More than 200,000 teenagers had a plastic surgery procedure done in 2017, according to marketwatch.com. There are no age restrictions to receiving the procedure, but it requires parental consent under the age of 18… and parents are allowing it.
Breast augmentation (breast implants), rhinoplasty (nose reshaping), and liposuction are most common in teens, but none of these procedures are necessary. Under the age of 18, the body isn’t fully developed, so what’s the point of having something fixed that might fix itself?
All bodies are different. How will a teenager know if they will love their bodies in the future when they’re fully developed? They’re taking these risks at such a young age, but they don’t truly understand what the future consequences are. According to healthline.com, plastic surgery can cause hematoma, seroma, deep vein thrombosis, etc.
Several effects are hard to treat. These side effects can occur at any time after the procedure and if the surgery is done at a young age, the risks will always be there. Cosmetic surgery shouldn’t be allowed for anyone under 18, even with parental consent.
According to healthline.com, breasts don’t stop developing until at least age 18, so having augmentation before full development makes no sense. Social media heavily influences these decisions, because these kids yearn to ‘fit in’ with the models they see in pictures. They choose at a young age to get these surgeries based off other people’s appearances and will most likely regret their decision when they’re older.
Noses also grow with age. Several teens don’t understand this concept when going into surgery; all they notice is that it doesn’t look like the model they saw on Instagram, so they believe they must change their nose.
Liposuction, however, is the worst procedure a teen could have. They have their entire life to exercise and change their diet. There is no reason a young adult should make a weight altering choice through surgery. It’s a lazy way to get out of living healthily.
Some people say that plastic surgery is good because if they don’t love themselves, they should change something so that they will. Well, teenagers haven’t necessarily had enough time to learn to love themselves. The majority of teens are stuck in high school where everyone is judged in some way. Once they graduate school and experience more of the real world, if they still want the surgery, then they can. However, teens should not be allowed to have plastic surgery, with parental consent or not.

Insecurities take over the minds of teenagers once they notice the little imperfections about themselves, from acne, weight, crooked teeth, and much more. Society supports many solutions to these problems as they know these factors can have potential damage to one’s self esteem.
But what about factors such as small breasts, a big nose, or small lips? It seems that if someone has insecurities regarding traits like these, people say, “love yourself, be who you are, learn to love the body you are in.”
If people support the idea of taking medicines or buying expensive treatments to clear up acne, doing certain diets, workouts to lose/gain weight, or putting on braces to fix teeth, then people should not be judged for wanting to fix features that could not be cured with these solutions.
If one decides to take on plastic surgery, it is their risk, their money, and their overall wanting to feel good about themselves.
According to the Newspress.com, “they [patients] feel good and they look good. This confidence often gives them the motivation they need to set new goals for themselves, to be more adventurous, to be more outgoing and to feel more comfortable in their skin”.
It isn’t fair to judge someone for wanting to change something about themselves, regardless of age. As long as it is for them and they are happy with the surgery, it should be well supported.
However, with plastic surgery one believes that it is a “cure” or “magic” for someone’s self esteem, but it is simply a boost of confidence, and that’s what it should only be. People should love themselves the same before the surgery and after.
People could be concerned with the harmful effects that surgery could cause, but with any change of one’s body there can come harmful effects such as a loss of appetite, acne, depression, nausea, and much more. If the process is done by the right doctor, then the result of surgery compared to how one looked before should not be drastic.
Plastic surgery should be supported and needs to be defined as a positive concept. All it means is for a change in one’s life only to make themself feel happier within themselves.
One’s happiness should not be blocked simply by society’s ideas that plastic surgery is not a good idea for teenagers. People should be allowed to do what it takes to become more positive about themselves.