Straight Talk about Cosmetic Surgery

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If cosmetic surgery were free and without risks, everyone would have procedures…repeatedly. But this being the real world, every procedure, no matter how small, has its risks. And while the relative costs of cosmetic surgery have declined over the past four decades, most procedures are still fairly expensive.

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I’ve considered the sum total of the risks, benefits, and costs of cosmetic surgery, and I’ve come up with what I call the biggest ‘bang for your buck’ procedures. These are the procedures that give you the most benefit with the lowest risk at the lowest cost. 

Here’s my list:

Laser hair removal

Yes, you were probably thinking I’d choose breast augmentations or facelifts as my number one bang for your buck procedure. But just ask any woman who shaves every day and she will back up my selection. The laser has replaced electrolysis as quickly as computers made typewriters obsolete. This invention superheats dark hairs, turning them into fuses that seek and destroy hair follicles. When the heat of the laser fries those hair follicles, the hair is destroyed. The best candidates are lighter skinned people with dark hair. Three sort of painful treatments can make your chin as smooth as a baby’s….well as smooth as it should be. Other than the occasional blister, problems are uncommon with this procedure. Each treatment is about $400.

Mole removal

Come on now, couldn’t I think of a less sexy procedure? But moles are neither pretty nor healthy. They disturb the symmetric harmony of your face and can harbor deadly melanomas. So many people forget about them since they’ve been around so long, but people you meet for the first time are drawn to that ‘thing’ on your face. Plastic surgeons remove those moles and hide scars along natural wrinkle lines or creases. Your skin is lifted up to take the tension off of the scar and the skin is closed with dissolving stitches placed underneath the skin. Tiny stitches, or even glue, help to give you the best scar possible. A pathologist looks at those moles under a microscope to assure they are benign and completely removed. Removal is minor surgery, with small risks of infection, bleeding, and scarring. Depending on the size and location of the mole, excision costs between a few hundred and a thousand dollars.

QUIZ: How Symmetrical is Your Face?