A beautiful lie: the toxic effect of social media on young women

Photo by: Ekai | Creative Commons

“When I was in university, girls were saving up for makeup and clothes. Now they do same for injections”- Sebastiano laughed, surprisingly.

Sebastiano, the owner of the beauty clinic ‘Belezza’ admitted, he does not know whether he needs to be happy as this means more profit for him or to be sad that he is forced to participate in the so called ‘social media madness’.

“I see girls with naturally beautiful faces who come to me with the pictures of modern influencers. They want their faces ridiculously thin with huge lips and big eyes. They often try to match themselves to the image which is obviously airbrushed.”

“I have tried so many times to stop them from making mistakes, but I must admit, it is a big challenge for me” -Sebastiano exclaimed loudly and switched to his mother tongue, Italian.

According to American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) 72 percent of facial plastic surgeons saw an increase in cosmetic surgery or injectables in patients under age 30.

The main reason for these women to perform such procedures was their dissatisfaction with their selfies. Sebastiano say, the most popular procedures are Botox injections and undeniably lip fillers.

Device designed for weight loss and cellulite. Photo by: Chinara Sadikhova

Before women wanted to subtly correct defects, now there is a recognisable look. Women want to enhance and enlarge female facial features.

As the study published in Evolution and Human Behaviour states, both men and women find the hourglass body shape the most attractive.

Belezza Clinic offers innovative non-surgical breast and bum enhancement, however even with effort and lots of money, it is impossible to morphologically change a body.

In his personal work, Sebastiano observed that millennial women are also less willing to take their own approach to their beauty.

Many visual shortcomings can be fixed with consistent effort. For example, women who have an unhealthy lifestyle can not only be overweight but also have a double chin.

“They sit in front of the computer with a wrong posture for long hours which relaxes their platysma muscles,” – he said. “When you are young, it can be prevented and even fought easily by posture fixing […] yet hardly anyone listens and instead they opt to pay for fat dissolving”.

The clinician suggested to consider the risks of any serious physical intervention.

“I know it does not sound glamorous, but be healthy from now, trust me, it will pay off. Cut out excess sugar and processed food, drink plenty of water and exercise. Go for mild face and body procedures once in a while”.

In Belezza Clinic the approach is individually tailored to each client. The clinic offers wide range of anti-acne and weight loss treatments, with regular customers in their 20s.

Skin peeling for Acne Prone Skin. Photo by: Chinara Sadikhova

“I love all women. My job is to remind women to love themselves,” – Sebastiano added.

Easy to say, almost impossible to practice.

Modern womanhood is redefined, and women are living under multiple pressures to have a career, balance their social and personal life, perform motherhood, and look eternally beautiful.

The whirlwind pace of the 21st century is hard to keep up with, but with consistent work on one’s internal self, spectacular results will be achieved.

Sebastiano offers more advice here:

Words by: Chinara Sadikhova | Subbing: Grace Staley

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