The reasons for wanting to be beautiful run deep, and the reasons for wanting plastic surgery can be equally deep.  On some basic level, there is a drive inside humans that makes them want to be beautiful.  This is strongly related to the basic mechanisms for ensuring the survival of the species -- sex and all its glory, so to speak.  Sex is not about intercourse, though that is part of it.  Sex is part of how we interact with each other, what proves attractive or repulsive in fellow humans, and how we choose our potential mates.  Plastic surgery first and foremost feeds this drive.

Plastic surgery affects people on the physical and psychological level.  We make ourselves more physically beautiful with clothes, hairstyles, and cosmetics; plastic surgery, or changing features of the body to make it more appealing is taking it to the next level.  People want attention; they want to be looked at and to leave favorable impressions.  These favorable impressions work in many ways, whether we like to admit it or not.  The human brain is attracted to beauty, and automatically makes adjustments and subconscious selections based on physical beauty.  This means that how you look can mean the difference between getting what you want and failing to do so.

The most memorable features are those that are either beautiful or ugly, and not the ones in between.  Given this dichotomy of memory, people would rather be remembered as beautiful rather than ugly.  Plastic surgery is one option for those who feel that they are somehow unattractive, and is a way to correct that.

Those who are beautiful attract the attention of people.  The most beautiful people have the most admirers and listeners, thus beauty is power.  With beauty, you are given more opportunities to express yourself to more people, who can in turn provide feedback and collective wisdom.  In some way, beauty is a tool to refining knowledge.

The beautiful attract people who in turn want to become closely acquainted; this means the prettiest have the most friends, and are able to experience more interpersonal relationships.  For some people, the need to be around other people and communicate with them is greater than others; these “interpersonal” people are the ones that turn to plastic surgery.  By getting plastic surgery, they open up new doors and windows to let in the wonders of the world that surrounds us.  They experience more from the people around them, and enjoy the roller coaster of emotions stronger than others.

For some, plastic surgery is a way of rectifying mistakes and failures.  Those who have been injured or somehow deformed turn to plastic surgery to gain back what they lost.  These people just want to be able to interact with others without being labeled abnormal or ugly on some level.  For these men and women, plastic surgery is the key to reentering a normal life without being judged based on their appearance as a result of something that happened.

The reasons why people get plastic surgery are sometimes deep and sometimes shallow, but in the end people are people regardless of the choices they make.