Good and Bad
I believe that cosmetic surgery is a personal option but in some cases it becomes a bad addiction. In the case of the personal option, i don't think that plastic surgery is necessarily a bad thing. All human beings have some sense of insecurity and for some people that insecurity is their appearance. I think that plastic surgery is a self esteem booster, which a little boost is not a problem. For example, my mother's friend Valerie was self conscious about the size of her breast for twenty four years of her life. She would not go out in public with a bathing suit on, she would be very selective on the type of blouses she would wear, and she felt that men would not date her because of her breast size. She finally decided to pursue a breast augmentation. Afterwards, she says that she felt like a different woman. No longer was her self esteem low, but she actually felt good about herself. As Valerie describes, "This minor cosmetic surgery drastically changed my life." These circumstances where plastic surgery is minor but creates a positive change in a person's life are not bad. Also cosmetic surgery, in many cases, helps save people's lives. For example, a burn victim needs new skin on their face so that they will not bleed to death or a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and has to remove her breasts in order to survive. Cosmetic surgery is changing their appearance just like someone were to change their hair color, or get an ear piercing. If the changes are made moderately to make someone happy than ultimately I believe there is nothing wrong with it unless it becomes excessive.
Secondly, I believe when cosmetic surgery becomes an obsession is when it turns into a bad situation. People start changing their perception from a physical to a mental problem. That is why I believe that cosmetic surgery should have limitations. If someone is coming in weekly for a different procedure, than i classify that as a problem. At this point people get surgery not because it makes them happy but because it has become a norm to their lifestyle. This is why doctors should come up with a test to evaluate the mental state of their patient before they undergo procedures. The test should ask specific questions so that doctors can tell if their patient is at a point where the surgery is going to make them happy or the surgery is just another form of an addiction. I don't believe it would be difficult to tell this distinction because in my opinion there is a fine line between the two types of people. Overall, this is the reason that I chose to argue it depends. Each individual person truly contributes to cosmetic surgery to be both good and bad.