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Snapchat surgeries: The new cosmetic fad

In the past, there have been discussions about how these apps and filters can be bad for one’s self-esteem and lead to issues like Body Dysmorphic Disorder

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According to experts, more women than men seek facial enhancements
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A New York surgeon recently spoke about how a few of his patients want to look like the Snapchat-filtered version of themselves in their quest for smooth skin, fuller lips and bigger eyes, etc. In the past, there have been discussions about how these apps and filters can be bad for one’s self-esteem and lead to issues like Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), with one doctor dubbing this phenomenon as ‘Snapchat Dysmorphia.’ It has also been argued that Snapchat filters might be making us forget what we actually look like. We asked experts about their views.

WHAT IS SNAPCHAT DYSMORPHIA?

Though the term is not officially recognised as a disorder, is it a real thing? Psychiatrist and psychotherapist Dr Anjali Chhabria says, “BDD is a widely-recognised disorder and manifests itself in different ways. With changing times, the terms might vary as well. Snapchat is gaining a lot of popularity among the young and old alike. People might be getting influenced by the filters and features which are addictive. Distortions in the perception of one’s self is a BDD trait, which is coincidentally also a feature of the app filter.”

THE QUEST TO LOOK BETTER

Dr Viral Desai, plastic and cosmetic surgeon, DHI and CPLSS, points out that there is an increase in such surgeries because everyone wants to look better in today’s social media-influenced society. “Through Snapchat filters, you can digitally enhance your picture to get fuller lips, high cheekbones and bigger eyes. We get requests for such enhancements quite often, wherein people come in with their Photoshopped images or that of their favourite celebs, but not of the Snapchat filter per se. There is a huge demand for chin augmentation and defining the jawline, too. Surgical (permanent results) and non-surgical options (temporary results) are available for these cosmetic enhancements, but mostly, we use a combination of both,” informs Dr Desai who gets four to five such queries a month. 

According to him, the most common age group of his patients is 20 to 35, comprising people from the film, TV and fashion industry along with college students from middle class and affluent backgrounds. As for the gender ratio, it’s 70:30 with females being the majority. While women usually request for fuller lips, higher cheekbones and bigger eyes, men opt for rhinoplasty, chin augmentation and a defined jawline to look more masculine.

THE CRAZE FOR DEFINED JAWLINE

Since the past four years, Dr Mohan Thomas, senior cosmetic surgeon, Cosmetic Surgery and Skin Institute, has got about two to three requests per month for cosmetic procedures, wherein people want to look like their pics on Apple’s FaceApp and their Photoshopped images. “Both men and women send us their requests but the attention to detail in morphing is usually seen in pictures sent by males. They are more open to discussing their options as compared to women who are usually fixated about a particular look,” he says.

With easy access to internet and availability of free morphing apps, people started changing the way they look on photographs and selfies. This culture of selfies where the facial features are prominently seen and can be modified has increased this trend, opines Dr Thomas. He states, “People may want to have a chiselled face, would like to get rid of their double chin or may be interested in getting a defined jawline like Brad Pitt or Kareena Kapoor Khan. Even the nose can be shaped using these apps, which is a craze among the younger lot. The most popular is jawline enhancement with augmentation of the chin point along with reducing the double chin. This procedure gives people a chiselled jawline along with an oval face.”

RULING OUT BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER

“Anything done in excess is bad. You have to be clear about why you want to go for a surgical procedure and how beneficial it is for you,” cautions Dr Desai who has referred around eight per cent of his patients to a psychiatrist, when he has suspected them of having BDD when they came in with unrealistic demands during consultation. 

Dr Thomas says, “We have received enquiries from people having gone through multiple surgeries before they came to us with morphed faces. Obviously, redo surgery is the toughest and it’s difficult to interpret the procedures that they have gone through. Such patients always go through a psychological analysis to rule out BBD. Also, people who want drastic changes with their features or change their ethnicity by surgery are also referred to a psychiatrist for an assessment.”

So have Snapchat surgeries reached the Indian shores? “I haven’t got these queries yet, but I have read articles about people requesting for cosmetic procedures and wanting to look like their Snapchat filters. Such things will start happening soon in India too,” predicts Dr Sameer Karkhanis, cosmetic surgeon, Centre for Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery, who often receives requests from people wanting improvements in their appearances as per their Photoshopped images.

“Since all Western trends permeate to India, it can be safely deduced that people will send requests for Snapchat surgeries in the coming days. More online consultations will happen where patients will use Snapchat tools to send their point across to the doctor,” predicts Dr Thomas.

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