The Kardashians and Plastic Surgery
The Kardashian family has become one of the biggest influencers of beauty and plastic surgery in the United States. From Brazilian Butt Lifts to rhinoplasty to lip fillers, the Kardashian sisters have had more impact than nearly anyone else in this arena in the recent past. The most problematic thing about the Kardashian family is that they have routinely denied any involvement of plastic surgery in regards to their appearance. Despite the youngest sister Kylie obvious foray into excessive lip fillers, it was with much public pressure that she finally admitted to undergoing lip injections to dramatically alter her appearance. Kourtney revealed that she underwent a breast augmentation many years ago, but Kim, Khloe and Kendall have denied ever undergoing a surgical procedure beyond Botox.
As a plastic surgeon, the biggest issue I have with the Kardashian sisters is their continued denial of seemingly multiple cosmetic surgeries in the evolution of their appearance. Just look at some before and after comparisons if you don’t believe me.
This sets up both improbable and impossible expectations for beauty in many women who look up to them as an inspiration or beauty icons. We obviously don’t have an issue with plastic surgery, but their continued denial of this sets up a potentially negative scenario for women who don’t naturally have a butt like Kim Kardashian, or lips like Kylie to have low self-esteem. They somehow just can’t measure up.
With these changes, the Kardashians are setting a new standard for beauty across the globe where cultural differences are blended into one seemingly universal beauty standard. However, these women are creating this transformation with the use of plastic surgery, dermal fillers, laser resurfacing and every other beauty tool currently available. That being said, we applaud them for creating a multi-cultural beauty that is seen in nearly every corner of the globe. But, it sets most women up for failure when they think that they can’t naturally be as flawless as the photoshopped Instagram image frequently seen on social media.
Recent photos appeared online of Kim Kardashian on vacation that revealed the contour irregularities frequently associated with aggressive liposuction and even scars consistent with these procedures. This finally gave some insight into the fact that she suffers from many of the same issues for most women (cellulite, skin irregularity), and also some clues as to the fact that she demonstrates evidence of previous procedures from both scarring and overall body shape.
These images of Kim were in contradistinction to her sister Kourtney (sharing the same DNA) who had a remarkably smaller figure with far different proportions.
It is not impossible for this to be a natural phenomenon, but seems far less and less likely when compared to the early photos of Kim in her younger years. Beauty is an ever-changing endpoint that seems to be more blended than ever across different cultures and countries. However, achieving some of these outcomes is impossible for most without the help of plastic surgery. Although the Kardashians are helping to establish this new beauty ideal, they are doing a disservice to women who feel that their appearance is somehow a natural evolution. Sometimes being real is the last thing you will see in “Reality TV.”
Do your homework, and find a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in your area to better determine if you are a good candidate for plastic surgery.
