Waiting for beauty: Photographer Ji Yeo shines a light on women recovering from cosmetic surgery

We’ve featured so many “before and after” cosmetic surgery photo collections here on RocketNews24 that I’m personally starting to lose count. And yet there’s something so undeniably compelling about images of the selfsame people looking markedly different after going under the knife that it’s hard not to look.

Rather than comparing pre and post-surgery photos, though, today we’d like to share with you a collection of images from acclaimed photographer Ji Yeo, which focus solely on the painful, decidedly lonely period that occurs between the two. Yeo’s “Beauty Room Recovery” collection shows a handful of South Korean women who have opted to change their bodies through surgery and, after waking up bandaged and sore, begin the process of recovery and transition into the version of themselves that they have long wanted to be.

Join us after the jump to check out these haunting, intimate images.

It’s easy to criticise those who, rather than learning to live with or love their “flaws”, choose to pay to change their shape. But few people would ever claim to be completely happy with their bodies as they are, and we’ve most likely all daydreamed about changing a little bit of ourselves at some point in our lives.

Whatever a person’s motivation for turning to cosmetic surgery, though, it is important to remember that even with advances in medicine and surgical techniques, the changes do not occur overnight. Yeo’s title, “Beauty Recovery Room” may seem almost absurd at first (since when did beauty become something that one must “recover” from?), but recovery is exactly what is required when we turn to surgery to achieve our ideal shape.

Although those undergoing facial surgery and the like may be able to move about their home freely with only some discomfort, those who opt to cut into their torsos and limbs often have to remain in bed for long periods of time, with tubes, bandages and braces essential to their recovery.

There are times when cosmetic surgery can truly bring individual happiness, but we’d advise anyone considering it to think long and hard before putting their body through what looks to be a long, painful process.

All photos copyright and published with the permission of Ji Yeo

SoraNews24 —Japan News—