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28 March 2024

Click to nip and tuck: 'Facebook facials' new craze for Dubai's social media addicts

Published
By Bindu Suresh Rai

If Narcissus existed today, his innate obsession with his own image would have easily spilled onto the ever buzzing pages of social media by way of his ‘DP’ or display picture.
 
Needless to say, he would also have served as the perfect marketing lab rat for those fuelling an image-conscious nation with offers of superlative procedures such as the ‘Facebook Facial’ to match such a fixation.
 
Before you wonder, this particular terminology is the latest adopted by social media savvy marketers in targeting an ever-growing population crazed with the quest of finding that perfect image to fit in that 2x2 inch space, which qualifies as the Facebook profile picture.
 
Piggy-backing on the impact that Facebook wields on our daily lives, medical practitioners are banking on this social media platform to bring in new clientele by speaking the language this new target market comprehends.
 
Botox, facelifts, a nip here, a tuck there, everything is fair game in this race to present the perfected vision of what a client once appeared as – especially when this new avatar could wind its way onto a Facebook or Twitter profile to be liked and commented upon.
 
What’s in a profile picture?
 
Go on, admit it; we all know that friend whose preoccupation with their photographs has resulted in many a deleted image before one ‘just right’ is snapped for the masses.
 
Sona Yadav, a 29-year-old Dubai-based marketer, said: “The running joke within my group of friends is: who can take the perfect Facebook profile picture on a night out?
 
“We spend ages posing, preening, showing our best side to the camera, because we know these images are going to end up on Facebook and be commented upon by others. So what is the harm in looking our best in the process?”
 
Four other residents we spoke to agreed with Yadav’s assessment, with all of them admitting that they have consciously “touched up” with the make-up, before having their picture snapped on a night out; while all of them confessed to deleting pictures that they didn’t think fit to end up on Facebook, because it made them “look bad, fat, sad, tired...”, you get the drift.
 
Hollywood’s top cosmetic surgeons are often found on guest visits to the emirate, flying in on a whirlwind trip to bring the latest procedures from Beverly Hills to Bur Dubai to fulfil the image obsession.
 
Places such as the American British Surgical and Medical Centre, Dubai, often have fly-by visits by facial expert, Dr Jason Diamond, along with dental magician Dr Kevin Sands and liposuction genius, Dr David Matlock.
 
If these names sound familiar, then they should considering all three of them featured on the E! show, ‘Dr 90210’, with Dr Sands being the man behind the winning smiles of celebs such as the Kardashians, Charlie Sheen, Miley Cyrus, to name but few.
 
Makeover mania
 
Cosmetic surgeries are a booming business in Dubai, with medical centre Cocoona’s Dr Sanjay Parashar revealing that facial procedures were usually at the top of the list for clients.
 
Speaking to Emirates 24|7, the specialist plastic surgeon said: “Cosmetic surgery as a whole is very prevalent in Dubai, especially facial procedures. The reason behind this is the fact that it’s exposed, immediately obvious to others and everyone loves to look in the mirror to see if they look good or not.”
 
Quizzed whether social media played an integral part in this chase to look good, and Dr Parashar did not deny that it did play an important role, albeit not the sole reason why people opted for plastic surgery.
 
“Social media, especially Facebook profile pictures and its global reach, plays a part in pushing that decision to go under the knife or have a needle pushed in to iron away an wrinkle, but it isn’t the sole factor that sends someone to a plastic surgeon,” he explained, adding: “After all, there is something called Photoshop and people don’t shy away from using it to look good for their friends on a public platform.”
 
However, Dr Parashar believes that many more issues are usually at play, which can affect a person’s daily life, be it socially or at work, which is always the primary cause of getting a procedure done.
 
In a survey conducted by the American Academy of Facial and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), 31 per cent admitted opting for facial plastic surgery to look more attractive in social media profile pictures.
 
The same poll of 752 facial plastic surgeons revealed that nose jobs, facelifts and eyelid surgery topped the list of most-requested procedures, while Botox on the forehead, cheeks and lips continue to put many surgeons’ children through college with 13 million Americans signing up for a bit of botulism last year.
 
Talking about the type of procedures that are most popular in Dubai, Dr Parashar said: “Non invasive procedures are popular with nearly 70-80 per cent of the clientele, such as Botox, Fillers, laser skin rejuvenation; it’s safer, simpler, not much of a down time and the risks are lesser.”
 
He revealed that the younger 20-30s age bracket usually opted for this option, while the over 30s opted for invasive surgeries such as hair transplant, facelifts and eye-lift.
 
Dr Parashar added: “The vast majority of the people know what they are looking for. They come with a preset idea or even pictures of celebrities in hand, saying give me Kareena Kapoor’s cheekbones or Angelina Jolie’s lips.
 
“Of course, we can’t make them look exactly like the filmstar, but we can do our best within our limits.”

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