https://unherd.com/newsroom/cosmetic-surgery-is-the-new-self-harm/ The rise of this treatment — sometimes referred to as “bleph” on social media — is a sign of a wider trend. Women no longer just have the option of boob jobs, tummy tucks or lip filler, but can choose from a whole menu of interventions: brachioplasty to remove “bingo wings”, Botox to make shoulders narrower, and labiaplasty for that porn-star look. It’s clear that the pursuit of Kardashian curves and contoured cheekbones comes with medical risks: infection, pulmonary embolism, fat embolism, facial paralysis. Since 2019, at least 28 Britons have died from complications following cosmetic procedures carried out in Turkey. Even when performed by regulated doctors in the UK, successful procedures come with high rates of dissatisfaction and do little to improve self-esteem. So why is cosmetic surgery accepted as just another form of “self-care”, rather than facing the unpalatable truth, which is that this is self-mutilation inflicted by the egregiously vain or the mentally unwell? In saner times, influencers such as Clavicular, who smashes his jawline with a hammer to give himself a more chiselled look, or Amy Childs, who claims to have been “addicted” to surgery since the age of 18, would be referred to a psychiatrist rather than boosted on a public platform. Yet in 2026, everything about our shallow, self-absorbed culture has become inverted: freezing facial muscles or scooping out cheek fat is apparently not a form of self-harm but self-love.