One common reason given why people should not have cosmetic surgery is that notions of beauty are the product of fashion and that fashion is changeable.They often point to Marilyn Monroe and say that she was considered beautiful in her day, but would be considered overweight by today’s supermodel standards.

There are a number of things wrong with such a line of argument.The first thing is that, although she might be considered overweight by supermodel standards or those promoted by sleazy men’s magazines, the majority of people still look at her as not just a beautiful woman, but an icon of beauty.I ride a bus through the commercial district of a major city, and I see her face and figure many times on that ride:in the windows of poster stores, painted in murals, even as an advertisement for beauty parlors.

The second thing wrong with such an argument is that cosmetic surgery is too big a decision to be made for anyone other than yourself.Ideally, your surgery’s results will match your own aesthetic sense, and if the standards of others change, it is of no consequence.

Finally, if you are concerned about weathering the tides of fashion, there are a number of constants of beauty that endure through the ages:

Proportion and balance:An attractive person has a body whose elements are all proportioned to one another.Bodies that are disproportionate tend to be seen as unattractive.Thus, a woman with large hips and small breasts can see a significant improvement from breast augmentation to achieve balance, and people with disproportionately large noses can see improvement with a reduction rhinoplasty.

Narrow waists:In studying art and literature from cultures worldwide and throughout history, cultural critics and anthropologists have discovered that relatively narrow waists are a commonly praised trait of beauty.In fact, overall, the narrow waist is the most often mentioned characteristic of a beautiful body.This has been promoted for women, but it is actually equally true for men as well.Liposuction can improve the figures of both men and women.

Beautiful skin:Whether you are looking at a painting by Rubens or a Maxim magazine cover, the main constant is beautiful, youthful skin.Even recent studies pointing to average faces as being more beautiful seem to be related to the smoothing of the skin as an artifact of digital averaging.If you are interested in looking better, the place to start is youth-enhancing skin treatments such as chemical peels.

To learn more about how you can capture the constants of beauty, contact Dr. Rai at the Cosmetic Surgical Center in Dallas, Texas, today for a consultation.