Is it ‘normal’ now to have had some kind of work done?

[WingingWonder]

Just back from holiday- family resort- UK focussed, premium hotel/resort- everyone with young kids
I’m not exaggerating when I say probably 25% of women had massive fake boobs- out of proportion to body in style Vic beck early days, and then the reeeeeeally obvious lips- probably 30% again not a little help but think Lesley ash when it all went wrong.
There were then more with more subtle work, and a lot of Botox from scary to v neat,
A mix of ages
But it really got me thinking - we are fortunate, and have holidays a lot over last few years and every trip it’s more and more prevalent in the level of all kinds of ‘work’ visible
In balance also more people of all shapes and sizes just carrying on in bikinis with their kids, but I was just so surprised at how obvious it all was- DH even commented
So is this pretty typical now? Does this fit with your friend group?
I’d say for me I know of a few boob jobs, all bar one pretty subtle, and all bar 1 cosmetic not health.
Lip fillers only 1, pretty massive now...
Botox- growing number...
But actually most, say 90% nothing and pretty certain never would
Just musing really. Am I weird for not seriously considering it when I have some significant hang ups (I’m small but awful skin stretch marks and post operation scar damage to stomachs) I guess I’d just assumed I wasn’t ‘someone who would ever look good like that now.

I don’t think I know anyone my age (early 40s) or older who’ve had anything beyond adult braces or mole removal. If they’ve had anything done, it certainly isn’t obvious and they haven’t told me.

Going round our local shopping centre last Saturday though, it seemed like every other woman (predominantly in their 20s) on a till or overseeing the changing rooms had massively pumped up lips-like it made them look swollen and painful!

How much does it cost-I can’t imagine it’s cheap!?

When I was in my 20s, all my spare money went on the house deposit/mortgage but I would imagine so many young people are now priced out of the housing market, it’s easier to spend a few hundred on something fairly immediate that makes you happy (lips, nails, eyelashes etc) than try to save for a deposit that you have no chance of managing.

I am not in the UK, and I know of one person who has had a breast reduction, none of my immediate friends have had any type of work done at all. But I recently went overseas and I did get a bit of an eye opener. It was very obvious that there were a lot of ladies with lip fillers especially. It just looks so unnatural. I will never forget the sight of walking down the aisle to the loo on a very long haul flight, and seeing three ladies in a row of 3 seats, each asleep. All i noticed first were three pairs of lips staring at me. Just there. Huge compared to the rest of their face. So they clearly all went to the same place to have them done.

I have noticed a lot on TV reality shows lately though, especially the Australian ones.

At the gym I used to go to, out of a group of maybe 12 women, every single one of us had had at least one thing done and several were ongoing works in progress. In my extended family, colleagues, school mates and other close friends I only know of me and one other whose had any work at all. Of course I could be wrong - after all lots of people don’t know I’m not 100% as nature intended. I think it very much depends on the circles you move in.

The only person that suspects I’ve had work is my SIL who has told various family members I’ve had boob implants because they got a lot bigger after I had DC. It was entirely natural unfortunately and ironically the closest I’ve come to breast surgery was a consultation for a reduction as they really have got huge! I decided against it in the end as I was scared of the GA and the long recovery.

Also it’s much more accessible now, you can get lip fillers/Botox on finance so the majority of ‘average’ people years ago who couldn’t afford it now can... it’s a lot more mainstream.

I know what you mean. It is much more often seen in ‘normal’ women now (non celebs). A friend of mine has her lips ‘done’ at a beauty salon, they aren’t good (yes I have told her, no I’m not just bitching behind her back on the internet). She got a groupon/wowcher style deal for them, which just strikes me as a massive red flag (as well as the beauty salon side of things). She has a lovely face and is a fabulous person, I feel grubby & grim that she feels the need to have painful, expensive, invasive and low quality procedures to meet some imagined ideal of ‘beauty’.

Each to their own but I wouldn't want to spend the money on something that hurts and doesn't make me look younger, just makes me look like I've had work done.

I was saying to DH the other week that I couldn't understand why people do it, because it's obvious they've had work done - you don't think they are younger, you just recognise it - and he said it's a status symbol in itself that they can afford it.

Oh well. Seems a bit of a waste of time to me. If I went through the pain (to both me and bank balance) and looked 10 years younger I might think it was worth it. But just to look like I've got the money to spend on it - I'll spend the money elsewhere.

I don't think microblading is "having work done" by the way! Botox fillers maybe. I was thinking more about actual surgery.

We have noticed people look weird now , like love island ( only watch the ads ) flashes past , none of them look natural do they? I do think a lot of people have Botox and fillers and boob jobs because you can get it on finance now and because people in the media do it I guess it is deemed acceptable ..
my personal view is it usually makes people look weird and dismorphic .. each to their own though .

I’m early 40s and have 2 friends who had a boob job at about 30. I’d love one now I’m back to the size in happy with and something to make my stomach skin more toned. I used to feel quite worried about the whole idea but now I’d happily go for it if had the money!

Amongst my group of friends
One facelift
One breast implants
One breast reduction
One knee lift
One tummy tuck
7 of us have had no surgical work done
No idea about Botox - if it’s subtle I probably wouldn’t notice

I think this might be a reflection on your holiday destination more than anything else. But there is a demographic issue at play as well. It’s far more accepted amongst younger people. The only person who I have met who has had one (boob job) was under twenty. I can’t comment on Botox etc because you can’t necessarily tell. You can’t always tell with a boob job either to be fair - I only know because someone told me. I would consider getting preventative work done myself as I get older (I don’t even wear coloured nail polish - I’m very conservative in this respect but a bit of Botox to avoid developing wrinkles seems like a pretty standard part of self care as people get older).

I'm late 20s and most people I know have had something done. Lip fillers, jaw filler, cheek filler and botox. A lot of my friends have had boob jobs, some have had nose jobs, veneers and Brazilian butt lifts.

I’m 40 and none of my group of friends have had anything done & id say we’re all reasonable well off & care what we look like. A few of us spend a fair amount of money on facials, miracle creams etc but I can’t imagine any of us getting work done. I don’t want to look younger - I just want to look my own age, but good.

At 63, I have experimented with Botox for frown lines, a couple of years ago, but haven't repeated. I would like to have breast reduction surgery as I've had big knockers since I was 14. With pretensions to wearing clothes well, I'd like them to be smaller and neater (plus they were next to useless for feeding DS) but DH likes them. If anything were to happen to DH, I'd lash out for the figure I've always wanted, but not as the price of losing him.

No. The only people I encounter who have this in real life work in the chip shop. It’s a certain ‘look’ and not one any of my colleagues or friends would want to emulate.

I had a boob job (not ott) at 28 and I have botox a couple times a year.Im 39 now but people are always surprised when I tell them I've had those things done.If you research your surgeon/clinician it doesnt have to look fake imo.

It would be interesting to see if there have been any studies into the long term effects of injecting chemicals into your body.

I understood that Botox worked by paralysing the muscles which can't be particularly good for you long term.

I wouldn't have anything done personally but that's probably partly because I'm not good with injections.

I do have to say though that as I'm getting older, if there was something that could be done painlessly and risk free to get rid of wrinkles I might be tempted!

I think I'm the only one in my friendship group that hasn't had at least one thing done. Mostly boob jobs, a couple of nose jobs, Botox, lip fillers, semi perm makeup etc. None of them have the sort of towie/insta look though.

Good Botox= look like you've had a good night's sleep and aren't bad tempered. Bad Botox= ageing, frozen, scary blank look.

I don't see how this can be true when wealthy women with access to the most expensive services and advice can look obviously botoxed. Why would so many rich women have bad botox? I think, in general, botox and lip fillers do not look good, but maybe they make some people feel happier and more confident, which is worth a bit.

I’ve always thought that I would be open to some restoration work - Botox, fillers, as it’s no different from dying my grey roots. The only thing I’ve done so far is have my teeth whitened. They aren’t bright white though, just look clean and fresh.

There is a fashion now - fake big lips and fake big eyebrows. I’m late 30s and this wasn’t a thing when I was in my 20s. I don’t know if the lips, glow in the dark teeth and stuck on eyebrows are supposed to look fake or not. But a lot of them do look fake.

Saying that people don't realise and are shocked when they find out you've "had work done" surely isn't much of a measure of whether it is actually noticeable or not, as it would be pretty rude to tell a friend or colleague it was obvious.
I've acted shocked before when told as it would have been impolite to do otherwise, and honestly if it makes the person happy who gives a fig whether other people think its noticeable? Botox, fillers, even retin-A give your skin a certain "look", even when the work itself isn't obvious and is done well, there's no hiding the look it gives your face.

All that aside, botox does hinder the face's ability to subconsciously "face mirror" when interacting with people.

Face mirroring is responsible for the brain's ability to interpret other people's emotions and reactions accurately. Its one of the things which makes us "liked" so not being able to subconsciously face mirror as effectively will affect your relationships with others, particularly in situations such as job interviews and any kind of fledgeling relationship situation as face mirroring makes the other person feel in tune with you, and like there's more common ground.

There is ongoing research into the full extent of how botox hinders subconscious face mirroring, but its a known side effect.

@eaten

That’s really interesting, thanks for that.

You're welcome @Skaife personally I wouldn't have botox or fillers, but I'm all for people doing what makes them happy

I would love my stomach sorted out, probably a tummy tuck or whatever it's called, my muscles are really seperated after third baby and I also have loose skin, I'm not vain whatsoever but it does get me down because it looks hideous. It affects my relationship with dh even though he says he doesn't care, I would never ever be able to get naked in front of another man, it's bad enough with dh! The rest of me is ok!

I haven't had any work done except an otoplasty when I was 20 (I absolutely hated my ears, it's the best thing I've ever done) but I don't disagree with anything if it's not tacky.

Huge breasts and lips are not my thing. I have small boobs which I love and big natural lips (again really happy with) but if I had any other issues I wouldn't hesitate. I also believe there are A LOT of unprofessional people in this field and they accept going overboard because the client/patient wants so, which I find unacceptable

Overall, I believe we are pushed to care more about appearance and a lot of this is brought on by social media, especially instagram.

I think it’s relatively usual for people to have stuff like this done.

I think it’s a shame though and don’t really see the point. I am not beautiful by any stretch of the imagination, in fact I’m the wrong side of plain with some crap features. But I don’t give a shit. It’s shocking that people are teased or made to feel rubbish about ordinary human features. I got called “pancake lady” for my flat chest. It made me think the boy who said it was a nasty moron who didn’t warrant my attention, rather than making me feel shit about having AA boobs.