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 perfection.
00:28But why stop there?
00:33In 2016, Americans spent more than eight billion dollars on minimally invasive procedures.
00:40Botox, laser, filler. How has social media collided with these emerging cosmetic techniques
00:47to drive young women to chase the filtered look?
00:52And who benefits from the rise of this culture of perfection?
00:57I always liked the shape of my lips, but I felt like there was something missing and that they
01:04would just look so much nicer if I had just added a little bit of something.
01:10Meet Ashley. Like many young women, she spends hours upon hours looking at her own image online,
01:16seeking ways to alter, improve, and perfect her look.
01:19This was directly after. It was just like a new me. Like I had a new face. I had a
01:28new enhancement.
01:30So this was the second day and it was like way more swollen, but I was like, okay, this is
01:36fun.
01:37I took a lot of selfies that day from all angles.
01:41Look, I just got my lips done. You know what I mean?
01:45People are much more aware of their visual profile because visual communication
01:51is such a key part of connecting with people. Because they're images, we tend to hyper focus
01:58on specific things that we like and don't like about ourselves.
02:02So social media has to have had a massive impact on the popularity of these, even if they are
02:07more widely available.
02:08I'm sure it has, and in part it's decreased the stigma over having plastic surgery.
02:14Kiss those lines goodbye.
02:17Discover new Juvederm XC.
02:20Botox and filler have historically been marketed to women in their 40s and above.
02:24But social media has helped drive the demand for cosmetic work like this
02:29younger and younger. In the last 10 years, the use of soft tissue fillers and Botox injections
02:36are trending up for women in their 20s.
02:43I feel like I check Instagram like every half hour.
02:47My boyfriend gives me a hard time all the time. Like, he says like, I'm obsessed.
02:55I feel like if I tried to get off social media, it would be really hard for me.
02:59Like, it actually would be really hard for me.
03:02It's almost like there's like a rush in a way.
03:06You know, 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 with
03:19friends, 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.
03:30A zip code that offers a kind 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.
03:48Relax your head back.
03:50I'm going to do the same angle before and then after.
03:52Okay.
03:53When it comes to cosmetic procedures, whether on Instagram, Yelp, or RealSelf,
03:59social media platforms can be a good source of information.
04:03But not all information on social media is medically accurate.
04:06It'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,
04:17drugs, even of minimally invasive procedures like injectables, including Botox or fillers
04:23that smooth out wrinkles or plump up lips.
04:25I think social media glosses over the risks of injectables.
04:30Injectables have become so common and people see it everywhere.
04:33And 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.
04:44It's a medical procedure and it needs to be treated that way.
04:51So 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?
05:01Even in the best of circumstances, the most trained person,
05:03a 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
05:36to check out the office where it was performed.
05:38In our culture, we have a bad habit these days of equating important or celebrity with
05:47skills and authority. Somehow we're presuming because they're well known
05:52that they're qualified. But the other problem with all of this is that frequency increases liking
06:00and liking increases trust. So in theory, someone who's marketing their medical practice on
06:05Instagram, the more they post, the more you'll trust them. Correct.
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.
06:34And thanks to his celebrity clientele and social media savvy,
06:37he's becoming known as the doctor who's reshaping Hollywood.
06:41As someone who covers beauty and has covered beauty for a long time,
06:45it's almost impossible to have a conversation about doctors on social media without you coming up.
06:51If you asked me probably eight years ago that at some point you can wake up in the morning
06:56and reach 2.5 million people, I'd say it's impossible. But Instagram was the right medium
07:02for us. In 15 seconds, I could exactly show what I do.
07:05Dr. Orion is a medical doctor licensed in the state of California. But the rest of his path has been
07:12unconventional. So you didn't finish your residency?
07:15No. Halfway through it, 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. Is it pretty rare to not have finished it?
07:26Yeah. It was kind of one of those life-altering moments in your life. And there weren't that many
07:30options 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. But in 2009, Dr. Orion did run into some
07:42trouble. He 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, he was placed on
07:55probation and required to practice under the supervision of another doctor. Dr. Orion completed
08:01the terms of his probation and it was lifted early. Today, that part of the story is not on Instagram.
08:10But what is on Instagram is a steady stream of posts about his business. And business is booming.
08:17This is Tiffany, a model and actress. She's never had lip injections, but has always thought her top
08:24lip was too small. And lips are Dr. Orion's specialty.
08:30I trust Dr. Orion 100%. Are you ready for your adventure?
08:41I don't feel anything. That 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. I mean, I can bring a billion people to my office.
09:06At some point, you have to deliver the results. We are all done.
09:18Wow. There's so much more even, but the swelling will go down.
09:21Yes, absolutely. Just don't smile. And close your mouth. I think...
09:33I'll go to Instagram. And then I'll write something like...
09:39lip hog. There you go.
09:46I'm communicating with obviously two and a half million or more. I'm not expecting that even a
09:51fraction of them are going to end up in my practice, but it's a good way of adding a lot
09:55of information that is as honest as possible and trying to show what are the pros and cons of the
09:59procedures that they are looking for. It's true. Dr. Orion pumps out information online in a carefully
10:06curated feed. It's made him one of the most well-known doctors on Instagram. And a magnet for millions
10:13of women chasing the perfect face. And that one flawless selfie.
10:19Wow. I really like this photo. Like... I wish I looked like this in real life.
10:25Because it's not like this isn't me. I 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. I didn't touch my eyebrows. I didn't touch my eyes. I didn't touch
10:40my lips. Like it's just a really good photo. But I almost want to like recreate it in person.
10:48But like how can I do that? I can't. Or can I?
