How to Look Like Your Best ‘Selfie’

Facial rejuvenation — is there an app for that? Not exactly, but some patients are using Instagram filters to remove blemishes and wrinkles, hide under-eye circles, and brighten their complexions, and then bringing those altered photos to cosmetic surgeons to serve as a roadmap for what they want to look like in real life. At our Marietta practice, we frequently encourage our facial plastic surgery patients to illustrate their aesthetic goals by showing us “goal pictures,” usually of others, so we think these Instagram selfies are a great new twist on the concept.
Living in an era when individuals post photos of themselves on social media platforms on a daily basis, the increased interest in looking your best is understandable. Using photo apps to improve your appearance is now very common. Taking those photos to a plastic surgeon and saying, “This is how I want to look all the time” seems to be the logical next step.
Some of the most common facial concerns that people tend to polish away with photo apps are also some of the things we can treat simply with minimally invasive procedures. Those include:

• Skin rejuvenation treatments, such as laser skin resurfacing. We use laser treatments at Plastic Surgery Center of the South for several aesthetic concerns, such as evening out skin tone and eliminating blemishes. Small spider veins, moles, and wrinkles can all be minimized with laser skin treatments.
• Injectables, including dermal fillers and BOTOX® Cosmetic, are popular ways to treat signs of aging, such as wrinkles and diminished facial volume. A few quick injections can reduce forehead wrinkles, crow’s feet, and worry lines between the eyes.
• Eyelid surgery can take care of the under-eye bags and dark circles that seem to be even more noticeable in flash photography. Although this is a surgical procedure, most patients are surprised to find out how simple it is, with recovery lasting just a few days.

I hope the trend of using photo apps to help reveal your natural beauty continues to catch on. Instead of bringing in photos of celebrities, who may have completely different facial features, a patient photo that’s been tweaked is much more likely to represent realistic objectives. And that, in turn, will lead to increased patient satisfaction.
– Dr. Harkins