PLASTIC SURGERY IS LIKE HAVING YOUR HAIR DONE
EXPERTS WARNING AS ISLAND’S MEGAN SAYS:
WITH her perfect boobs, luscious lips and ultra-white smile, Megan Barton-Hanson made a devastating impact on the Love Island boys.
But none of it was the real thing. In fact, the 24-year-old had spent £25,000 on two breast ops, lip fillers, a nose job and teeth veneers before entering the villa.
Despite the huge cost – and the pain involved – Megan doesn’t think her surgery and cosmetic enhancements were a big deal claiming it’s “just like getting your hair done”.
Former stripper Megan, who placed fourth on the show with Wes Nelson, has no regrets about her surgeries. She said: “I have had loads. I don’t think it should be a massive negative thing. If you want to do something to make you feel more comfortable and you can do it, then why not?
“I didn’t take these decisions trying to be a role model. I did it for me. I’m not ashamed of it. I’ve done what I’ve done because it made me feel comfortable.
“It’s like people getting their hair done to make them feel nice. I’ll go get my lips done because it makes me feel better.”
It seems a shocking indictment on young people and their apparent obsession with looks.
But could she actually be right?
Are older people simply out of touch with women – and men – in their 20s today, many of whom see plastic surgery as nothing out of the ordinary?
“The list is huge,” said Megan. “I got a boob job at 19, then I got another one a few years later when I got more money.
“Then I had my nose done and lips filled – and my teeth. I’m happy now. In the future, once I’ve had kids, I might want my boobs redone.”
You might imagine her blasé attitude to major surgery would be unusual but Megan wasn’t the only Islander to have gone under the knife.
In the show’s final, all of the girls had had work done – with only winner Dani Dyer having natural boobs, while Megan, Kaz and Laura have all had breast enhancements.
But even down-to-earth Dani spoke about having lip fillers before going into the villa. The hit ITV2 show – watched by millions of teenagers – was slammed by critics for airing plastic surgery adverts during the break.
Leading plastic surgeons said the show’s aesthetically enhanced stars were “normalising” unrealistic standards of beauty and trivialising the massive decision to undergo surgery.
“If you cut your hair and it is not quite as you want, it is not a big disaster as it will grow back,” said plastic surgeon and former British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons President Rajiv Grover.
“But when you have surgery, there are risks as well as benefits.
“Surgery is not a trivial thing. It is a major decision and one you will have to revisit again – and that is taking away all
the normal risks of surgery like bleeding, infection or the implant moving. It has a lot of consequences for the future.
“Even having something that seems as simple as lip fillers can be risky. If the lip is injected in the wrong place, there can be blood vessels damaged and part of the lip actually dies, so you are left with a deformity.”
But the risks don’t seem to be putting too many people off – demand for dermal fillers rose 16 per cent in 2016, while non-surgical nose jobs were most popular, with an increase of 29 per cent among 18 to 24-year-olds.
The non-surgical options come with their own dangers, as mum-oftwo Bethany McPherson found out.
Bethany, 20, from Livingston, West Lothian, was told she was lucky not to lose her lips after being left with a blood clot following an injectable filler treatment at a beauty salon.
Bethany said: “I would never, ever have filler ever again. I went to have it because I thought my top lip and bottom lip were different sizes, so I wanted them evened out. I ended up in hospital in agony and I couldn’t eat, drink or speak properly.
“Now my lips are bumpy and I don’t know if they will go back to normal. I don’t like posting pictures of myself any more.
“The filler is supposed to last between nine and 12 months, so I will have to wait and see. You can have the filler dissolved but I am so scared to have it done.”
But now it seems that having a bit of Botox or filler is, as Megan says, becoming as normal as having their hair done for 18 to 24-year-olds. And despite an overall decline in the total amount of cosmetic surgery Brits had last year, boob jobs are still on the up, with a seven per cent increase.
Bethany added: “Two of my best friends have had their boobs and lips done and I know loads of others who have had it done. I think you see people on social media and reality TV, F and it sets a standard.” or Grover, Bethany and her friends are a prime example of how reality TV shows like Love Island and TOWIE, as well as the rise of social media, have created a “perfect storm” which trivialises the decision to undergo surgery.
He said: “You have got peer pressure – everyone thinks it is important to look good.
“You are not judged by sporting prowess or qualifications, it is looks.
“When the programmes with the biggest viewing figures are based on looks, you know people will be feeling looks are really important in today’s society.
“The people in them become role models and if they are having surgery on such a free-and-easy basis it becomes normal.
“Then you have the power of social media. On social media, people can add filters and change their appearance, so it isn’t reality.
“Love Island epitomises this. People are judged by their looks, they have had surgery and they all have a massive following on social media.”
Psychiatrist Dr Natasha Bijlani said people should remember they’ll still be the same person, no matter what changes they make to their bodies.
She added: “The danger with this is, if your core issue is about insecurity and low self-esteem, no amount of superficial adjustments to external appearance by surgery is going to help and is likely to increase the desire for further surgery in the quest for perfection.”