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From slugging to mewing and using Gua Shas, the internet is obsessed with exposing new ways for people to enhance their physical appearance at home. And while some are almost immediately debunked, others have been backed by professionals in the beauty industry. As most beauty regimens are an experiment to begin with, finding what works for you and your specific needs is more important than following the TikTok hack with millions of likes. Here Haute Beauty experts share the beauty crazes that they've caught a glimpse of and if they are really beneficial.
Dr. Brian K. Machida | Face | Los Angeles
In general, on social media, you have to be careful and view everything carefully and research it well before trying it on yourself. Certain tricks may work temporarily but may not have the lasting effect that is being promoted. Applying substances to your skin may result in immediate apparent improvement but will probably not have lasting results. Anything that people advise to take internally must be looked at critically before trying it on yourself. Like anything else, before you try it on yourself, do your research.
For more information, visit Dr. Machida's website, Instagram, or Facebook!
Reana Myers, P.A, Careaga Plastic Surgery | Body | Miami/Fort Lauderdale
There are so many beauty trends on Instagram and TikTok that are not genuine, however, one of the trends that I disagree with the most and I consider dangerous are the Hyaluron Pens. These dangerous devices that have gained so much popularity on social media not only give undesired results, but they cause serious and permanent injuries. They are very unsafe because they use high pressure to force filler into the face. These devices are bought online, so the filler might be contaminated causing infections. Other adverse events documented with the use of these pens are scarring, skin necrosis, vascular occlusions, and blindness. Anyone seeking to enhance their natural beauty through non-surgical means should do the proper research and find a specialist in their area such as a physician's assistant who can perform FDA-approved treatments and provide optimal and safe results.
For more information, visit Careaga Plastic Surgery's website, Instagram, or Facebook!
Dr. Daisy Ayim | Body | Houston
The beauty trend that is beyond misleading is waist trainers, do they really make you loose inches on your waist? No. That is such a cliché that doesn’t work or deliver as advertise. Yes, wearing waist trainers will temporarily shape your figure because of the mechanics of the object and water weight loss from sweating. You will look and fit better with waist trainers underneath your outfit. However, it can dangerously affect your internal organs and cause serious damage with prolong or inappropriate use. I do not recommend waist trainers to slim your waist instead good nutrition and core body exercise will help contour your figure and give you long term result. Don’t waste your money on this trend unless you just want a quick fix for an outfit or outing.
For more information, visit Dr. Ayim's website, Instagram, or Facebook!
Dr. Sachin Shridharani | Face & Body | New York
The 'Mike Mew' trend. Flexing certain muscles in your tongue may improve the strength of other muscles but it is not going to change the entire dynamic of your jaw line or neck. There is a very important structure called the hyoid bone that anchors a lot of important structures in your face and neck. If your hyoid bone is high you’ll have an Angelina Jolie jawline and if it is lower, it will be more like Bob’s Burger. Regardless, mewing does not change anything other than possibly making your tongue stronger, if you are into that kind of thing.
For more information, visit Dr. Shridharani's website, Instagram, or Facebook!
Dr. Jason Bloom | Face | Philadelphia
Two of the recent social media trends that I totally disagree with and think are crazy are the “Russian lip” technique and also the extreme “fox eye” look. With the Russian lips, they have pointy, sharp edges where the filler is used to create ridges and points with the lip shape. The filler is injected to make the lips look totally unnatural and unrealistic. While I have seen it on social media, I have not seen or heard of a single patient ask about this in my office.
Additionally, a lateral or temporal brow lift can be a great idea when it is down properly and naturally with the brow coursing above the orbital rim and the peak of the female brow around the lateral limbus or canthus. The fox eye trend that we are seeing on social media pulls the brow peak too harshly and creates a very strange looking v-shaped & pointy brow. While a few patients have reached out about this trend, instead of just doing these procedures, we tend to educate our patients on the important aspects of beauty. I always ask each patient what is bothering them and then I can offer suggestions or options to improve their issues. At our office, we are looking to create naturally appearing results, not a strange or shocking look.
For more information, visit Dr. Bloom's website, Instagram, or Facebook!
Dr. Robert Vitolo | Breast | New York
There are points to be made about social media and the role it has played on procedures. For instance, electromagnetic stimulating devices. As popular as they may seem, are they safe? As a cosmetic surgeon I’ve seen it all. Recently, I had a patient come in who just got abdominoplasty. Her results were amazing, until she realized that her lower abdomen was too prominent for her and she wanted to change it. Trying to figure out what was going on, I finally got to the conclusion. Turns out she was sent to get EmSculpt NEO done, after her procedure, and it resulted in the muscle in lower abdomen building out. So sometimes these devices that are made to help you get abs and remove fat, can bite you in the end.
For more information, visit Dr. Vitolo's website, Instagram or Facebook!
Dr. S. Alexander Earle | Body | Miami/Fort Lauderdale
There are many people on social media claiming you can improve hip-dips with exercise. That is absolutely not true. To get rid of hip dips, you have to undergo liposuction. How it works is I'd harvest the fat from other areas (back, thighs, abdomen) then inject the fact back into the hip-dips to round out the hips and give an hour-glass or coke bottle shape figure.
For more information, visit Dr. Earle's website, Instagram, or Facebook!