Like it or not, social media and the “selfie” era are here to stay. Aesthetic doctor, Anjana Bhana, sheds some light on the topic. Did you know?
According to a survey released by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), social media’s impact on aesthetics has been enormous,
especially in how people perceive and project themselves.
The survey results showed that in 2017, 55 per cent of facial plastic surgeons consulted
patients that wanted to look better in selfies. This is a 13 per cent increase from 2016.
A phenomenon has arisen from this increased use of social media – snapchat dysmorphia as well as the compare and despair culture and chasing the glow.
What is often reality is very different from what is constructed and curated on Instagram.
Many people will use various apps to achieve a look that they will present to me as their desired after result but some of these filters and face tunes may require major surgery or many progressive treatments with filler.
People are much more critical of themselves because they spend so much time looking at their selfies.
Hashtags along with this trend include #FillersnotFilters and the newly-accepted Instagram Face. It’s almost as if a new normal is emerging of overly inflated lips and oddly elevated brows.
Are you selfie ready?
Many aesthetic practices also participate on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, to promote and market their services. And we to feel the pressure to perform and compare to our peers as well. To get people “selfie ready” – and for consumers feeling the pressure to have filter face daily.
We want more and more – more dramatic results without realising what goes behind these
snapshot results – months of holistically being healthy in combination with a variety of treatments.
Social media and celebrities can also drive trends – the defined jawline of Jennifer Lopez and Angelina Jolie or the highly filtered smooth skin look leading to increase in treatments such as Jawline Filler, Threads and Skinboosters.
What we should aim for is long-lasting sustainable results rather than stressful trends. Ask yourself what is your motivation for seeking treatment?
For even the “prettiest” and most handsome people, few things can be as humbling as the front facing phone selfie. There’s the ‘you’ that you see in the washroom mirror (very different from the ‘you’ you see when you sit in your hairdressers chair), and the ‘you’ you see in a selfie.
Regular selfie taking has little to do with narcissim and more to do with documenting, approval and feeling a sense of belonging but regular selfie viewing has been linked to lower self-esteem and decreased life satisfaction.
Try it yourself
Take a selfie with no selfie stick and then have someone take a photo of your face from some distance away. The wide lens of the camera phone can make you nose look enormous and your chin tripicate. I have been sent some odd, very early morning selfies of patients that are disturbed by what they see in the picture because of distorted perception. I never advise on selfies – a face to face consultation is important . Also cameras do not work the same way as our brain does (making the automatic adjustment when some zooms in close to your face – say for a kiss- without looking distorted).
Enhance your natural beauty
It’s important to realise it’s no longer about treating a line or just a lip with 1ml of filler – it’s about enhancing your faces natural beauty and positive attributes with a process.
Bespoke transformative treatments with a holistic approach that treats structurally aging as well surface aging. Individualised treatments that move away from syringes but rather results (a younger pre-rejuvenation patient vs a first time older patient that has greater and different requirements). Different ethnic groups have different needs, anatomical variations and desires.
Quite simply our skull is shrinking and we lose our structural support as well as changes in the muscles, fat pads, tendons and skin changes . The bone sets the tone and form follows function – your underlying bone structure has a huge influence on the shape of your face and the way you age.
It’s now about wanting to be cute, less angry, less sad, less tired, not saggy – looking more trustworthy , more approachable, serene and healthy – achievable with injectables and other treatments. Does the result suit your personality? Small tweaks such as lifting the brow, reversing a sulky mouth corner, opening the eye, reduce the under eye hollowness. About boosting your confidence and having treatments that yield natural, safe and proportional results. You can ask – what does your face say about you?
Details: Dr Anjana Bhana, The Active Sport and Medical Centre, corners of Hennie Alberts and Van Bergan Avenue, Brackenhurst, 083 978 5888, 087 149 0914, [email protected]
