It’s terrible, isn’t it? Women changing themselves to look better. Shock, horror, yawn. We have been artificially bettering ourselves since the day we discovered clay cleared the skin and berry-stained lips got the hot blooded boys bubbling. It’s what we do. 

The horror stories of going under the knife are few and far between and the majority of women who have turned to cosmetic surgery have given their treatment a perfectly sculpted thumbs up. A recent survey revealed that 40% of Asian women between the age of 18 and 35 have or are considering having some sort of plastic definition done to their body. If a woman feels more confident having big boobs instead of the fried eggs she’s carried on her chest all her life, or wants her thighs to stop resembling banyan trees, it’s her choice. If the idea tickles your cheekbones, give yourself a lift by all means. Just make sure you know exactly what to expect before you nip into a surgery and tuck in.

Liposuction

We’ve seen the scare stories where an obese woman is left with huge batwings of loose flesh. Unless you’re clinically obese, liposuction is a simple and quick op that whisks away hard-to-reach fat deposits in your body. Liposuction only fails when viewed as a replacement to exercise and a healthy diet. Just because the fat is sucked out it doesn’t mean it’s not coming back. Even after the op, you should continue with a diet and fitness routine to keep yourself in shape. If done properly, liposuction helps you get rid of ‘abnormal’ fatty deposits, by sucking fat through a metal tube.

Facelift

The anti-ageing cream might give you hope, but it isn’t helping keep your chins up. Once those tiny little lines arrive, there’s precious little you can do. You don’t have to go wacko and do a Jacko – a subtle lift can take years off without being too obvious. The traditional facelift starts with an incision above the ear in the temple and moves down in front of the ear, then into the crease behind it, extending into the hair. If this sounds too drastic, opt for the short-scar techniques that are less invasive, which result in less scarring, bruising and swelling.

Nose job

The whole point of a nose-job is to subtly adjust the shape to make it look natural. If you’ve ever seen it look fake and plastic – it was done by a bogus doctor. There are two types of ops. Primary rhinoplasty refers to operations on noses that have not had previous surgery, while secondary rhinoplasty is surgery on noses previously operated on. While it may not be possible to make a big nose small, adjustments can be made to sculpt the bridge of the nose to adjust the balance and make it look more natural. But adjustments can be made. The distance from face to the tip of the nose can be altered, or you can add to a small nose to make it seem bigger. Your skin type and bone structure play a big part in determining how successful your recovery will be.

Lip implants

Collagen implants are the fast-food version of cosmetic surgery – you can nip in and out in a day. You have a reasonable variety of choice – so depending on how long you want your implants to last, talk to your surgeon about the different types available. You might not be able to get rid of the wrinkles around your lips, but it’s worth a shot.

Boob Job

Wonderbras, chicken fillets, socks, loo paper – the list of things we’ve tried to stuff our bras with is endless. It doesn’t matter how much padding we strap on, when it all comes off we know that it doesn’t really add up to much. No one wants Jordan or Pamela-sized boobs, but a little extra lift would be appreciated, especially for women whose boobs have been stretched into unrecognisable shapes after breast-feeding, or have irregular boobs.