This blog post was sponsored and paid for by Mentor, but all my thoughts and words are 100% my own. #MentorPartner

I’ve been sitting on some really deep thoughts lately on what it means to truly sit in radical self-acceptance. A lot of the messages out there when it comes to acceptance or self-love talk about loving yourself unconditionally and to dismiss any thoughts on changing the body. To me, this feels a bit disempowering and can open the mind up for shame-filled thoughts, especially when a woman wants to own her desire for change in her life as it relates to the body.

In 2015 I made the decision to get a breast augmentation, a thought I had been sitting deeply on for almost 10 years. The decision for me to finally go for it was after I had my 2nd daughter. There was a moment when I had looked at my body naked in the mirror in acceptance of the changes my body had gone through and loving the shape of my body with my breasts fuller because of breast milk. I felt like a woman. I didn’t care how I looked post-baby – tired, just came home from the salon still in my work clothes smelling of all the different chemicals and products I sprayed on my clients, a cup of water in my hand nearly passing out on the couch from the mere exhaustion of being a new working mom all over again…None of that mattered. I was nourishing my child. 

It was a time in my life where I felt the deepest and most connected to my feminine and sensual energy as a woman. Looking back at how my breasts felt then they were full, voluptuous, and filled with love for life. This was the feeling I wanted to embody in myself even after the milk was gone. 

Now that it’s been about 5 years since I’ve gotten my breast augmentation, I’ve been doing some diligent research on breast implants and the different options they have today. As we know, technology changes rapidly and since this is elective surgery, I wanted to make sure that I had as much information as I possibly could to make an informed decision for any future changes I might want to make for my breasts.

I attended an online event not too long ago hosted by Mentor and New Beauty magazine. The event featured two patients and two leading plastic surgeons who had an open conversation about breast augmentation and breast reconstruction.

During the event, two Mentor patients shared their individual journeys and decisions to pursue breast augmentation and breast reconstruction. It was so heartfelt to hear about their journeys, and I remember when I was considering my breast augmentation years ago I wished I was able to hear the stories of other women who had gone through the process before me.  

The two surgeons, Dr. Kaplan and Dr. Yates, mentioned that they see how the shame of getting plastic surgery has really evolved over time. A lot of the judgment about women's plastic surgery is that the women getting the procedures are often insecure and “don’t love themselves”, but that’s not the case at all. The women who choose to get plastic surgery are often successful women who are making decisions to get closer to feeling empowered in their own bodies.

A plastic surgeon's role in life is to help people feel confident about themselves. I feel plastic surgery is just another tool, similar to exercise and dieting. Makeup, hair color, eyelash extensions…these are all just tools in our toolbox to draw self-confidence from. This doesn’t dismiss the fact that confidence stems from something within, but from time to time we might need another tool to sharpen the edge.

I always say this to the women I coach and to my daughters. It’s your body, your rules. You get to decide how you want to own your day, your life, and your body. If you decide to get breast implants, awesome. If you don’t, awesome. But if you do, check out Mentor. I was really impressed by their commitment to safety and innovation that allows women to choose the product that’s best for them. 

Mentor is the #1 global brand in breast aesthetics, so it was great to learn about their “patient first” approach. This allows them to be able to develop a wide range of breast implants, including the Mentor MemoryGel® Breast Implant, based on the desire patients have for a more natural look and feel.*

Mentor also does an incredible job of having resources available on their website to walk each woman through her journey of decision making. They even have this tool online where you can create your own profile, build out your collection of preferences, and have access to real patient results to discuss with your doctor. Check it out here. It’s honestly something I wish I had back then instead of my notebook filled with questions and a folder on my phone of screenshots of other women’s breasts.

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This post was created in partnership with Mentor Worldwide LLC.

*In-person consumer survey with 452 respondents.

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