I kept seeing on Instagram people getting their lips done and how they looked more pouty and it looked really cute and I really liked it. I took selfies everyday for a while, right
after I did it. Social media is about projecting an image–the perfect selfie, the perfect body. You can easily add a filter to obscure your
flaws and achieve the illusion of perfection. But why stop there? In 2016, Americans spent more than 8 billion dollars on minimally invasive procedures – botox, lazer, filler. How has social media collided with these emerging cosmetic techniques to drive young women to chase the filtered look? And who benefits from the rise of this culture of perfection? I’ve always liked the shape of my lips, but
I felt like there was something missing. And that they would just look so much nicer if I had just added a little bit of something. Meet Ashley. Like many young women, she spends hours upon hours looking at her own image online, seeking ways to alter, improve and perfect her look. This was directly after. It was just like a new me. Like I had a new face. I had a new enhancement. So this was the second day and it was way
more swollen. But I was like, “Okay, this is fun.” I took a lot of selfies that day, from all angles. “Look! I just got my lips done!” You know what I mean? People are much more aware of their visual profile because visual communication is such a key part of connecting with people. Because they’re images, we tend to hyper focus on specific things that we like and don’t like about ourselves. So social media has to have had a massive impact on the popularity of these even if they are more widely available. I’m sure it has and, in part, it’s decreased the stigma over having plastic surgery. Kiss those lines goodbye! Discover new Juvederm XC. Botox and filler have historically been marketed to women in their 40’s and above, but social media has helped drive the demand for cosmetic work like this younger and younger. In the last 10 years, the use of soft tissue fillers and botox injections are trending up for women in their twenties. I feel like I check Instagram every half hour. My boyfriend gives me a hard time all the time. He’s says I’m obsessed. I feel like if I tried to get off social media it would be really hard for me. Like it actually would be really hard for me. It’s almost like there’s a rush, in a way. You know, when people are liking your photos that you’ve posted. It’s kind of, it's like a validation. Though social media platforms were designed for community, a place to share fun moments with friends, they’ve become a marketplace for advertisers to reach women seeking out that perfect look. Much of it flows out of that hotbed of status and beauty...Beverly Hills. A zip code that offers a kind of prestige for plastic surgeons like doctor Daniel Barrett. He’s seen the effect of social media on his practice. To work in this industry in Beverly Hills, it's 100% essential to be on social media. I get a lot of patients that find me by doing
hashtag searches. Relax your head back. I’m going to do the same angle before and
then after, okay? When it comes to cosmetic procedures, whether on Instagram, Yelp or Realself, social media platforms can be a good source of information. But not all information on social media is medically accurate. It’s up to doctors to explain the risks. Perfect. Plastic and cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Anita Patel, sees many patients who don’t fully understand the risks, even of minimally invasive procedures, like injectables, including botox or fillers that smooth out wrinkles or plump up lips. I think social media glosses over the risks
of injectables. Injectables have become so common and people see it everywhere and in their mind it’s a very easy thing to have done. I think they’re kind of comparing it to, say, a hair salon appointment or getting a facial and it’s really not the same thing. It’s a medical procedure and it needs to be treated that way. So usually even with numbing you can kind
of feel this going in and a little bit of the product because of the gel. It stings a little bit. What are the risks of getting dermal filler? Even in the best of circumstances the most trained person, a complication is still always possible. There can be things like blindness, loss of skin. Plastic surgeons like Dr. Barrett and Dr. Patel are board certified, but there’s actually no requirement that a doctor be board certified. So who else is performing these procedures? And if they’re not board certified...is it enough to be celebrity certified? In a world where posts of celebrity cosmetic procedures influence others, a simple hashtag or link opens the door for millions of followers to check out the office where it was performed. In our culture we have a bad habit these days of equating important or celebrity with skills and authority. Somehow we’re presuming because they’re well known, that they’re qualified. But the other problem with all of this is that frequency increases liking and liking increases trust. So in theory someone who’s marketing their medical practice on Instagram, the more they post, the more you'll trust them. Correct. We're on our way to meet with the original
Doctor of Instagram. He has over 2.5 million followers, just on Instagram alone. In fact actually the person who introduced me to Instagram was Kim Kardashian. Meet Dr. Simon Ourian. He’s famous for injecting Kylie Jenner’s lips...when she was 17. And thanks to his celebrity clientele and social media savvy, he’s becoming known as the Doctor who is reshaping Hollywood. As someone who covers beauty and has covered beauty for a long time, it’s almost impossible to have a conversation about doctors on social media without you coming up. If you’d asked me, probably, eight years ago that at some point you can wake up in the morning and reach 2.5 million people...I’d say, “It’s impossible.” Instagram was the right medium for us. In 15 seconds I could exactly show what I do. Dr. Ourian is a medical doctor licensed in
the state of California. But the rest of his path has been...unconventional. So you didn’t finish your residency? No. Halfway through it I realized that's not my thing. I didn't want to do that anymore. I just wanted to do something that had to do with aesthetics. I thought I wanted to do something different… Is it pretty rare to not have finished it? Yeah, it was kind of like one of those life altering moments in your life. There weren’t that many options for aesthetics and I thought, “I’ll see what else is out there for me.” Doctors don’t have to finish residency in order to practice. But in 2009, Dr. Ourian did run into some trouble. He was accused of gross negligence, misleading advertising, and inadequate record keeping. After admitting to many, but not all of the allegations made against him, he was placed on probation and required to practice under the supervision of another doctor. Dr. Ourian completed the terms of his probation and it was lifted early. Today, that part of the story is not on Instagram. But what is on Instagram is a steady stream of posts about his business and business is booming. This is Tiffany, a model and actress. She’s never had lip injections, but has always thought her top lip was too small. 30.5. And lips are Dr. Ourian’s specialty. I trust Dr. Ourian 100%. Are you ready for your adventure. How are you feeling? I don’t feel anything, yeah. That vibrating thing is cool. It’s called Vibrata. Sometimes I want to create more of a lift, so I use some products that stay very nice and firm. The truth of the matter is if I was just good at marketing and not good at what I do, first of all Kardashians wouldn’t come to me. I mean I can bring a billion people to my office, but at some point you have to deliver the results. We are all done! Wow. There's so much more even but the swelling will go down. Yes, absolutely. Just don’t smile. Close your mouth. We go to Instagram and then write something like, “Lip Aug.” There you go. So cool. Communicating with obviously 2.5 million or more, I’m not expecting that even a fraction of them are going to end up in my practice. But it’s a good way of adding a lot of information that is as honest as possible and trying to show what are the pros and cons of the procedures that they are looking for. It’s true. Dr. Ourian pumps out information online in a carefully curated feed. It’s made him one of the most well known doctors on Instagram and a magnet for millions of women chasing the perfect face and that one flawless selfie. Wow, I really like this photo, I wish I looked like this in real life. This is not like this isn't me, I didn’t have to edit this photo. Other than smoothing my face on FaceTune and
making it black and white. But I didn't touch my nose, I didn't touch my eyebrows, I didn't touch my eyes, I didn't touch my lips. Like it's just a really good photo, but I almost want to recreate it in person. But how can I do that? I can't. Or can I? Thanks for watching Refinery29. For more videos like this, click here. And to subscribe, click here.
The girl at the end... “I didn’t touch this photo... Except for face tune and filter” 😂
Is she on Valium or something? Why is she slurring?
I don't care if people get plastic surgery or edit their photos, but what does bother me is when they don't own up to it and try to pretend it's natural or because of some diet/work out. Then when people actually try to be healthy and work out they don't see the same result and think it's an issue with them. I think in any advertising if the model has had work done or is shopped there should be a disclaimer.
My ignorant ass didn’t truly believe people like that were real... oh god 😔
Fucking morons
This chick reminds me of Bryce Dallas Howard in the Nosedive episode of Black Mirror - only dumber.
I mean, nothing super groundbreaking here. I would have liked for them to talk more about non-board certified stuff, or how influencers are paid to post about practices.
Narcissists.
this is dumb