Throughout the centuries, women have been looking for ways to improve their appearance. As far back as ancient Egypt, women have understood the power of looking their best. In the old days women wore makeup, bleached their skin, dyed their hair, plucked their eyebrows, painted their lips, cinched their waists, starved themselves, fattened themselves up, stretched their legs, and donned elaborate wigs.

If the technology for breast implants had been available to women 1000 years ago, odds are many of them would have gone under the knife. Thanks to modern technology, women have many more options available to them for physical improvement. This does not come without risks. While makeup can be washed off, eyebrows can grow back, and weight can be gained or lost, there is usually no way to reverse the results of plastic surgery.

Having breast augmentation surgery can give a woman increased self-esteem and confidence if done well. However, if she is unhappy with the results or there are complications, her life can be turned upside down. Women are faced with many more choices in these modern times and with those choices come risks.

Those are risks many women are willing to take in the name of beauty. The desire for voluptious breasts often overrides the risks involved in getting them. Japanese prostitutes injected themselves with industrial silicone liquid in order to appeal to American GIs. They had no qualms about experimenting on their own bodies in the name of beauty, especially since beauty for them meant survival.

Over the rest of the 20th century, breast augmentation techniques improved and evolved, but even today there are often complications involved in the surgery. Many women have opted to have them removed after complications such as leakage or deflation. Reality shows such as MTV's "I Want a Famous Face" document the positive and negative aspects of plastic surgery.

Being aware of the negatives doesn't stop new generations of women from getting breast implants or other plastic surgery. Because the drive for perfection and beauty in our species is so strong, it is certain that women (and men) continue to clamor for plastic surgery as long as there are mirrors in which they can judge themselves.