In selfie era, demand for U.S. plastic surgery rises

Dental hygienist Jennifer Reynolds was always self-conscious about her looks, never took selfies and felt uncomfortable being tagged in photographs posted on social media.

The 34-year-old from Costa Rica who lives in New York opted for plastic surgery on her nose and now feels ready for prime time on social media.

"I definitely feel more comfortable right now with my looks," Reynolds explained. "If I need to take a selfie, without a doubt, I would have no problem."

Reynolds is one of a growing number of people who have turned to plastic surgeons to enhance their image. Others are hiring specialized make-up artists in what may be an emerging selfie economy.

Selfies, or self portraits, rose in popularity along with smartphones and social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Instagram as a mostly young adult crowd posted images of themselves. Now everyone from Hollywood stars to prime ministers takes selfies.

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres posted a selfie with Hollywood A-listers at the Academy Awardson Twitter that became the most retweeted of all time. When Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt's snapped a selfie with President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron at Nelson Mandela's memorial service it caused a media sensation.

For mere mortals, going under the scalpel to create a better selfie may not seem so extreme.

Plastic surgeons in United States have seen a surge in demand for procedures ranging from eye-lid lifts to rhinoplasty, popularly known as a nose job, from patients seeking to improve their image in selfies and on social media.

A poll by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) of 2,700 of its members showed that one in three had seen an increase in requests for procedures due to patients being more aware of their image in social media. They noted a 10 percent rise in rhinoplasty in 2013 over 2012, a 7 percent jump in hair transplants and 6 percent increase in eyelid surgery.

"There has been a 25 percent increase over the past year and a half to two years. That is very significant," Dr. Sam Rizk, a plastic surgeon, said about his Manhattan practice.

"They come in with their iPhones and show me pictures," Rizk, 47, added. "Selfies are just getting to be so crazy.

BOOMING BUSINESS IN SELFIE ECONOMY

Rizk, who specializes in rhinoplasty, said not everyone who requests surgery needs it because a selfie produces a distorted image that does not represent how a person really looks.

"We all will have something wrong with us on a selfie image," he explained. "I refuse a significant proportion of patients with selfies because I believe it is not a real image of what they actually look like in person."

Some patients get upset when Rizk tells them surgery is not necessary, and he knows they will simply go to another surgeon.

"Too many selfies indicate a self obsession and a certain level of insecurity that most teenagers have. It just makes it worse," he said. "Now they can see themselves in 100 images a day on Facebook and Instagram."

New York make-up artist Ramy Gafni, who has worked with clients on selfies and online dating profile photos, suggests using clean makeup, well-defined eyebrows and a bit color on the lips to produce the best selfies.

"You want to enhance your features, perfect your features but not necessarily change your features into something they are not," he said.

Dan Ackerman, senior editor with CNET which tests and reviews products, said the Internet is full of tips and advice on selfies.

"There are apps that apply filters to your face that smooth out wrinkles ... or put artificial makeup.... There is a sub economy of tools and advice that have built up around this," he added.

source: interaksyon.com

Best face forward: Chin implants surge in popularity

BOSTON - Over the last year Dr. Darrick Antell has performed up to three or four chin implants a day, reflecting a national trend that has seen chin augmentations emerge as the fastest growing plastic surgery trend of 2011.

After about a 45-minute outpatient procedure and a bill ranging from $3,500 to $7,500, New York-based Antell's patients emerge with what he said is a confidence boost: an athletic, youthful look from a more prominent chin.

"People want that leading lady, leading man look," said Antell, who is also an assistant clinical professor of surgery at Columbia University.

"If you look at people in the limelight, they all have strong chins and it's a part of the profile that has long been overlooked," he said.

Chin implants surged by 71 percent in 2011 as more than 20,600 adults went under the knife to sharpen their jaw lines, up from roughly 12,000 the year before, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Strong chins are associated with leadership, confidence and honesty, Antell said, not to mention some powerful men and women.

"Romney's got a great chin," Antell said of the presidential hopeful. "Obama has a pretty good chin. Bill Clinton has a very good chin."

Popular among men and women

Chin implants surgery increased more than breast augmentation, Botox and liposuction combined last year with both men and women opting for the procedure in nearly equal numbers, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Chin augmentation, or actually making the chin protrude more, increased among all patients over the age of 20, with the most significant increases in patients 40 and older, according to the society.

Facial aging tends to appear first on the chin and jaw line and surgery provides a quick change, experts said. They also point to video chat and online photo technology as driving forces behind the escalating numbers.

Posting pictures on Facebook, online dating sites and the increasingly prevalent use of video chat technology like Skype and FaceTime make it harder to hide a person's least favorite feature or perceived flaws, said Dr. Malcolm Roth, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the head of plastic surgery at Albany Medical Center in New York.

"We tend to not look at what we don't like," said Roth. "I think there is a heightened awareness to how we look to the outside world."

The surgery is even appealing to people out of work, according to Roth, who said the cost hasn't deterred some who say it gives them more confidence at job interviews.

Chin augmentation can be done by putting a semi-solid implant on top of the chin, by moving bone to reconstruct the chin or simply by using a needle and syringe for an injection to enhance the chin, Roth said.

The procedure leaves minimal scarring from a very small incision and is sometimes coupled with micro-liposuction to trim a so-called double chin, enhancing the neck and jaw line even further.

Recuperation is easy and patients can typically be back to normal routines in a matter of days, Roth said.

Despite the chin implant boom, breast augmentation still reigns as the most popular cosmetic procedure. The surgery costs about $10,000 more than 307,000 procedures were performed in 2011, statistics showed.

Antell said he expects the chin implants trend to continue, largely because of the quick recovery and low complication rate. He added that other similar, smaller scale procedures at a younger age are also likely to climb.

"This is an operation that whispers, it doesn't shout," said Antell. "Most people are not looking for huge changes, they are just hoping to look a little better, the best they can." –Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com