Plastic surgeons are noticing a new trend during the summer months. Not only are they visited by their usual patients who want to look good in swimwear, but they are also seeing a bevy of teachers lining up to undergo a wide range of cosmetic procedures. Educators claim that summer is the ideal time to freshen up their appearance or finally undergo that nose job or breast augmentation that they have been wanting for so long. The summer months give them plenty of time to recover and rest from the procedure so that they can start school in the fall looking and feeling their best.

Motivation Behind Plastic Surgery Among Teachers

Teachers cite many reasons for making plastic surgery enhancements to their faces or bodies. Even those who are in top physical shape note that some imperfections, such as smile lines and droopy eyelids, cannot be exercised away. Classroom veterans may feel that a fresh, youthful look will give them a competitive edge among younger, newer teachers. Many educators also state that their own students, who can be honest to a fault, have pointed out certain features that attract attention for all the wrong reasons.

Frequently Requested Cosmetic Procedures

The types of plastic surgery and skin rejuvenation procedures obtained by teachers vary depending on the patient’s age. The following are the most sought-after procedures:

• Breast Implants: Also called breast augmentation, breast implants add volume to small or irregularly shaped breasts. Patients of all ages request breast augmentation, which may be combined with a breast lift if the patient has experienced sagging due to breast-feeding or weight loss.
• Rhinoplasty: This procedure is also known as a “nose job,” and many younger teachers undergo this surgery to reshape and resize the nose.
• Face Lift: A face lift tightens loose facial skin, jowls and sagging in the neck and typically addresses the lower two-thirds of the face. It involves removing facial fat deposits, tightening facial muscles and removing excess skin to turn back the clock.
• Eyelid Surgery and Brow Lift: While a face lift enhances the lower part of the face, separate procedures must be performed to lift the forehead and eye area. The two most common types of procedures done on the upper face are eyelid surgery, which removes folds of skin on the upper eyelids and bags from under the eyes, and a brow lift, which lifts the skin on the forehead and softens frown lines.
• Liposuction: Despite rigorous exercise, some deposits of dimpled fat stubbornly remain around the waist, hips, thighs and knees. Liposuction is a procedure that uses a suction device to remove areas of fat through very small incisions.
• Nonsurgical Treatments: Teachers and patients from all backgrounds flock to the cosmetic surgeon’s office year-round for minimally invasive procedures that require little or no downtime. These treatments include chemical peels, which remove outer layers of skin to reveal fresh, new skin, and Botox injections, which relax the facial muscles underneath wrinkles, giving the skin a smoother appearance. Other injectable treatments, such as Juvederm and Restylane, can help fill lines and reshape certain areas of the face.

Cosmetic Surgery Downtime

While summertime is not the only time teachers visit the plastic surgeon’s office, they typically undergo more invasive procedures during summer vacation because most major surgeries require two to four weeks of healing time, which often involves a fair amount of swelling and bruising. Furthermore, the patient can have the work done without anyone at school knowing about it. If the procedure is performed by an experienced cosmetic surgeon with an artful eye for subtlety, colleagues and students returning to campus in the fall will likely not suspect the teacher has had work done. They will only notice that he or she looks rested, youthful and ready to take on the new school year.