General definition

Beauty for our purposes will be our chosen word for what cosmetic surgery is aiming to create or achieve in general.

Different dictionaries define beauty differently but generally agree that it means attractive, appealing, alluring, charming, and the opposite of ugly. In a broad sense, it can be any or all things or even thoughts, concepts or ideas that appeal. More than just good, beauty is a superlative belonging with gorgeous, magnificent, stupendous, and it can even imply perfection.

If beauty cannot be surpassed, it by definition is perfect or close to it. Thinkers have said that beauty is truth. And if we find the truth, especially in science, it is beautiful indeed.

Beauty is used frequently and loosely, i.e. a beautiful day etc., and is also used as a common compliment.

The need for adefinition

With cosmetic surgery, we are speaking of the appearance of the result. And for many years, I have had a simple working definition of beauty. And we need this definition like a tool for making rapid, accurate judgments.

As we are planning our work as a designer of clothes, advertising, interior design or even in most art forms i.e. the non-visual literary or musical disciplines, we are constantly engaging in a beauty contest. As with grooming in front of the mirror, we think of questions like, Should I wear this or that or what shade or wear a tie or high heels? A thousand questions and answers pass through our minds in seconds as we prepare for the world. And the same process of asking oneself, Is this the best it can be? is taken very seriously by the authors of books and articles while they pore over every word, and by publishers and editors over every page, and by all surgeons, cosmetic or not.

And what I have learned over the years is that if we have predetermined what is most beautiful and we all agree upon the goal, we are much more likely to get there than if the surgeon begins the face operation with just a "Lets see what we can do" or "Ill do the best I can and well see how it comes out" attitude.

When the destination is known, chosen, decided and clearly in view, getting there is far more efficient, precise, and accurate than the aforementioned attitudes of finding or creating what we think at that moment looks best.

It is easier to hit a target that we can see than an invisible one. It is much more difficult to create the target as we go along.

This shooting from the hip (and calling whatever you hit the target) works well for some established artists such as Picasso. The results can look pretty weird rather than looking strikingly beautiful and natural - as though created by nature. Random, unplanned procedures and starting out without a carefully considered pre-determined goal is not good for cosmetic surgery. It is like not taking careful aim and hoping to hit the bull's-eye anyway.

A working definition

Our simple working definition of beauty is what everyone will think is beautiful. And let us remember that it must appear natural, or it is lacking.

A further extension of our goal of beauty is that 1.) It is lasting and as close to permanent as possible, 2.) It cannot be improved upon, 3.) There is close to 100% agreement of all who behold it that it is the most beautiful rendering of the subject ever seen, 4.) It fits not only the face and other features but also the personality of the person who is wearing it, 5.) It enhances the beauty of the whole person without drawing attention to itself, and 6.) All people of all races, creeds, cultures, ideas, attitudes, ages, and genders who are alive today, or who have ever lived, agree it is beautiful and fulfills all of these criteria. It must be perfect for all time or astoundingly close to it.

This kind of goal needs to be given some thought and planning.

When we see something that meets all these criteria or comes very close to it, the result was either carefully planned or there was a lot of luck involved. Planning makes it more of a sure thing.

All the work of planning is to take the luck out of it, so that we need not rely on it. Just as experience helps do the same.

It would be nice if experience would take the place of planning. And if what is being done with each surgery is the same, then experience really counts. If a musician always sings or plays only the same piece the same way, the practice from experience is most important. But this can eventually bore the audience. And the same nose, eyes, etc. do not fit different faces. What is perfect for one may be ludicrous on the other. This is shown under drawings in the index.

It would be great if the surgeon or artist made it perfect every time. And whatever s/he created met all the criteria above. But I have known thousands of such surgeons very well as colleagues, students and teachers, and have encountered none who could have done better without a predetermined goal.

Many surgeons or artists of all kinds do get to the point of seeing everything they do as being acceptable or more beautiful than anyone else could achieve. When such a feeling of satisfaction and conceit creeps into ones attitude, improvement in the results becomes impossible. And from the criteria described above, no one in cosmetic surgery I have ever heard of is justified in being smugly satisfied with his/her work.

As individuals, our opinions change. And that is one reason we should aim for what pleases all human genes, and not just fad or fashion or one person or even a group of persons.

The drawings and planning also eliminate the Emperors Clothes Complex for the patient by taking the plan to the critical, skeptical public before it is chosen.

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