Imperfect Pearls

NO! Rock it Real!

Many of you who know me know that I am not a fan of plastic surgery.
I do everything within my power to inspire people to tune into their Inside, not fix their Outside.
Friday night’s 20/20 was all about plastic surgery. Most of it made me want to cry.

Now, I’m no purist. I understand that we have cosmetic surgery for a reason. It offers a chance for a “normal” appearance and experience for folks who, for whatever reason, have not.
With a firm grip on one’s self-esteem and the right emotional outlook a procedure can give some people the boost they need to finally feel like their outside reflects their inside. I’ve seen it happen.

Mostly, though, I’ve seen the opposite.

Women who have nothing physically wrong with them undergo the knife again and again. The top procedure? Breast implants. Duh. We Americans can’t get past our breast obsession.
The thing I can’t understand is that these women (and girls!) end up looking cartoonish in their after shots and they’re THRILLED. They can’t see the imbalance in it. They can’t see the silly in the silicone. How does that happen?

Most disturbing, though, is the teenage factor. Teen plastic surgery has risen 380% in the last 10 years. What?! Or more importantly, Why?!
Not to mention the non-surgical procedures like Botox, laser treatments & a variety of fillers. (Are you hearing me, Readers? These are TEENAGERS!!)
Sorry for yelling, I’m upset.
The young ladies interviewed on the show started their procedures as teens and are now in their early 20′s. Ironically, I thought they looked older. Maybe because they look the same way many of the women from The Real Housewives franchise do. Pretty, yes, but rubbery & painted.

And now gluteal enhancement! Really? Weren’t women forever asking their partners “Does this make my butt look big?” Now suddenly because a few lovely celebrities have embraced their larger posteriors (and may I say, rocked it!) the new insecurity of choice is a small backside? Oh, no no no.

And now we’re taking men along for the ride. They have had a 100% increase in procedures since 1997 believing that the procedures “Help project confidence.”
The most disturbing new trend, Cosmetic Limb Lengthening. Where they actually break your legs and insert metal rods in them to make you grow taller. Medically, that’s fascinating. Personally? It’s nauseating.

Now, many people say if it’s making these people happy who cares? They should do whatever they want.  Agreed… partially.
Because here’s the rub – once you start “fixing” things that are imperfect about your physique, it’s very difficult to stop. Dermatologist Patricia Wexler equates it to “washing spots off of a wall. Once you wash the first one off, everything else looks dirty.”  Also, it becomes difficult to see when you are taking it too far.  You lose perspective on your own features.

But the most important reason why I care is because we all take cues from each other. Carl Jung defined it as: “the unconscious influence of one being on another” and we’re sending the message of inauthenticity. We are teaching our children by our own behavior that looks are more important than character. That beauty is to be revered, no matter the cost.
Our current actions tell them that they should place their value on their measurements and their line-free faces.

So, what do we do?

Imperfect Pearls is all about being positive and pro-active.  Our goal is to create a world (that’s right, an entire WORLD) where being real, authentic, genuine and true is as cool as it gets.  No matter who you are, what you do, where you come from, what you look like.

We’ll back up our philosophy with community service, public speaking and products.  We intend our point of view to be represented in life, in books and in the media – with humor, wellness and style!

ALL ABOARD!!