Plastic Surgery is far more than just vanity. Sometimes it can change a life. Click below for the full article on Refinery 29.
I Got Plastic Surgery To Get Ahead In My Career…and it worked.
KELSEY CASTAÑON
APRIL 10, 2018, 1:15 PM
In light of an annual report by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery that found that 57% of people get plastic surgery to stay competitive at work, we asked Raleigh Seldon, a 26-year-old marketing coordinator in L.A., to explain, in her own words, how rhinoplasty boosted her self confidence — and her career. The following story was told to Kelsey Castañon and edited for length and clarity.
Growing up in Toronto, Canada, plastic surgery, or anything else that altered your natural state, was super hush-hush and taboo — I knew nothing about it. The only real introduction I got was from reality shows like the Real Housewives, and even then they only talked about Botox. So I always knew I hated photos of myself, but I never knew what could be done. It wasn’t until last year, when I was working as a style editor at E! News, that I started to consider getting a nose job.
These days, everyone in media is becoming the face of their own personal “brand.” I had all these editors around me who would include selfies of themselves in their articles or go on camera, and I just couldn’t do it. I never wanted to shoot anything live because I was so worried about what my profile looked like. That absolutely hindered the path I could have taken my career on. When I wrote first-person pieces, I would either opt out of including a photo of myself, or I would reluctantly take one and my boss wouldn’t be happy with the imagery.
I never directly said anything about my appearance to my boss, but I had a personal relationship with her, so she knew my nose was something that bothered me. Whenever I got photos back, I’d be so picky and push it back to the retoucher. She observed that behavior and was like, “Okay, I see what’s going on here.”
