China and South Korea Lead DIY Plastic Surgery in Asia

According to the plastic surgery app, SoYoung, a total of 14-million Chinese people are expected to have cosmetic surgery in 2017. This number is an increase of 42\\% from last year. The number was calculated from several sources including the auditing and consulting firm, Deloitte. With this amount of people having plastic surgery, a good number of them look for ways to save money on their procedures. One of the cost-cutting methods gaining popularity is the DIY (do it yourself) route.

DIY Plastic Surgery in Asia

Hong Kong has plenty of surgeons that offer rhinoplasty surgery. There are also doctors that inject fillers to change the shape and volume of the nose. For people that don’t want to spend the money on medical surgery or fillers, there are other options such as nose slimmers, nose lifters and face slimmers.

Kimberly Nissen, an Australian beauty blogger who has undergone plastic surgery in the past, says many of these devices are selling “false hope”. Nissen says people are making themselves uncomfortable on purpose in the hope of seeing lasting results. She added that any results seen from using these DIY methods will fade once a person stops using the devices.

Nissen told the South China Morning Post that people should do their research before investing in a treatment with short-lived results. “Save the money you’d use on these devices and put them into a savings account. In a few years, you’ll be closer to affording the actual surgery.”

Experts say the DIY trend may represent desperation to gain a more Western appearance. In fact, there have been reports in recent years that have shown a growing number of Asians have a desire to look “more Western”.

On the other hand, South Korea has the highest rate of cosmetic procedures per person in the world. There are more than 4000 clinics that treat about 650,000 people in the country per year. The amount of patients also includes a large number of foreign visitors. Since South Korea attaches a little stigma to the practice of cosmetic surgery, the rise of DIY methods is widely accepted.

Critics warn against DIY methods saying they waste money and can cause possible injuries, disappointment with the results and even possible embarrassment when others see the final results.

Most Common DIY Procedures in Asia

There are several DIY procedures being used by individuals across Asia including:

• Face Slimmer – A popular treatment in China and South Korea involves shaving off and realigning the jaw bone to sculpt a slimmer face shape. This treatment claims to cure saggy cheeks and tired muscles after three minutes of use per day. The directions say to pop the silicone lips into your mouth and repeat vowel sounds for a “more youthful, vibrant” face. A more hi-tech version called “Facial Lift At Once” vibrates in your mouth to exercise facial muscles.
• Scalp Stretcher - Instead of slicing into your skin, this ribbon clip pulls your face taut above the ears in what it claims is an instant facelift. Hook it on every day, pull your hair over it and the wrinkles around your cheeks and eyes are said to disappear.
• Nose Lift - A buzzing maroon device is inserted into the nostrils and plastic legs press into the bottom, sides and bridge of your nose. Three-minutes-per-day vibrations claim to shape the nose into a straighter, higher version of the nose you currently have. The description for the treatment reads, “A nose lift without the hassle!”
• Anti-Aging Mask - This bandit-like mask straps around the eyes, head and over the crown to apply pressure across the face to gain a smooth, wrinkle-free appearance. Use it while “you are eating, working or sitting in the bath,” according to its description. The product is designed to achieve the beauty goal of a smaller face. In the past decade, sales of products claiming to slim and mold the face into smaller proportions have been growing in Asia.
• Double-Fold Eyelids - This glasses-like contraption pledges to provide a double-fold eyelid after five minutes a day of wearing it (as an alternative to the increasingly popular 20-minute eyelid surgery). The $16 plastic frame appears to push up into the eyelid cover to separate it from the lid. As you blink, the device supposedly trains your lids into the desired look of depth.
• Nose Slimmer - In some parts of Asia, a rounded nose is considered less ideal than a straight, pointed one so surgery-free products are flooding the market. One of these clips inside your nostrils to “push up the bones and contours of your nose” to slim it.
• Smile Trainer - A clear silicon retainer presses your lips into a perma-smile meant to form your face into a natural grin after five minutes of use a day. The product claims to improve “the angle and balance of your face and cheeks.”

Side Effects of DIY Procedures

There are a lot of risks associated with DIY procedures since they are carried out in uncontrolled environments under variable conditions. A couple of them include:

• Numbness
• Pain
• Permanent tissue damage
• Medical treatment to repair tissue damage after the procedure or use of a product
• Redness
• Swelling
• Tenderness
• Tingling sensation