SNAPCHAT SURGERY
HITS THE UK heat investigates the scary ne
There’s a reason Snapchat’s valued at £24billion, and that reason is how unbelievably great we all look with those magic filters. Giving everyone instantly slimlined noses, smooth skin and sparkly saucer eyes at the touch of a button – is it any wonder demand is spilling over IRL? As the app’s popularity soars, UK surgeons tell heat they’re seeing an increasing number of women bringing Snapchat images along with them to consultations, and requesting the ultimate Filter Face…
“A good percentage of my clients have started coming in with Snapchat photos they’ve played with,” says Harley Street cosmetic surgeon, Dr Massimiliano Marcellino. “Clients say, ‘Doctor, can I look like this?’ Snapchat is all about the face, so clients want their cheek areas and lips more pronounced. There is one
‘Since Snapchat took off, my surgery schedule is booked solid’
smoothing filter we can recreate with one of our most popular fillers, Restylane Vital.”
Recent figures say that around 70 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds in the UK would consider a cosmetic procedure – the same age group who use Snapchat. And, while social-media pressure isn’t anything new, applying an IRL filter is. Hollywood celebs like Kylie Jenner are leading the way, with total face makeovers. In fact, it’s Kylie, 19, who “Snapchat Surgeon” Dr Miami tells heat is behind this trend.
“People come in wanting to look like Kylie does in Snapchat filters,” says the celeb surgeon, who posts Snapchat stories of patients during his ops. “Kylie is aspirational – she looked so different a few years ago, and she’s blossomed with the help of surgery. Girls going through an awkward stage think, ‘I looked like her before-face, maybe I can look like her now, too.’ Since Snapchat took off, my surgery schedule is booked out solid for two years.”
Dr Miami, who has operated on celebs and has 576,000 Insta followers, says Snapchat is obsessed with surgery. “We got 100,000 viewers within a month of downloading the app,” he says. “By the end of the year, there were a million and a half watching every story. People want to look like the Kardashians and get the Nicki Minaj booty, and they like Instagram models like Abigail Ratchford.”
It’s evidence we need to adjust our thinking, says clinical psychologist Linda Blair, who tells heat, “These filters create so much pressure. We’re expected to constantly change and improve, and even though our rational brain tells us Snapchat pics are not realistic, rationalising doesn’t work when you’re lonely. Social media can be isolating, and when it’s all you do and you’re looking at unrealistic images of ‘perfect’ celebs all the time, you lose your perspective. We need to spend more time with real friends, with real blemishes – and learn how to be comfortable with that.”n