BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE SMARTPHONE

SNAPCHAT DYSMORPHIA 

As I sat in the plush surroundings of my consulting room in Harley Street, I wondered what she would look like. It’s the same with every new patient – they are all unique, and all have their own ideas of what they’d like to change about themselves. The one constant though, is that I have a real desire to give each and every one of my patients the results that they want – within reason.

Whilst it’s good to want to be the best version of themselves, it’s not good to be the best version of someone else. I love seeing patients when they come back for their post-operative appointments, and where before, they were under-confident and self-conscious, they now have a renewed inner confidence. They walk tall and feel good about themselves.

When Gemma walked through the door, I did as I always do. I scrutinised her. Not to be critical of course, it’s just part of my job as a cosmetic surgeon. 

She looked to be in her early twenties. She was slim, had long brown, immaculately styled hair, was approximately 5’4”, and dressed casually in jeans, trainers and a sweatshirt. All very expensive, designer brands though! The overall appearance was good. She greeted me with a lovely warm smile. But there 

was something else. Something wasn’t right. Behind that polished exterior there was an air of vulnerability. This pretty young woman couldn’t see what everyone else could see. To her, she was imperfect. To her, she was a social media misfit.

She was almost apologetic about the way she looked. In 2014 there were 150 million Instagram users. The average age of plastic surgery patients was 42 for 

women and 47 for men. Today, just a few years on, there are more than 800 million users. Most are aged between 18-29, and with the desire to pass the social media entrance exam, this has bucked a new trend.

The age of plastic surgery patients has fallen dramatically.There is no doubt that this “Instagram culture” is influencing many younger patients. There’s a desire to portray themselves in what they deem to be the best way possible, be that with lifestyle and fashion choices, or with the way they themselves look. Smartphone filters can instantly improve these girls’ appearance, albeit digitally. Apps such as Snapchat blend reality with a digital fantasy of what you could be. FaceTune creates a version of you which is comparable to looking in the mirror: move the phone around and at every angle you’re still filtered. It’s you, but it’s not you. 

The issue with this? They’re not a permanent ‘fix’.But, they do plant a seed in the minds of many. Such is the norm of these filters and edits, that they’ve actually

altering peoples’ perception of beauty worldwide. 

People think that if they can look that good temporarily with a smartphone filter, why can’t they do something that will replicate that look on a more 

permanent basis? The answer is that they can. But is it right?

Perhaps even more remarkable, is the fact that nowadays, girls often want their efforts to attain ‘perfection’ to be noticeable. I call it the ‘rich girl face’. 

Along with designer clothes and handbags, the plumped up face and lips are deemed to be a symbol of wealth and status. They’re to be worn with pride.

With a constant flow of perfect faces and beautifully sculpted features filling our TV screens and social media streams, it’s no wonder cosmetic treatments are soaring in popularity among Millennials across the world. 

This is backed up not just by an increase in the number of people opting for plastic surgery, but also a huge increase in non-surgical treatments, such as teeth 

whitening, Botox and dermal fillers.But, with increased demand, comes increased risk. More people are opting for cheaper treatments from under-qualified beauticians - with substantial risks to their health. Injecting filler near the nose, among the maze of blood vessels that lie under our facial skin, carries Russian roulette-style dangers. Hit a blood vessel that feeds directly to the eye and you risk causing catastrophic damage. Once filler enters that critical vein, there’s a window of just 90 minutes before irreversible retinal cell death occurs.