The key difference between self-esteem and self-concept is as follows; - “Self-esteem reflects a person’s overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own value based on their social experiences (or social status)” (Patrick, Mike, & Lynda, 2008) - “Self-concept relates to the beliefs, feelings, evaluations, attitudes, and vision that one has towards oneself” (Kobal, Musek, 2001) As we can see from these two different definitions it is clear that cosmetic surgery would certainly have an impact on both self-esteem and self-concept. It is also clear from the definition of self-esteem however that those in the group of people who have deeper rooted issues than simply disliking a part of their body, would have their esteem boosted, because of their new social status.

The increase in perception of either self-esteem or self-concept are of course matters of the mind and a common concern amongst family and friends of someone who goes in for cosmetic surgery is whether or not they are looking to improve their self-concept, or if they are simply doing it for self-esteem, which may not always be the best reason for opting for surgery. Those for example who go for oversized breast implants are often asked to speak to a psychologist first to understand what their reasoning is behind this. Such a request is very different from a small chested woman wishing to get a slight size increase. In the first instance, this screams a need for a self-esteem boost, whereas the second example would look a lot more like someone trying to redefine their self-concept.