Summer vacation body shaping has become a hot topic among those born after 2000.
Why get plastic surgery?
What did it look like?
Parents are more anxious than their children.
This article was written and photographed by our reporter, Qian Cheng Project correspondent.
The cold, round tip of the surgical needle gently pressed against Chen Yiting's upper eyelid, causing a crease to appear on her swollen, single eyelid. Eighteen-year-old Chen Yiting held a mirror in her hand. She looked and saw that she had obvious "double eyelids," and her eyes appeared larger. During the demonstration, the doctor discussed her facial defects with Chen Yiting's parents.
Summer vacation is the busiest time for cosmetic surgery. According to the official WeChat account of Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, plastic surgery, along with dermatology and endocrinology, has become a popular department for college students seeking medical treatment during the summer. According to the "2020 Medical Aesthetics Industry White Paper" released by Better Beauty App, the consumer group for medical aesthetics is becoming increasingly younger, with those born after 1995 accounting for 36% and those born after 2000 accounting for 19%.
Students born in the 2000s flocked to the cosmetic surgery market during their summer vacation. Why are young people so enthusiastic about cosmetic surgery? Outside the operating room, a reporter from Qianjiang Evening News interviewed these girls and their parents.
What should I do? My daughter isn't as resolute as my mother.
Zhang Pingping, who had just finished the college entrance examination, sat upright in his chair, looking handsome and quiet.
“Nobody understands that we are similar; everyone makes it look beautiful, so we have to do it too,” explained Li Fei, chief physician of plastic surgery at Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, to Shi Hangyan, explaining why she brought her daughter Zhang Pingping for plastic surgery.
Li Fei is in her forties, with curly hair, a pretty face, and deep double eyelids beneath neatly trimmed eyebrows. In her early twenties, she and a female colleague from the factory went to a small clinic and spent over a thousand yuan. Back then, if Li Fei didn't sleep well, her right eye would become a double eyelid, making her feel imperfect. After getting double eyelids, "I'm happy even when I look in the mirror," Li Fei said.
Li Fei was even more critical of her daughter's appearance: "Her nose is a bit flat. Should we open up the corners of her eyes?" Listen, doctor, what's wrong with this law?
Shi Hangyan asked Zhang Pingping, "What do you want to do?" Shi Hangyan showed Zhang Pingping a side view of his nose that she had taken with her phone, outlining the post-operative contours in red, and explained the different options for rhinoplasty using ear cartilage and silicone fillers. Zhang Pingping pinched his nose, the spot Shi Hangyan said he needed to make the incision in. His tone was a little nervous. "Should I have my nose made smaller?"
Before the consultation, Zhang Pingping had already looked up many cosmetic surgery cases online. She asked the doctor if ear cartilage and silicone materials had an expiration date, whether they needed frequent repairs, and whether silicone was translucent, etc.-she wasn't as resolute as her mother was when she was young.
Zhang Pingping frankly admitted that the plastic surgery was her mother's idea, but she vaguely felt that "that's just how things are now, and she has a lot of friends around her. When looking for a job, they also value her reputation."
Dad thought further ahead about the benefits of seeking medical treatment.
Dong Zhifang was waiting outside the operating room, holding dental floss, bread, and milk in one hand and a suitcase in the other-she had just finished her training at work and came to accompany her daughter, Lu Min, for her surgery. Her husband, Lu Zhiwei, was pacing anxiously in the corridor.
The moment the operating room doors opened, the couple immediately stood up. Twenty-year-old Lu Min still looked very young, with bruises and tear stains around her eyes. Her eyes, still red and swollen after the suture procedure, no longer had the single eyelids and small eyes that resembled her father's. Other waiting parents began praising the little girl for being beautiful and strong, and Lu Zhiwei smiled and thanked them.
"It hurt a lot when they gave me the anesthesia, but it's fine now." Lu Min took the ice pack from the nurse and applied it to her eyes. Dong Zhifang said that when her daughter was little, she would always tug at her eyelids and ask, "Mom, why are your eyes so beautiful?" "What's the use of being beautiful? You still have to wear glasses. Health is the most important thing," she always replied to her daughter.
Lu Min's transformation began in college. Short videos and various social media platforms are filled with an aesthetic world dominated by big eyes. Even when grabbing a cereal for breakfast, the blogger's posts always end with a selfie-still featuring big eyes and a high nose.
Dong Zhifang initially disagreed. She tried to persuade her daughter, "What if single eyelids become fashionable one day?" "I only have two years left before I graduate and have to find a job, and everyone's going to be single," Lu Min said anxiously.
Chen Yiting and Lu Min, both girls who traveled four hours from out of town to Hangzhou, shared the same sentiment. She never takes selfies when she's not wearing makeup.
Chen Tanqiu, the father who works in art education, has been doing his daughter's makeup since she was little. He knows his daughter's face: "Her eyes are very small. Sometimes when she applies eyeliner, it disappears with a blink."
Chen Yiting clicked on a video of an online celebrity's "most comprehensive analysis of plastic surgery" and told a reporter from Qianjiang Evening News that this was the most popular plastic surgery template at the moment-an hour later, she would undergo double eyelid surgery and chin augmentation. The doctor demonstrated the post-operative results, but Chen Yiting still didn't know what he wanted to do.
Tan Qiu thought further ahead. He believed cosmetic surgery was a high-return endeavor: "It's not just useful for work, it'll even help you find a partner in the future. Life moves so fast these days, who wants to take their time dating you? Looks are the first hurdle." He reminded his daughter to keep her surgery a secret. "Just in case people use it against you..."
Cosmetic surgery is essentially a surgical procedure, and doctors advise caution.
Regarding the enthusiasm of the post-2000 generation for cosmetic procedures, we have heard more opinions from doctors.
Shi Hangyan said, “Those born in the 2000s are generally well taken care of by their parents, and some of them have weaker psychological resilience and may not be suitable for cosmetic surgery.”
In early July, Shi Hangyan saw a girl born in the 2000s. The girl had undergone double eyelid surgery at a top-tier hospital in Ningbo. After the surgery, she felt her eyes were trembling and unable to close, and wanted to have them corrected. However, after examination, Shi Hangyan found that the procedure itself was not the problem; the trembling was likely caused by psychological factors.
After inquiring, Shi Hangyan learned that during the surgery, both the doctor and the assistant said it would be "difficult to sew," which became a source of anxiety for the girl. As she searched for cases of failed double eyelid surgeries on her phone, her post-operative anxiety worsened, even causing her to suffer from insomnia. Although the doctor advised that she needed to have her eyes repaired, Shi Hangyan suggested that the girl see a psychologist, and her condition improved somewhat.
Sun Yi, deputy chief physician of the Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery at Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, has also seen young people pay money, sign informed consent forms for surgery, and then give up on plastic surgery right outside the operating room.
"Cosmetic surgery is essentially surgery. Surgery always carries risks, so it should be carefully considered." Sun Yi suggests that before undergoing cosmetic surgery, one should first choose a reputable hospital and a suitable doctor, look at the surgical cases of different doctors, develop an understanding of one's own facial features and aesthetic judgment, and familiarize oneself with the procedures, especially the potential risks and side effects, so that young people can independently communicate with their doctors about the surgical plan.
Sun Yi told Qianjiang Evening News reporter that in recent years, more and more people born in the 2000s have undergone cosmetic surgery, mainly women. Especially during the summer vacation, most students are after the college entrance examination, and the most popular procedures are eye and nose plastic surgery.
“Many times, parents will ask, ‘Doctor, what do you think?’ Many children don’t speak up, but their parents always speak for them, and their opinions still don’t agree,” Sun Wei said.
Given the trend of cosmetic surgery targeting younger people, Sun Yi does not recommend that minors undergo cosmetic procedures. "On the one hand, minors lack experience and have not yet developed a complete aesthetic system; on the other hand, their physical and mental development is not yet complete, and plastic surgery may cause harm."
