How common is plastic surgury in the US? Do you notice a lot of your friends going through PS as you grow up?

41 comments

  1. The only person I knew who did it was my sister. And that was because her “birthmark” turned out to be a precancerous growth. So is it still plastic surgery at that point?

  2. It’s not at all common for teens or children. The only three people I knew as a youth who got plastic surgery, one was to correct harelip and two to fix damage from dog attacks.

    It’s somewhat more common among adults, moreso women than men. Boob jobs, facelifts, liposuction; but still very much the exception rather than the norm.

  3. Fairly rare.

    I know a couple people that had it. Boob jobs, nose jobs. Not common.

    I know a couple people that had plastic surgery not for voluntary issues. Burns and injury repair.

  5. I don’t know a single person who has had plastic surgery outside of things like fixing injuries and birth defects.

  6. You mean like children? Unless getting a cleft lip fixed is plastic surgery, I’ve never known any kids/teens to get any plastic surgery. As an adult, I have one friend who got a boob job, and I know some people who get botox, but that’s just a few people. It’s certainly not as common as it is in other places around the world.

  7. It’s becoming increasingly common. Maybe not for the majority age demographic on Reddit. But, for 35+ year olds, it’s much more common than it used to be. Certain areas of the country obviously have much more than others (LA, Miami, etc).

    I know several people that have had work done. All of them tasteful.. you wouldn’t even know it. 🤷‍♂️

  8. I don’t think I know a single person who’s had cosmetic surgery. Maybe I do and they just haven’t told me.

  9. I can think of two women I know who got breast implants in their 20s/30s, and another couple who got breast reductions. So no it’s uncommon among my friend groups.

  10. I had work done by a plastic surgeon, but it was to remove melanoma from my forehead. Had to remove a chunk that was about the size of a quarter.

    That was about a decade ago. 2 1/2 months ago, I had more skin cancer (basal cell) removed from my jawline. This time it was done by a dermatologist. Probably have 7+ inches of scars on my face due to skin cancer.

  11. I know quite a few people who have had some form of plastic surgery, but most of them are trans.

  13. I haven’t know a lot who’ve had PS. My sister had a nose job. A few women I’ve known had boob jobs. A few older gals have had varicose veins taken care of. That’s about it.

  14. as i grew up? one. i knew *one*. she got fake tits. real young. and everybody thought it was very odd.

    but she actually got a lot more confident. think she went into making stained glass. and metal forgery stuff. last i knew her. her stuff was cool. 🤷‍♂️

  15. Plastic surgery for medical reasons vs cosmetic reasons are totally different things. It’s also not common to have, which I assume you’re asking about, cosmetic plastic surgery

  16. Pretty rare.

    I only know 2 people who’ve had it done. Both boob jobs. Both were well into adulthood when they got it done.

    This sounds like the kinda thing that’s probably gonna be *very* area specific in terms of its commonality though.

  18. I know quite a few people who have had work done, starting in high school. There were a bunch of girls in my high school who had nose jobs to repair “deviated septums”, but all of them had suspiciously… different looking noses after those septums were repaired. I know people who have had breast enhancements/reductions, BBLs, facelifts, etc. In most cases, you really wouldn’t know unless it was pointed out.

    I’m considering it myself as I’ve lost a lot of weight and I have some loose skin as a result. I’m not *quite* at my goal weight, so I’ll see what I look like when I lose the rest of the weight and maintain it for a while.

  19. I think it varies based on your age and location. Where I live it is fairly common.

  20. The few people I know of that have had plastic surgery did so for reconstructive reasons. My grandmother-in-law, for instance, had a boob job after a double mastectomy due to breast cancer.

    I don’t know anyone that got it growing up.

  21. A friend of my sister had her chin and lower jaw done when she was a teenager. Honestly, she needed it as her chin was very weak but she thought she came out way hotter then she did.

    My SIL’s friend just got her a botox treatment as a spa day gift because the friend had accrued enough botox points to get a free session. I haven’t seen her since but I was going to give her shit about it.

  23. The only people I know personally who I know had plastic surgery had tummy tucks to remove a lot of excess loose skin that never tightened back up after they had kids. If anyone I know had surgery just to change their looks, I don’t know about it.

  24. I’m over 50 and live in a pretty rich area in Massachusetts.

    None of my friends ever got surgery. It’s looked on a vain and a bit embarrassing so if acquaintances got it, I’d be unlikely to know.

    I do have a friend that got a breast reduction. She was very, very thin and felt like she got inappropriate attention due to her large breasts.

  25. I’m west coast and no very rare in my circle

    I’m still friends with a few people from high school. I’ve never noticed any plastic surgery

  26. I don’t personally know anyone who has had plastic surgery except for reconstructive reasons (my cousin smashed her face skiing once).

    Or at least, I don’t know that I do. Nothing obvious enough that I would notice, and that’s not the sort of thing you ask about.

  27. I know a couple women who have had breast augmentation. Plastic surgery isn’t normal or popular or common or whatever. It’s elective and *very* expensive, middle class people don’t have the budget to get stuff like this done.

  28. im 18 and the only person ive heard talk about getting ps is my cousin when we were young. she had a scar (at least i think it was a scar, it was a mark on her arm) and wanted to fix it. idk if she ever got it

  29. As a kid, I knew one that had plastic surgery to correct a painful genetic condition. As an adult, I’ve know two to have cosmetic surgery.

    Not saying there aren’t more that I didn’t know had it before, but that’s not something I really look for or would ask about.

  30. I grew up in a small town where it wasn’t common but once I started working in bigger cities it was pretty normal for women to have breast implants and, more recently, lip injections and Botox.

  31. I don’t actually know anybody who I’m aware has had elective plastic surgery. It’s fairly rare, especially for younger folk to get it.

  32. Surgery isn’t super common, but a ton of my friends get some sort of injectable

  33. I only know 2 people who have had plastic surgery, and both were for medical reasons (breast reduction and deviated septum). Definitely not common in my area. Also, my understanding is a good plastic surgeon won’t do surgery until the body part has stopped growing (at least for certain types of surgery, like nose jobs). So kids and teens getting plastic surgery is VERY rare. Exceptions for surgeries like cleft palate, some reconstruction after trauma, etc.

  34. As a 30yo woman, mainly my friends go for Botox and laser skin treatments. Sometimes filler.

    I also knew a few people who got nose jobs in college.

  35. Pretty rare but more popular regionally and more popular in the last 20 years. “Non-invasive” cosmetic procedures have seen a large uptick as well, at least partially due to prevalence on social media.

  36. The only kid I knew who got plastic surgery got it following a bad accident where she needed minor facial reconstruction. She looked like herself again after it healed.

    Aside from that, plastic surgery is for those much richer than people in the podunk town I grew up in. I associate elective plastic surgery with like, Kim Kardashian levels of wealth.

  37. I don’t know anyone who has any obvious plastic surgery. I used to work with one woman whom I think might have breast implants, but that’s just a guess. My wife had plastic surgery when she was younger to reduce the appearance of serious facial scars from a terrible car accident.

  38. I’d say it’s more regional.

    In south Florida I saw it with middle age ladies that were self conscious and would get different types of face surgery. Also girls with fake boobs.

    Los Angeles has a lot too. You’ll see models with boobjobs (not crazy big, maybe 2 cup sizes). And a lot of Persion, Arab, and Jewish girls get nosejobs.

  39. I’m not sure what is lumped into plastic/cosmetic surgery these days. But between the popularity of Botox, fillers, dental implants, hair plugs and boob jobs, I think it’s a lot more common than people on here think.

  40. The only plastic surgery in my sphere was someone Whose face got torn off in a biking accident.

  41. I know a few people that had extra skin removed after extreme weight loss and a few that have had scars lasered off.

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