During the 1980’s and 1990’s, Beverly Hills and Hollywood became known as the plastic surgery capitol of the world. This region was not given the pseudonym “Silicone Valley” for no reason. There are more plastic surgery procedures performed in this area of Southern California than anywhere else on the globe. This is primarily due to the immense wealth of this area’s residents and the central importance of the entertainment industry to this region.
When anyone thinks of the plastic surgery industry in Beverly Hills and Hollywood, they instantly picture the artificial look that everyone has seen in pictures and in movies, complete with high arching eyebrows, enhanced cheek bones and unnaturally large lips. Plastic surgery can be put to good use, but Silicone Valley does not do a very good job exemplifying this. In fact, it has given the cosmetic surgery industry a reputation for catering to vain, frivolous customers who take cosmetic alterations to a level of excess.
Outside of Beverly Hills and Hollywood, the plastic surgery industry is very different. There are quality plastic surgeons located through out North America in all of the large to midsize cities, but people hardly acknowledge their presence because their work is much less excessive. This is because outside of Beverly Hills and Hollywood, plastic surgery is much more tasteful and conservative. There is a higher value on natural living and restraint in cosmetically altering one’s appearance. Even in New York, a city that is renowned for its fashion and high culture, plastic surgery is regarded more as something to be used in moderation rather than in excess.
The attitude toward plastic surgery changes from region to region. In the central part of the United States, plastic surgery is often considered completely frivolous and unnatural, even sinful. In the Miami area of Florida, a region known for its wild side, plastic surgery is accepted in a similar way as it is in Beverely Hills and Hollywood. In the northern, highly educated parts of the United States, cosmetic alterations are kept to a minimum. In Canada, the Vancouver and Montreal areas see the most plastic surgery, while Toronto, Edmonton and Okanagan plastic surgery industries are minimal as well.