As You See It: Readers offer advice on cosmetic surgery

By Las Vegas Weekly Staff (contact)

Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011 | 3:35 p.m.

Mirror, mirror

Last week, Erin Ryan took a long, hard look at cosmetic surgery and at herself, debating whether she’d have a procedure to alter the nose she’d long disliked. Readers responded with their own stories, opinions and recommendations.

Dear Erin Ryan,

I read your article “Outer Peace: The Search for Perfected Self,” and had to write this letter. I’m 17, and based off your picture, I have the same nose as you do, with the same problem.

There are times when I wear my nose proudly under the inspiration of the incredible Barbra Streisand, and there are times when I want it to go away. My cousin, who is a year older than me, received nose surgery whilst correcting a deviated septum. When I heard about the news, it shocked me. I had never once thought he would get a nose job. We were so alike when little, people would assume we were twins. So when I heard about his getting a nose job, I felt a little (although irrationally) betrayed. He was supposed to be proud of his nose, not get it done. I was even asked if (or even when) I would get a nose job, which did nothing to improve how I felt.

My friends say there’s nothing wrong with my nose, and one girl told me it “helps frame my face when I smile.” But in the back of my mind, I still wonder what I would look like if I got the bump smoothed or reduced its size, and how it would change me as a person or even how others would see me. And, like what happened with you, a guy did once say (though not to my face) that no one would ever date me because I didn’t have a pretty face. Did you end up getting a nose job? Your story was incredible, and you did a great job showing how plastic surgery is both helpful and hurtful. I liked that you explained its origin—it gave insight and helped me better appreciate the practice. –Shelby Jirikils

For far less money than letting some sawbones slice you up and sew you back together, you could buy a dozen eggs at Trader Joe’s every week and separate the whites from the yolks. The whites are a super-rich source of collagen, the anti-wrinkle proteins in the egg. Smear it on at night, and let your face soak it up. EMS workers have known about applying egg whites to the skin of burn victims for many years; just ask the next EMS guy you meet, he should concur.

I am 68 years old now, and the only wrinkle I have is the one I am sitting on. Of course, it also helps if you don’t smoke or drink, or take any other drugs, legal or illegal. Best of luck in maintaining your obvious beauty, Erin. —Brian Kennedy

Thanks for the suggestion, Brian, but Erin is actually doing quite well in the wrinkle department. She had her skin mapped with a VISIA complexion analysis report during the 2011 Aesthetic Show and scored in the 71st percentile for wrinkles and in the 91st percentile for pores (relative to people of the same age, gender and skin type). If only Nevada students were doing that well on their tests.

My first encounter with plastic surgery was when I was 15. I was in an auto accident where my face broke through the windshield, so I needed reconstructive plastic surgery. My second encounter was just this year; after mulling it over for nearly a decade, I decided to just go for it. My reasons were personal and I’m completely satisfied with my decision. It’s not obvious, and if anything, I feel more like myself, more comfortable in my own skin. Plastic surgery is really just a form of bod mod. If you have tattoos, piercings, hell, if you even change your hair, you are altering your natural appearance. Plastic surgery is just an extreme form of that. —Violet St. Clair