00:00I kept seeing like on Instagram people getting their lips done and how it looked
00:05more pouty and it looked really cute and like I really liked it. I took selfies
00:10like every day for like a while right after I did it.
00:16Social media is about projecting an image. The perfect selfie. The perfect body.
00:22You can easily add a filter to obscure your flaws and achieve the illusion of
00:27perfection but why stop there? In 2016 Americans spent more than eight
00:36billion dollars on minimally invasive procedures. Botox, laser, filler. How has
00:43social media collided with these emerging cosmetic techniques to drive young women
00:49to chase the filtered look? And who benefits from the rise of this culture of
00:55perfection? I always liked the shape of my lips but I felt like there was
01:02something missing and that they would just look so much nicer if I had just
01:07added a little bit of something. Meet Ashley. Like many young women she spends
01:13hours upon hours looking at her own image online seeking ways to alter, improve, and
01:19perfect her look. This was directly after. It was just like a new me. Like I had a new
01:26face. I had a new enhancement. So this was the second day and it was like way more
01:34swollen but I was like okay this is fun. I took a lot of selfies that day from all
01:40angles. Look I just got my lips done you know what I mean? People are much more
01:46aware of their visual profile because visual communication is such a key part of
01:53connecting with people. Because they're images we tend to hyper focus on specific
01:59things that we like and don't like about ourselves. So social media has to have had
02:04a massive impact on the popularity of these even if they are more widely available. I'm
02:08sure it has and in part it's decreased the stigma over having plastic surgery.
02:14Kiss those lines goodbye. Discover new Juvederm XC. Botox and filler have
02:21historically been marketed to women in their 40s and above but social media has
02:26helped drive the demand for cosmetic work like this younger and younger. In the
02:32last 10 years the use of soft tissue fillers and Botox injections are
02:36trending up for women in their 20s.
02:43I feel like I check Instagram like every half hour. My boyfriend gives me a hard
02:48time all the time like he says like I'm obsessed.
02:55I feel like if I tried to get off social media would be really hard for me like it
02:59actually would be really hard for me. It's almost like there's like a rush in a way you
03:06know when people are like liking your photos that you've posted it kind of it's like a validation.
03:14Though social media platforms were designed for community a place to share fun moments
03:18with friends they've become a marketplace for advertisers to reach women seeking out that perfect look.
03:25Much of it flows out of that hotbed of status and beauty. Beverly Hills. A zip code that offers a
03:31kind of prestige for plastic surgeons like Dr. Daniel Barrett.
03:35He's seen the effect of social media on his practice.
03:39To work in this industry in Beverly Hills it's 100% essential to be on social media.
03:45I get a lot of patients that find me by doing hashtag searches.
03:49Relax your head back. I'm going to do the same angle before and then after.
03:53When it comes to cosmetic procedures, whether on Instagram, Yelp or RealSelf, social media platforms can be a good source
04:01of information.
04:02But not all information on social media is medically accurate. It's up to doctors to explain the risks.
04:09Perfect.
04:11Plastic and cosmetic surgeon Dr. Anita Patel sees many patients who don't fully understand the risks.
04:17Even of minimally invasive procedures like injectables. Including Botox or fillers that smooth out wrinkles or plump up lips.
04:25I think social media glosses over the risks of injectables. Injectables have become so common.
04:32And people see it everywhere. And in their mind it's a very easy thing to have done.
04:36I think they're kind of comparing it to say a hair salon appointment or getting a facial.
04:43And it's really not the same thing. It's a medical procedure and it needs to be treated that way.
04:50So usually even with numbing you can kind of feel this going in.
04:54And a little bit of the product because the gel, it stings a little bit.
04:58What are the risks of getting dermal filler?
05:00Even in the best of circumstances, the most trained person, a complication is still always possible.
05:05There can be things like blindness, loss of skin.
05:10Plastic surgeons like Dr. Barrett and Dr. Patel are board certified.
05:14But there is actually no requirement that a doctor be board certified.
05:18So who else is performing these procedures?
05:22And if they're not board certified, is it enough to be celebrity certified?
05:27In a world where posts of celebrity cosmetic procedures influence others,
05:32a simple hashtag or link opens the door for millions of followers to check out the office where it was
05:38performed.
05:38In our culture, we have a bad habit these days of equating important or celebrity with skills and authority.
05:49Somehow we're presuming because they're well known that they're qualified.
05:55But the other problem with all of this is that frequency increases liking and liking increases trust.
06:01So in theory, someone who's marketing their medical practice on Instagram, the more they post, the more you'll trust them.
06:09Correct.
06:11We're on our way to meet with the original doctor of Instagram.
06:15He has over 2.5 million followers just on Instagram alone.
06:22In fact, actually, the person who introduced me to Instagram was Kim Kardashian.
06:26Meet Dr. Simon Orion. He's famous for injecting Kylie Jenner's lips when she was 17.
06:33And thanks to his celebrity clientele and social media savvy, he's becoming known as the doctor who's reshaping Hollywood.
06:41As someone who covers beauty and has covered beauty for a long time, it's almost impossible to have a conversation
06:48about doctors on social media without you coming up.
06:51If you ask me probably eight years ago that at some point you can wake up in the morning and
06:56reach 2.5 million people, I'd say it's impossible.
07:00But Instagram was the right medium for us. In 15 seconds, I could exactly show what I do.
07:05Dr. Orion is a medical doctor licensed in the state of California.
07:09But the rest of his path has been unconventional.
07:13So you didn't finish your residency?
07:15No. Halfway through, I realized that's not my thing. I didn't want to do that anymore.
07:18I just wanted to do something that had to do with aesthetics. So I thought I wanted to do something
07:23different.
07:24Is it pretty rare to not have finished it?
07:26Yeah. It was kind of like one of those life-altering moments in your life.
07:30And there weren't that many options for aesthetics. And I thought, I'll see what else is out there for me.
07:35Doctors don't have to finish residency in order to practice.
07:38But in 2009, Dr. Orion did run into some trouble.
07:42He was accused of gross negligence, misleading advertising, and inadequate record keeping.
07:50After admitting to many, but not all, of the allegations made against him,
07:54he was placed on probation and required to practice under the supervision of another doctor.
08:00Dr. Orion completed the terms of his probation and it was lifted early.
08:05Today, that part of the story is not on Instagram.
08:10But what is on Instagram is a steady stream of posts about his business.
08:14And business is booming.
08:17This is Tiffany, a model and actress.
08:21She's never had lip injections, but has always thought her top lip was too small.
08:2630.05
08:27And lips are Dr. Orion's specialty.
08:30I trust Dr. Orion 100%.
08:33Are you ready for your adventure?
08:41I don't feel anything, yeah.
08:44That vibrating thing is cool.
08:45Yes, it's called vibrato.
08:49Sometimes I want to create more of a lift, so I use products that stay very nice and firm.
08:56The truth of the matter is that if I was just good at marketing and not good at what I
09:00do,
09:01first of all, Kardashians wouldn't come to me.
09:03I mean, I can bring a billion people to my office.
09:06At some point, you have to deliver the results.
09:09We are all done.
09:15Wow.
09:18There's so much more even, but the swelling will go down.
09:21Yes, absolutely.
09:22Just don't smile.
09:24And close your mouth.
09:26So I think...
09:33I'll go to Instagram.
09:35And then I'll write something like...
09:40Lipog.
09:41There you go.
09:46Communicating with obviously two and a half million or more.
09:49I'm not expecting that even a fraction of them are going to end up in my practice,
09:53but it's a good way of adding a lot of information that is as honest as possible,
09:57and trying to show what are the pros and cons of the procedures that they are looking for.
10:01It's true.
10:02Dr. Orian pumps out information online in a carefully curated feed.
10:08It's made him one of the most well-known doctors on Instagram,
10:11and a magnet for millions of women chasing the perfect face.
10:16And that one flawless selfie.
10:19Wow, I really like this photo.
10:21Like, I wish I looked like this in real life.
10:25Because it's not like this isn't me.
10:27I didn't edit this photo.
10:29Other than like smoothing my face on Facetune and making it black and white.
10:34But I didn't like touch my nose.
10:36I didn't touch my eyebrows.
10:38I didn't touch my eyes.
10:40I didn't touch my lips.
10:42Like, it's just a really good photo.
10:44But I almost want to like recreate it in person.
10:48But like, how can I do that?
10:50I can't.
10:52Or can I?
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