It’s a fact: human beings have imperfections. But that doesn’t mean they have to like them; not when covering, contouring, injecting, surgically removing, surgically enhancing, chemically peeling, laser shooting, and medication can make those imperfections disappear. And it’s all thanks to science. Along with its many essential, life-giving technologies, science has also brought a seemingly endless supply of strange, expensive, painful, and sometimes dangerous tools and techniques for fighting that omnipresent enemy of the face and physique: time. In this case, science isn’t driven by the pure motivation of discovery. It’s heavily funded by a culture that values very specific types of beauty. Few people are born who meet this standard naturally. So, vast numbers feel like they have to pony up to measure up. Beauty is big business.

Celebrity role models with their endless coffers and daily close-ups lead the pack, but cosmetic procedures are popular among every demographic... keep reading