cincinnati office.