Heidi, Be Real, Not Plastic!

I know you probably don’t want to hear yet another person talk about Heidi & Spencer (or Jon & Kate, for that matter), but I absolutely need to get it out of my system. So, here it comes. What in the world is up with Heidi Montag and her 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day?!?! A mini brow lift, rhinoplasty, Botox, fat injections in her cheeks and lips, chin reduction, liposuction to her neck, waist and thighs, buttocks augmentation, breast augmentation revision and her ears pinned back. Phewwwww! Does she have issues or what! Why would a perfectly beautiful 23 year old need to do all that? And this isn’t the first time she has gone under the knife. In 2007, she had reportedly gone in for breast augmentation, collagen lip injections and rhinoplasty. She probably should have stopped right there, but even after getting a total of 13 procedures already, she says there’s more to come. Apparently she wants her triple D’s to be even bigger. “H for Heidi,” she says. Aww, how cute! Good to know her sense of humor is still intact, even if her brain’s gone for a vacation.

Heidi before any surgery

Heidi after 2007 surgery

Heidi after recent surgery

Heidi seemed a bit delusional in her interviews after the surgery, and kept referring to herself as “the improved me.” And when asked about the kind of message she was giving out to all her young fans, she said, “Well, my main message is that beauty is really within.” If that’s your message Heidi, then instead of getting such a drastic physical makeover why don’t you go work on being a beautiful person from “within”? After her first round of surgery, Heidi had said that boys used to make fun of her when she was younger, which made her insecure and plastic surgery was her way of taking revenge. Good going, Heidi. By getting a completely fake face and body, you sure told them!

I think all of us have been teased as children and we all get insecure about certain flaws in our body but that doesn’t mean we go and get every plastic surgery procedure in the book. We need to learn to face those flaws, find our inner confidence, and learn to love ourselves despite them. What Heidi Montag is lacking isn’t good looks or a fantastic body, she’s lacking self-confidence. Oprah Winfrey needs to call her on her show and teach her a few things about self-esteem. Or she needs to go befriend Gabourey Sidibe of “Precious” fame. Now she’s a bundle of joy, that one! Her interview in the Feb issue of Harper’s Bazaar is a must-read. She says, “People always ask me, ‘You have so much confidence. Where did that come from?’ It came from me. One day I decided that I was beautiful, and so I carried out my life as if I was a beautiful girl. I wear colors that I really like, I wear makeup that makes me feel pretty, and it really helps. It doesn’t have anything to do with how the world perceives you. What matters is what you see.” Seriously, I need more people like her in my life. Heidi, are you reading this?

Gabourey Sidibe

Before you guys think I’m promoting obesity I’m not. In the Harper’s Bazaar article she talks about going to the gym and swimming 100 laps a day, so I do think she intends to lose weight. But while she’s on the quest to do so, she still loves herself for who she is, which is a wonderful quality to have. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t make sense to kill yourself, because who are you trying to be beautiful for? It’s a mind game, not a body game,” she says. This seems apt for Heidi who also almost died from all that Demerol after her surgery. Really, is beauty worth dying for?

It’s not that I’m completely against plastic surgery. I’m against getting plastic surgery for flaws that don’t even exist. From all the so-called flaws that Heidi mentioned, the only thing I noticed was her “Jay Leno” chin, which was fixed the first time around. She was absolutely beautiful and didn’t need to get all those other procedures. In fact, all it did was make her look robotic and 10 years older than she actually is. Her face doesn’t look natural at all and what’s the point of getting work done if people can actually tell that you got it done? Plastic surgeons also need to stop being greedy and learn when to say no. In fact, every person interested in plastic surgery should be required to see a psychologist and get an “ok” from them first.

Everyone’s worried about the kind of message Heidi is sending to young women, but I say we forget about what Heidi’s doing and have more programs like the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. We need to raise self awareness and boost the self-esteem of young women all over the world so that they feel comfortable in their own skin and not follow Heidi’s footsteps. I just love it when celebrities like Tyra Banks and Oprah talk so openly about their flaws on national television. We really need more famous people doing that. It shows us that even the celebrities we look up to aren’t perfect. Nobody is! Imperfection is what makes us human. It’s what makes us real.

It’s Valentine’s Day, a day of love, and I can’t think of a better time for all of us to begin facing our flaws and loving ourselves, just the way we are!

Hugs & Kisses,