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Beauty Really Comes Before Brains, Plastic Surgeon

By Christine Hsu | Update Date: Jun 04, 2013 03:12 PM EDT

Beauty can take you anywhere because people are hardwired to appreciate good looks, according to a leading plastic surgeon.

Dr. Bryan Mendelson, former president of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, reveals that beautiful people generally do better in life.  Not only do they get a head start in life, they also tend to have better romantic relationships and earn more money than their uglier counterparts, according to Mendelson's new book, 'In Your Face'.

The new book reiterates the idea of "pulchronomics," a word coined by U.S. economist Daniel Hamermesh to describe the economic value of beauty. Hamermesh once said that being born beautiful had an economic value of approximately $230,000 over the course of a lifetime.

However, Mendelson says that the opposite is also true. Being born unattractive is taxing, and his new book uses findings from previous studies, as well as his personal and professional experience to educate people about the importance of good looks cosmetic surgery.

"There has been a study on less attractive men and how much their looks cost them," Mendelson tells Huffington Post in an interview.

"Throughout their lives these men have to work harder and perform better than good looking men, but ultimately they are still getting less because they aren't seen to be so nice," he explained.

Mendelson says people are hardwired to associate attractive people as being good and nice.

"People who don't look so nice are constantly being labeled and police target people who look like criminals," he said.

In his new book, Mendelson, who has been a plastic surgeon for more than 25 years in Australian, examines why people undergo cosmetic procedures and the payoff for going under the knife.

He notes that 99.9 percent of clients don't tell their friends and family they've had plastic surgery.

"People have surgery not to impress others, they do it to impress themselves," Mendelson said.  "For many people, it's about getting their confidence back. The fact is it's about self-esteem. They're doing it for themselves."

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