Selfie fans turn to surgery to get the perfect picture

FANS of selfies take great care to hold their smartphones out in front themselves at just the right angle for the perfect shot to post on social media.

But it seems that for many, technique is not enough and more are compensating for the limitations of digital photos by undergoing surgery to get rid of their double chins.

Experts say the obsession with selfies is fuelling appearance anxiety, leaving many with distorted views about how their faces look, particularly around the neck. ‘Digital dysmorphia’ is said to increase negative feelings about self-image because people often take photos from less flattering angles than with traditional cameras.

Smartphones are also said to distort the shapes of some people’s faces.

The British Association of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgeons says there was a 16 per cent rise in face and neck lifts in 2015. A spokesman said social media had played a key role in this, adding: ‘The smartphone distorts your image and so people have a warped view of how they look. Procedures on necks and chins are a part of this.’

Aesthetic doctor Preema Vig said websites such as Instagram, Twitter and YouTube ‘promote selfies and we are finding people feel the pressure and critique how they appear in posts’.

The phenomenon is also seen in the US. As well as traditional facelift surgery to produce more defined jawlines and reduce the size of jowls, some are turning to a ‘chin freezing’ procedure known as cryolipolysis.

Developed at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, it targets fat cells under patients’ skin. These are cooled and gradually die through a process called ‘induced apoptosis’.

American patients can also have injections of bile acid known as Kybella, which are said to break down fat cells in less than five minutes. The treatment has yet to be approved in Britain.