I've wanted my nose fixed ever since I was in middle school.

Skipping the sob story about being teased, I just want it done. I want my nose fixed. I want to be able to take pictures or look in the mirror without feeling incredibly insecure and ugly.

I'm turning 21 in February and I still want a nose job after all these years.

If any of you have had nose jobs, what are your experiences? Do you regret it? Are you happy you did it? If you feel comfortable, would you share pictures?

What should I look for in a surgeon? I've been told to find someone who strictly specializes in facial plastic surgery and has a lot of experience.

What are some red flags I should keep an eye out for if I consult a surgeon?

What are signs of an experienced and trustworthy surgeon?

edit: Also, how can I talk my parents and boyfriend into accepting my desire for a nose job? They seem to believe that I need to get over it and love my nose/face for what it is. My boyfriend gets really bent out of shape if I bring it up. "I fell in love with your face, I don't want you to change it," is usually what he tells me. I feel as if I should be able to change my face if I want, and it's sort of selfish of my family and boyfriend to tell me I shouldn't change something about me. I mean, I totally understand the risk, but it's my face and I just want happiness. I feel as if my boyfriend should love me whether my nose is ugly or if I get surgery on it. I would never tell someone they're not allowed to change something about them.

it's your body and you should do what you want with it, but superficial things cannot bring you happiness. however, a lot of people develop respiratory issues from nose jobs, so you might want to do your research on that if you haven't already.

I totally agree with You're free to do whatever you want to it, but be aware of the risks involved ;). I really really know how you feel, I hate my nose, it's too long and I avoid to take pictures of myself that shows its "longness". I feel extremely uncomfortable with it too, everytime I go out of home, but I have no choice and need to accept it (hard thing but oh well). I can't afford a nose job, but even if I could, I would be afraid of doing it. Sometimes the results aren't what we expected... My boyfriend feels the same about me, he loves my face, my friends too, and I think that should be enough to be happy with myself, yeah - it should but isn't. Good luck with that friend <3

Actually I think you're pretty fine like you already are, I love your pics but even if others like us for who and what we are and look, we need to feel that way with ourselves. It's a constant battle and I hope we both win it.

True, I definitely need to do plenty of research before I make any decision.

I can't afford one either. I'd need to save up forever. Thank you though!! I'm also afraid of coming out with a nose that's worse than the one i have right now.

Yes, so there are enough reasons for you to not think about it. Well, isn't easy, I feel bad for parts of my body, specially the nose, but I just can't change it, my mind rejects me but I keep fighting for trying to like myself at least once in life. I hope you're strong enough to forget about that, you're beautiful, but you need to feel it, not just hear it from others.

My boyfriend got plastic surgery on his nose, not because it was ugly but because he had a deviated septum. They fixed it, but as stated above he now has breathing problems, sometimes so much that he can't fall asleep. Sometimes he'll just roll back and forth in bed for like 30 minutes before he finally can start sleeping. I'd just be careful... it really bugs him and he says he wishes he could have never gotten the surgery.

One of my friends got her nose done earlier this year. She had broken it but it wasn't set properly so it healed weird. It bothered her for a really long time and she went for it after doing her research. Personally, I thought it came out fantastic...I never had a problem with my nose but seeing her nose made me jealous HAHA.

I know there are a lot of forums around the internet dedicated to PS? I would try to search them out, because a lot of the time people will post their experiences on them (realself and purseforum are two I can think of off the top of my head?...not sure how useful they are exactly though). Definitely go to a reputable plastic surgeon. If you can consult with them, make sure you are comfortable with what the surgeon tells you. Also if you can, consult with more than one surgeon to see if what they tell you matches up or if it's really different, and compare that with whatever independent research you can do.

I personally am not really against getting plastic surgery...barring like really extreme cases or people who may legitimately suffer from BDD or something. I don't know that you'll ever be able to really convince your family/bf to approve, but if they love you unconditionally, it should be something that they can at least accept. You just have to make sure, like REALLY REALLY MAKE SURE that you know what you're getting out of it. And of course make sure you know the risks and especially don't go into it thinking that this is going to be a perfect solution. I think 21 is still pretty young, you said you need to do research and save money anyway, so I would just take your time as you do that...

Just remember, things can go horribly wrong so make sure you are 100% sure about this choice.

Thank you!! I personally sometimes worry I have BDD. I can never tell if I accept my face/body or not. If someone takes a photo of me, I want to cry and I hate myself. I definitely plan on doing way more research and consulting multiple surgeons.

Oh GOD. yeah. Even if I had the money right now, I would still be hesitant due to seeing nose jobs go wrong.

I can't offer any advice, but my grandmother got rhinoplasty for cosmetic reasons and it looked so natural that I was shocked to learn that she had had it done when she was young. To my knowledge, it's never given her any trouble and it still looks good and natural even now, and she's approaching 80 (and I believe that cartilage continues to very slowly grow throughout your life, so that says a lot).

You need to do what makes you happy, but maybe also consult a therapist about your decision to make sure that this isn't BDD you're dealing with? Also it would be good to discuss the psychological aftereffects of surgery and how people could treat you differently if you do it. I'd just like to cover all my bases if I were you.