Cosmetic surgeons and psychologists have asked young people to undergo mandatory psychological tests before undergoing plastic surgery.
Statistics show the number of cosmetic surgery patients in Australia has doubled from 117,000 in 2010 to 225,000 in 2018.
However, more worrying for one of the country’s top cosmetic surgeons, Dr Amy Chahal, founder of the Medical Aesthetics Center at Sydney’s Surry Hills, is the number of people in their 20s who are going under the knife.
She found that more and more Australian women, sometimes as young as 18, are seeking filler, facelift and skin rejuvenation treatments that they don’t need.
Dr. Chahal said most Millennials and Gen Z should spend their money on skin care rather than permanent procedures costing more than $1,000.
The number of plastic surgery patients in Australia doubled between 2010 and 2018, with Millennials having more work done than any other generation.
“If we develop a comprehensive plan and do the right things at the right steps… people can look really great throughout their 40s, 50s and 60s, without needing surgery,” he said. she declared to Today’s telegraph.
Research from the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine has revealed that Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, undergo more cosmetic surgery than any other generation.
Additionally, 16 percent of Australian women aged 18 to 29 reported having previously had plastic surgery and more than half of the 238 women surveyed planned to have surgery in the future.
The college discovered that social media contributed greatly to the rise of cosmetic surgery.
Its findings indicate that young women who regularly use social media are “overly critical of themselves” and “more likely to consider cosmetic surgery” than those who do not.
Psychotherapist Dianna Kenny believes research supports the introduction of mandatory psychological testing before cosmetic surgeries.
Dr Amy Chahal (above), founder of the Medical Aesthetics Center at Surry Hills in Sydney, said there was no need for women in their 20s to have cosmetic surgery.
“There are predatory advertisers out there who are misleading people into thinking they are deficient in some way,” she said.
“Young people should be subjected to some form of psychological testing before they carry a knife to their body. We need to better control this industry.
His suggestion was backed by clinical psychologist Professor Adam Guastella, who believes young people could seek to address issues such as social anxiety and low self-esteem through surgery.
“Self-doubt and social anxiety are the most common mental health problems among young people, especially girls. This often needs to be managed psychologically or people need to build confidence instead of getting a solution quickly with surgery,” he said.
