Instagram filters have long been a popular way to digitally enhance your features. But now it’s also inspiring women to turn to their doctors to help them get the look, offline.
With just a quick tap of the finger, women can instantly hide imperfections, deemphasize pores, brighten skin complexion, smooth texture, and even alter their features on Instagram. And now they’re bringing those enhanced pictures to their doctors. “Selfies have absolutely revolutionized plastic surgery,” says Chicago plastic surgeon Dr. Steven Dayan. “It’s completely changed how we perceive ourselves and how we want to be seen. If you take a selfie from a high angle, it makes your eyes look bigger and your chin look smaller, which are desirable features that many women ask for.” Add in a Valencia filter to brighten skin tone and women can quickly see waht their ideal self looks like.
But it’s not just their love of their filtered selfie that’s sending women to their doctors’ offices. A recent report by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery shows that the lack of filters on certain social media platforms also contribute to the growth of procedure requests. Since it’s not easy to airbrush or filter a video, more people are going the surgical route to better their looks. “This means that erasing your least favorite feature won’t be as easy as changing the filter on your still shot or Photoshopping,” NYC Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, Dr. Andrew Jacono explains. “In my practice, I saw a 15% increase in requests for Botox and fillers due to self-awareness from social media in 2014 and expect this number to increase in 2015.”
