Love Island cast, Kylie Jenner and when cosmetic treatments make you look older
Many people resort to facial fillers and cosmetic procedures to look younger. But beware: Dermatologists warn that if you overdo it, you can look decades older.
Take the new season of the UK version of Love Island, for example. Photos of the cast recently went viral, with many online declaring that some of the women – still in their early to mid-twenties – looked much older.
The photos even stunned a plastic surgeon. In a TikTok with over 13 million views, Dr. Daniel Barrett, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, had to drop his jaw when he discovered that the women in the photos he examined were 25, 24, 24 and 26 years old, after estimating them to be 38, 42, 35 and 32.
“Of course I don’t watch this show – maybe I should – but this is crazy,” Barrett says in the video. “Plastic surgery and improperly done injections can make you look older.”
Dr. Anthony Rossi, a dermatologist and surgeon, agrees – and says it’s not a phenomenon limited to Love Island. Thanks to social media and other reality TV stars like the Kardashians, many people believe that more is better when it comes to cosmetic treatments.
That’s simply not true, he says.
“One of the most beneficial aspects of our human brain is that we recognize emotions, faces and other human facial structures,” says Rossi. “When these cosmetic procedures that people have done too early on such a young face, it makes the face appear more mature in some ways.”
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“Love Island” and when cosmetic treatments go too far
Dermatologists say cosmetic procedures carry risks and that you often can’t be sure what a procedure or treatment will look like until it’s completed. If a treatment isn’t done well – or not done with the patient’s individual proportions in mind – it can leave the patient looking out of place and even older, Rossi says.
“It’s less about the procedure itself and more about how well it’s done and the nuance with which it’s done,” he says. “So I try to tell my patients that we’re going to maintain a very natural aesthetic.”
Dermatologist Dr. Brooke Jeffy adds that there is a growing segment of the population seeking cosmetic treatments Because they look unnatural. It’s about looking like you’ve had surgery, she says.
“They want to have that look to fit in, so people know they can afford it,” she says. “It’s a status symbol.”
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Some cosmetic procedures may give a patient the desired aesthetic appearance in the short term, but may make them look older and more haggard in the long term, Rossi says, adding that cheek fat removal, which involves removing fat from the cheeks, falls into this category.
Fillers, he says, can also have this effect when used in excess, making some parts of the face appear rounder and others gaunter in comparison.
Psychotherapist Stephanie Sarkis says that while she has no problem with people undergoing cosmetic procedures if they want to, they should think carefully about what they are trying to achieve – and be aware that superficial changes will not solve the deeper issues they are struggling with.
“Whatever you want to do with your body, it’s your body and that’s up to you,” she says. “It’s important to know, though, that it won’t make you happier. It won’t make you more social. It may give you more confidence… but it doesn’t necessarily make those things happen.”
Kylie Jenner and others regret cosmetic procedures. How did we get here?
When cosmetic procedures are taken too far, you can have serious regrets. Kylie Jenner, for example, has been open about her cosmetic procedures, revealing in a recent episode of The Kardashians on Hulu that she decided to dissolve half of her lip fillers.
“People have been talking about my looks since I was 12, 13. Even before I got my lips filled, people were talking about my looks,” Jenner said during the episode. “I look old, I see it under every post.”
Jenner also said on the show that she regrets having her breasts “done” at 19, shortly before the birth of her daughter Stormi, and that she now views cosmetic surgery differently since becoming a mother.
“I have a daughter too. It would break my heart if she wanted to have surgery at 19,” Jenner said. “I want to be the best mother and role model for her. I wish I could be her and do everything differently because I wouldn’t touch anything.”
More: Kylie Jenner cries over ‘tiring’ comments saying she looks ‘old’.
Sarkis says our highly visual culture forces people to look a certain way. Rossi adds that social media and filters can also cause people to forget or misunderstand what a natural human looks like.
“People forget what they look like normally, and then they only look at themselves with filters or through the lens of social media, where those faces morph into the same person,” he says. “The millennial generation seems to have really embraced this ‘Instagram face.'”
Think carefully before undergoing a cosmetic treatment
When a patient comes to him seeking cosmetic treatment, Rossi says it’s important to understand the patient’s motivations and give them a realistic expectation of what the treatment can achieve. He adds that the decision to undergo cosmetic treatment should not be taken lightly or rushed.
He also recommends that anyone who wants to have youthful, healthy skin naturally should use sunscreen, drink plenty of fluids, and avoid cigarettes and alcohol. These healthy habits, he says, can often do more good for your skin than fillers and other treatments.
Also remember that the features that make you stand out from the crowd don’t necessarily need to be changed.
“I like to think that people’s asymmetries are a beautiful thing,” he says. “We should accept them because that’s what makes people unique.”
Contributor: Jay Stahl, USA TODAY
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