This week in the Leap Chats exclusive AGEIST group, our topic was cosmetic enhancements. The lively and fascinating conversation involved people from several generations and several points of view. It was a great meeting of the minds. Of all the things we have explored in the last 7 years at AGEIST, cosmetic surgeries and interventions are the thorniest. It goes to the heart of something we are endlessly interested in: What is the right level of maintenance? I once spent some time with Ivo Pitanguy, who invented plastic surgery in the late 1950s for the treatment of childhood burn victims. It was only later that it began to be used for cosmetic beauty enhancement. As a treatment for victims of war, birth defects, and similar, there is no controversy — this is a wonderful medical advancement that improves the lives of the people who need it.
But when we get to improving people’s appearance for other reasons, the waters get quite murky. Is teeth whitening ok, but maybe Botox is not? What is the effect of movie stars swearing they have not had any “work” done, when in fact they have, and thus upping the bar for what is expected in natural beauty? What happens if one goes off the rails and becomes obsessed with some unattainable level of perfection? Yikes. Hello, Donatella.
We don’t really have a strong opinion on the topic other than if you think you would feel more confident and happy, it is an option. Keep in mind that we are not talking about lipstick or fake tans here — these are medical procedures and should be regarded with informed caution. Even injectables can have unintended consequences in the wrong hands. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it is your eye that matters most. Perfection is for deities, not us humans. Beauty can be found in imperfection and age; it all depends on how you feel about these. Back to Ivo, who was the world’s foremost plastic surgeon. He made it a rule to never look at his own face, and removed all the mirrors from his house, as he explained to me that as an obsessive perfectionist, he did not want to start down a road to which there was no end.
We will be doing another AGEIST Leap Chat in a couple of weeks. Join us if you can.
Onward and upward,
David