Modern plastic surgery has fostered a mentality that we are not good enough, and that high-cost surgeries are the best way to ensure our long-term happiness and physical self satisfaction. Originally developed as a way to help wound victims deal with scarring, cosmetic surgery has blossomed into an industry for the mega-rich to lift, shrink, enlarge, and tuck their bodies in ways they can not or have not through exercise or a balanced lifestyle alone. Rhinoplasty, breast augmentation, liposuction, eyelid surgery and face lifts were the most popular plastic surgery procedures of 2002.

Rhinoplasty, or nose surgery is a popular way to generally shrink or lift, smooth or reshape your nose into a new you. It is designed to remove large bumps, correct the general shape, and even improve airflow through the nose for those who have obstructed passages.

Breast augmentation, generally carried out through implants, is designed to give women (and sometimes men) a little more up front. Also quite common are breast reduction and breast lift surgeries. These popular plastic surgery procedures are most often carried out by people who have experienced dramatic weight gain or loss, pregnancy or back problems, and are not exclusively cosmetic.

Liposuction involves removing excess fat from the abdomen, and has become a common practice for those in need of immediate or permanent weight loss. Other techniques such as the tummy-tuck or stomach stapling involve forcibly limiting the amount of food our bodies can consume or hold. Still other techniques include regular exercise, altering of diet and even supplements that increase the metabolism.

Eyelid surgery is used to tighten up the areas around your eyes that have a tendency to sag or droop with age, or carry wrinkles that show more years then you might like. Portions of excess skin around your eyes can be cut away, and wrinkles on the skin itself can be smoothed with laser and chemical resurfacing techniques.

Facelifts involve pulling the skin across your face a bit tighter to eliminate some of the wrinkles that age can bring. Most effective for shoring up the lower portion of your face, when combined with other surgeries such as the lipectomy, it can help eliminate a double chin, or with a bit of collagen injection allow you to have tighter skin and large, puffy lips. Similar to eyelid surgical techniques, chemical or laser resurfacing is necessary to change the actual surface of your skin’s texture.

There are risks as well as benefits involved in most plastic surgery. While it may make you look younger, many surgical techniques do not age as well as even our own fragile bodies. Cosmetic surgery can leave scars or telltale signs that you didn’t arrive here with those enhancements in place. While it has great benefits and can improve skin conditions, posture, remove scars, and probably most often help those with self-image issues, one must be aware of the physical and psychological repercussions of going under the knife. Choose wisely.

A study by Omnibus Operations: Ipsos North America has found the most popular redhead. The redhead to beat every other redhead knows to be a redhead was non-other than Ariel from Disney’s Little Mermaid.

Now I’m not sure a Mermaid should be counted if you are comparing them to those us of that are less freakish like real life humans such as Sarah Ferguson the former Duchess of York or even human-characters such as Pippi Longstocking, but irregardless the little mermaid has been found to be the most popular redhead.