HKB Uncut | A Cosmetic Surgery Podcast
Welcome to HKB Uncut: the Health, Knowledge, and Beauty Podcast. On this show, Dr. Bill Kortesis & Dr. Gaurav Bharti unpack the newest techniques and trends in cosmetic surgery, how to tune out the social media noise to make empowered decisions about your appearance, and what you need to know before you book a procedure.
HKB Uncut | A Cosmetic Surgery Podcast
18. TikTok Made Me Do It | DIY Injectables, Filter Face, Overseas Surgery, and Social Media Lies
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Social media has completely changed how people think about plastic surgery: what’s possible, what’s normal, and what they expect their results to look like. In this episode, we react to viral TikTok trends and break down what’s actually happening behind the scenes, from DIY injectables and at-home treatments to filters, celebrity influence, and overseas surgery. We walk through what’s real, what’s risky, and what people don’t always realize when they’re making decisions based on what they see online. If you’ve ever saved a video, considered a trend, or wondered “does this actually work?”, this episode will help you separate what’s worth exploring from what’s not.
In this episode, we cover:
- The rise of DIY cosmetic treatments and why at-home injectables and threads are a hard no
- What’s really happening in viral “extreme facelift” videos (and why they look so shocking)
- How filters and AI are creating unrealistic expectations patients bring into consultations
- The truth about dissolving filler at home and why it’s riskier than it looks
- Why what you see online doesn’t always translate to real results
- The risks of traveling abroad for surgery, and what patients need to consider
- Why follower count doesn’t equal surgical skill (and how to actually evaluate a provider)
- The pressure to look like someone else… and why that’s not the goal
- Red flags to watch for when something seems “too good to be true” online
Welcome to HKB Uncut: the Health, Knowledge, and Beauty Podcast. On this show, Dr. Bill Kortesis & Dr. Gaurav Bharti unpack the newest techniques and trends in cosmetic surgery, how to tune out the social media noise to make empowered decisions about your appearance, and what you need to know before you book a procedure.
Dr. Bill Kortesis and Dr. Gaurav Bharti are board certified plastic surgeons and Co-Founders of HKB Cosmetic Surgery, an award-winning practice with ten locations across five states.
Connect with HKB:
Hey guys, so excited to see you today. This is Gorov Behardi.
SPEAKER_03And Bill Cortezus.
SPEAKER_06Today we're going to have an interesting episode where we're going to react to viral trends on uh social media and kind of what we think about them from an aesthetic standpoint.
SPEAKER_03This should be pretty interesting. I love I can't wait to see your facial expressions on some of these TikTok videos.
SPEAKER_06I want to hear some old filtered unfiltered comments. Yeah, you're definitely going to get some from me. On this show, we unpack the newest techniques and trends in cosmetic surgery, how to tune out the social media noise to make empowered decisions about your appearance and what you need to know before you book a procedure. I'm Dr. Bill Cortesis. And I'm Gorov Baharty. We are board-certified plastic surgeons and co-founders of HKB Cosmetic Surgery, an award-winning practice with 11 locations across six states.
SPEAKER_03In other words, when it comes to aesthetics and cosmetic surgery, we've pretty much seen it all and we want to share our knowledge and unique approach to aesthetics and beauty with you. Whether you're interested in cosmetic surgery for yourself or want to separate fact from fiction in the plastic surgery world, we hope you'll tune in each week.
SPEAKER_00So she has a bunch of sutures running all up and down her forehead and the sides of her face. And although it looks like it's these sutures that are creating the lift, that's not exactly what's going on. So it looks like she did have a brow lift, eyelid lift, and possibly a mid-face, and maybe even a jowl lift. And the incisions for these are probably all in her hairline.
SPEAKER_06Alright, so this lady looks crazy as can be. She's got these sutures all over her face. And you might look at that and be like, oh my God, what is going on? But the truth is that's that's actually a technique that's called A net. It's a way to minimize um any kind of collections of fluid in the face. A lot of surgeons are using it. We use it sometimes. I don't use it all the time. I don't think it's absolutely necessary, but it's not frowned upon. But what what are they doing? Why are they doing that technique?
SPEAKER_03I mean, again, like you said, they're they're there to to limit kind of fluid accumulation because anytime you lift up any part of skin, your body's natural response to that is kind of fill up that space with fluid. And so they're just trying to avoid that and try to get things to to stick or adhere exactly where they ended up putting it when doing the lifting procedure. I think it's a little excessive. You know, I think that many sutures is it's a little too much.
SPEAKER_06And there are a lot of rows of it, and like the vector pull that that patient had looked looked looked like she was pulled the shit out of. So anyway, I think the results overdone. The technique of minimizing the space and that suturing on the outside is a is an interesting concept that I think has its place.
SPEAKER_03I probably wouldn't do it personally um myself.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I would do it strategically. So a lot of our colleagues will do them strategically, like right here in the submental region, maybe one or two out here laterally. But, you know, um one of our colleagues, um Mike Nayak, always talks about the male facelift. I think in the male facelift, it might make real sense because the male facelift can have risks or issues such as high blood pressure, much higher risk for bleeding and hematoma. So by suturing all this down for three or four days and then taking it out.
SPEAKER_03But you have to take those sutures out.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, those sutures come out. That crazy look goes away. I don't know about that lady's lift. So I don't know if that changes. Otherwise, you're gonna leave track marks.
SPEAKER_03So you have to take those sutures out early.
SPEAKER_06All right, so this idea of mapping and showing on your face kind of what you're gonna do for Botox and neuromodulators.
SPEAKER_03I think mapping's fine. It's fine, it's all good. I I don't I don't necessarily agree with Botox and yourself. Can you? Yeah, if people have done it before, yeah.
SPEAKER_06Um is it ideal? I don't think so. I mean, uh more than anything, it's like you know, your normal vantage point of doing this is gonna be with you injecting looking versus reflecting and looking in the mirror. So can it be done? Sure. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do something. So I'm not a fan of treating myself. I'd get you to do it or get one of our amazing injectors. I don't know if I'd get you to do it.
SPEAKER_04She does what she wants if she looks cool to do it.
SPEAKER_06All right, so injecting yourself with neuromodulator Botox or or doing surgery on yourself, or you know, doing rhinoplasty on yourself, doing like I mean, yeah, you could do it, but why would you? No, not for me. Thumbs down.
SPEAKER_02I've been all about the DIY skincare lately. Today I tried threads. If you haven't heard of them, they look like this. They're supposed to lift, build collagen, and tighten your skin. They will dissolve over time. I put them today in my smile lines. I also put some here. I've got some acne's going. Hoping that these will go away. I'm gonna look lifted and snatched. Stay tuned for those updates.
SPEAKER_06So, DIY threads at home.
SPEAKER_03That's a negative for me, too.
SPEAKER_06I I just think they're where are you getting this shit from? What's it gonna do in your skin? What are you gonna do if there's an issue? And also, just again, the vector and how you do it. The vantage point isn't perfect. Like, you're better off just getting one of your colleagues to do it. Like, why are you doing it at home? What's the point? You're saving a couple bucks? I don't understand it.
SPEAKER_03What are the things? I the risk of infection is ultra high. And then, you know, if you put it too superficial, you can feel it, you can see it through your skin. Yeah, um, go to a trained professional. Have a trained professional do it.
SPEAKER_06I mean, threads, and listen, we don't I don't love threads, I don't hate threads, but I think they have their place, but like get it done somewhere. Like, why are you gonna do it at home? It just makes no sense.
SPEAKER_03Don't agree.
SPEAKER_06Threads are you know, materials that are that are essentially suture that's placed under the skin, that's barbed suture that has little hooks on it. So when you you put it down under the skin and then you pull it back because it has hooks on it, why as you pull back, it'll hold. And so you can kind of get a little bit of traction from the threads.
SPEAKER_03But again, you got to think what what are those threads doing? It's actually lifting skin, and we know the skin has the least strength of everything in the face, and so that that's not where you should get your lift from.
SPEAKER_06Right. And there's some threads that they talk about being a little biostimulatory, creating scar, etc. So it maybe has its place, but I would say the thing that I worry about is what are you getting? What are you gonna put in there? Potential infection, potential complications, and then when you're doing it on yourself, is to make sure you have the right insertion, right point of vector. It's just a little harder to just do that. You don't have the visualization that you would have when you're doing it on or somebody's doing it to you. I wouldn't do that that's trained.
SPEAKER_03I would never do any of that.
SPEAKER_01Today's the day I have decided I am going to dissolve my lip filler. Uh, to be honest, I used a product that was a little too thick for my lips because I kind of wanted to go big, and I liked it for a little bit, but it has definitely migrated. Um, the lovely trolls on here have informed me of it, and honestly, they're right. Um, I have tons of migration. Tons. And you can see in here as well. So, anyway, I'm gonna be dissolving with liparase, and um let's see how it goes. I'm going to be using this numbing cream. It is the most amazing numbing cream I've ever used. It is everything to where you cannot feel anything at all. So uh pain is stupid, and I will be numbing all around and inside my lips where I plan to inject the filler dissolver. So this is the product, and we're going to reconstitute it with saline, and I'm gonna use three milliliters into the other thing.
SPEAKER_06And I think just other it's like when you're getting substances that aren't regulated by the FDA, the food and drug administration, you're getting stuff that's shipped out of from outside the US. You don't know, you just don't know what's actually in that product. I'd be just so careful about this. Like the chances are, meh, everything's fine, it works good, but like I don't again, this and the other concept is like the visualization. When you were treating yourself versus when I'm treating a patient or you, the visual, the the the dexterity that I have versus administrating to yourself and then doing it with a reflective source, unless you're doing that day in and day out, it it doesn't make any sense to me.
SPEAKER_03What's the motive? You know, what was it what's the motive?
SPEAKER_06Save a couple bucks. I don't I don't know I don't I don't know what the is it to get viewership property.
SPEAKER_03Is it viewership to get clicks and likes? Um I I'm not sure. Um go to a trained professional.
SPEAKER_06You know, I I mean at the end of the day, uh this concept of filters is really interesting. It's great in some ways, but I kind of hate it in other ways because everything that you're seeing, it's this different reality. And you know, when you see this young lady put that filter on, it's a subtle change. Um sometimes these filters really make them look kind of give you this kind of cartoon or or kind of really artificial, kind of brushed and look that all of a sudden we're thinking looks okay. That thing we think it looks good. But let's let's be real here, if you really look at it, it doesn't look elegant or natural. It looks like this kind of almost this animated reality that we're allowing to happen.
SPEAKER_03Well, I you know, I'm afraid that patients are gonna have unrealistic expectations of what the outcome is gonna be with the particular type of procedure or intervention. Right? You know, in this particular case, they talk about filler. Filler's not gonna give you a a change like that. So th those are the unrealistic expectations. Yeah, I know you do it all the time. So if you had a patient come in having those expectations and you do it, you know, that's gonna lead to a very unhappy patient. So I I I think that's one of the main issues that I see with with that stuff is like, hey, let's really talk about expectations.
SPEAKER_06And then the other is gonna be, you know, what is actually influencing us as a society, us as a people, us as providers on what is beautiful and aesthetic. There are things that we had historically. We had these kind of Roman canons, and we followed these beautiful rules and these ratios and the golden ratio and all this stuff. And now that's just that's all being distorted and being kind of essentially just manipulated through concepts of filters, etc., that can be really valuable in kind of seeing what a patient would want, but also in some weird, perverse way, creating this weird, different kind of aesthetic narrative that is really not a natural, elegant, beautiful concept. And I think we um we need to just wake up a little bit. We we have to kind of take control of this because this is this is the the damned if you do, damned if you don't think with AI. You have to you have to get on the train, learn how to use it effectively, but you can't like let it run with itself and then you follow it. And I think this is where we all have this gentle little balance, and I've been going down rabbit holes in this. We were having a long convo about this. You know, if you don't adopt it, you don't use it in the right way, you're gonna be left behind. But if you do too much and forget kind of what the core is of what you're actually doing, you no longer are making the decisions.
SPEAKER_03You know, there's this podcast I was listening to was saying humans who use AI are gonna far, you know, advance humans who don't use AI. So we have to adopt it, right? You know, because it's gonna be everywhere. Um and we have to understand kind of all the potentials that it has, but the downside is things like this, right?
SPEAKER_06And it's and it's happening all the time. Every all the time now, people are are getting essentially fed or making decisions based on algorithms, based on what they're seeing, based on the screen time that they're getting exposed to. And uh I think it's a time where we really need to be cautious about when you think about kid, that girl who was on there is a young kid, really young. And you know, we have young girls at home, they're all getting, you know, things are getting framed up for them in this unique way. Even young kids who are watching YouTube all the time are getting, they're just getting framed up in different ways. So it's one of those things where we have to be really cautious. And I think us as providers can be that reality check and help, but we can use these tools effectively. So I think that it's probably a valuable thing for us to start thinking about what are things that we can do, you know, using agents like Chrysalics and different things where you can have the right kind of simulation for patients to show whatever that filter effect is, but that's a that's actually achievable. Um but I think it's a it's a brave new world out there. And I I don't love it. We were at it, we were at that Hornets game and they were doing AI on everybody, and AI, they were doing filters on people, and I'm like, it's funny because you're doing stuff to make these filters were made to make people look silly and funny, and in some ways you hear people being so crazy about like you know putting labels on people and then giving people names and etc. X, Y, and Z, and then they're like basically converting someone into like a weird-looking animal. Well, that's not a right thing to do either. So I think um I don't I don't really like filters and things like that. I like people's natural elements, and if we can enhance or you know, get them to a place that still represents them and refine them, let's do it.
SPEAKER_03The the good news is, you know, it is still primitive enough that you can sort of tell what's AI and what's not. The scary part is not gonna be for long, right? What's gonna happen when you're like, oh, is that real or is that not real? And that's coming very fast.
SPEAKER_06So be here tomorrow. It's happening all the time. I think that's what all of us need to just remember, think a little bit before we just jump on the AI band. We need to learn how to use it but how to keep it under control. You know, this is this is interesting that um there is some of these things for kind of the sensationalism in in plastic surgery and getting, you know, multiple procedures and um kind of how they get them and traveling for them, and um, you know, the idea of kind of the glory of having you know aesthetic surgery or just kind of taking on an extreme look. And you know, it's not something that we we usually deal a lot with.
SPEAKER_03It it's it's a weird flex, right? Like and you know, you you see a lot on social media people kind of flex what they have, their cars, their houses or shoe collections, you name it, jewelry for what reason, I don't know, maybe for followers and likes the same way. And now they're using plastic surgery for that same thing. It's like, you know, right? It's this weird flex.
SPEAKER_06And I you know, and it is interesting this idea of kind of the flex of saying, you know, I did this to kind of match my Instagram filter, and the kind of the publicity got because this just goes back to what we were talking about earlier. Like the filters are a real thing, like people really aspire for that and that kind of augmented sense of that artificial reality, what a filter can bring and saying, like, what can you do to achieve it? It's like this Netflix movie, Uh The Uglies, that came out that was literally about like when you you get of age and you get your your your aesthetic surgical makeover so that you can have this amazing, you know, utopian look and you can join the utopian society. It's uh it's an interesting concept. And you know, the idea of traveling abroad, going to other places for surgery havens for for a reduced price, like Turkey or Korea. I think that some of those places probably have remarkable surgeons, like incredible surgeons, ultra-high volume. The only thing that sometimes you have is maybe potentially a little less oversight, potentially um safety-related issues, potentially complication-related issues if you're far away. So I think everybody just got to do their homework. Yeah, you know, just be careful and um think about what you're trying to achieve. Obviously, this guy wants a different outcome, a different look for different reasons. This is actually potentially how he actually generates his livelihood versus others. It's more of like a refining what you have and it being under the radar. So again, not everybody's the same.
SPEAKER_03Would you operate on somebody who's had 30 or 40 plastic surgery procedures and continually wants to change the way they look? You know, I think there's there's something underlying there that you know, there may be something underlying.
SPEAKER_06Every once in a while, some of those patients can be the most remarkable patients because they need they need something fun fundamentally improved. So I wouldn't totally dismiss anybody, but I would get my antenna would be up. I would be very cautious and make sure because I I just don't want to inherit a problem either. You know what I'm saying? But every once in a while, even a patient who's had a lot of surgery, we can make a dramatic impact on and help them as long as the expectations are reasonable.
SPEAKER_03I I would love to talk about the positives a little bit. I I think one of the things, because I do a lot of breast surgery, is you know, there's been certain individuals, celebrities that have gotten augmentations done. So I think it's normalized kind of the breast augmentation big time space. I I think it's also talked about sizing um and and it sort of allowed individuals to be comfortable with having plastic surgery because they're like, oh, you know what? It is okay. You know, everybody does get it, and it's fine. If I do want to feel better about myself, I think it's okay and comfortable to have it done. So I think there's a lot of positives that go with that.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I would say, you know, make the humanizing it, normalizing it a little bit, and just so that it doesn't have to be like in your face, or it doesn't have to be for the ultra wealthy, or it doesn't have to be for the stripper, or it doesn't have to be for whatever.
SPEAKER_03It's it's for everybody, right?
SPEAKER_06For everybody. And like there's been other other trends and things we're seeing now of kind of this super small volume, minimal recovery, like the preserve technique, which has gained some attraction also. Um, the other is facial stuff, you know, people having facial interventions. So I think social media has been um valuable in it. I think we're still learning how to play in that space. You know, one of the things that's hard in our space in social media is that a lot of times they're uh a lot of the algorithms are suppressing our before and afters. And the crazy thing is then you see the other things that are on social media. There's some very hyper-sexualized stuff on social media. There are things that'll come up that are just totally, I in my opinion, I think, inappropriate that you wouldn't want anybody to see, like children or or people who are, unless you're like subscribed to some sort of internet, you know, pay service, you know, um, like an OnlyFans account. You know, I'm serious, like we come on there. But our our results, like the before and after for like a mommy makeover or before and after for anything that shows anybody's skin, totally suppressed. And even like some of the TikTok algorithms will just be like, uh-uh-mm, that's not good. And so it's hard because we want to we want to show those results. And so I think for us now, more of it's patient stories and those patients sharing it. So I think hearing a patient's point of view on these social things is is pretty, I think it's very powerful because like people like to hear from patients, they like to see what's going on with them. So I think that that's an interesting space and really valuable.
SPEAKER_03I I think it's great. You know, you you bring up a good point about I think social media is a good outlet for patients seeking great plastic surgery, right? They can actually go and figure out who that plastic surgeon is ahead of time. There's negatives to this too, by the way, but we'll get into that. But I I think understanding who your plastic surgeon is, J, you know, making sure you you are good with their personality and who they are as individual, you like their work, you get to know them ahead of time. I I think that's huge, right?
SPEAKER_06The only thing is that, and I know you're about to say it. If not, uh maybe you're thinking it is that a lot of the people we know so many people all over this country, and that some of those people that are on there that are like these mass finds are somewhat ultra manufactured. I mean, they're just like that's like they just focus on just manufacturing that social side. And it's like, you know, what about the the outcome side? What about the experience side? And so as you're doing your diligence, you have to also understand like that the someone's digital representation doesn't necessarily correlate directly with actually what they're like in real life. And so this is the this is the tension that that that we face here, and like you know, you and us, like we are we have tremendous following just organically. Patients just come. Luckily, we have amazing patients, and so do the rest of our our teammates. Um, but you know, to get the exposure and the outreach, you have to do things, you have to be out there and you have to post stuff and you have to be kind of doing things and then try to get on algorithms, try to get likes, try to get comments. So it's a little bit of the wild, wild west from a standpoint of actually. Actually, does someone with a million followers are they a better surgeon than someone who has 50,000? Uh the answer is you we we that that's not absolutely not at all a correlation there. And so but it's it just a just a provoking thought.
SPEAKER_03But I I think having authenticity in who you are, yes, uh to me ultra important. I think I admire the plastic surgeons are out there on social media and what you see is what you get, and we know them in real life, and it's the same person, we're like, gay, be your authentic self, man, great or gal. Like, I I I really value that. But it's the people that are two different people, you're like, oh, that's not your real self.
SPEAKER_06You're just out there doing it for and I think for us clicks, and I think for us it's really awesome when you can literally if you're actually um enriching the environment, the the ecosystem out there, and and providing high quality content and education, it's really valuable because like honestly, I learned from it and high quality care too, right?
SPEAKER_03Because it just it helps individuals get what they're what they want.
SPEAKER_06So it's the only reason why I ever was introduced to social, ever got on social, was because of this field and my work, and so otherwise I think I would have probably been a very slow adopter or been very, very quiet on it just because I have my own personal kind of aversion to it, but you know, it we're in it and it's uh it's the world we live in. It's the world we live in, and it it has real value in it, and so we'll continue to play all over it. You know, obviously, see there's a lot of pressure, and I think that, you know, one thing that we all always want is you want people, you want to be able to treat everybody and take care of everyone. And when cost becomes an issue and people start doing different things, you know, for example, you know, one of the things where people were getting silicone injected in their butts because it was cheap to go to a hotel and get it injected in them. Like this literally is stuff that is toxic, that could kill them, that leads to horrible complications. That same exact kind of concept can happen if you just order stuff at home and treat yourself that is coming in being imported from other countries. So I think people need to be really careful. I know we know cost is an issue, but like there are other ways to achieve this and get this that are more cost-friendly. There are different products now that are much more cost-friendly than like, you know, the highest of the highest brand that that exists out there from like a neuromodulator standpoint. So I think patients can think about that.
SPEAKER_03And rewards programs, right? So like sign up for these reward programs that that occur with these industry partners that we have, and they have really good rewards programs. I think it's great. So like I think there's ways to be you're cost conscious when when figuring out. But I agree with you. I I think sometimes you try to get a value and pay less, but ultimately you end up paying more because you got the wrong outcome.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, and if you and if you had filler somewhere and it was no good and it needs to be dissolved, like most of the time any any reputable provider is gonna want to help you out because they want you to be happy. They don't want you to have you know regrets and they it's their reputation online. If they're not willing to help and there's an issue, there's a problem with that provider. So I think people shouldn't be left with the bag, you know, if they have a problem to correct it themselves. That's that's uh that's not cool at all. I would I would be freaking out if my patient was trying to correct an issue that she had or he had with me or one of our providers. Like we have to do that. That is not for them to do. I think one of the red flags to watch out for when people are researching treatments on social media, you know, I would say one is like, you know, too good to be true. I mean, like just like ridiculous, like absolutely ridiculous transformations or something that just like is too good to be true. I mean, you know, we're we've we've been in the road.
SPEAKER_03I think you do your roast research, right? I think that's so important. You know, if somebody says something that you're like, oh my God, take this pill, you're gonna magically lose 30 pounds and you're gonna have ripped abs. Do your research on it, you know, go to a different site, start, you know, right looking, um, use Chat GPT to go down the road, you know, use one of these other AI agents on on your phone to kind of analyze it and see if it makes sense or not. Because to your point, if it's too good to be true, it probably is right.
SPEAKER_06And if and if it's incongruent, meaning if you see like four people and then there's one that's like this like sticks out like this doesn't fit or make any sense, but oh my god, it sounds so good. That typically indicates that there's something off there. Um, and if there's like an injection or treatment or procedure that just is, you know, contra you've never heard of that only one thing is doing, you gotta be careful of.
SPEAKER_03What are the most common ones you see? I think hair. You know, it's like take this pill and you're gonna have a full head of hair. I mean, if I did, I would have had G's hair yesterday, by the way. So that one's a common one that I see.
SPEAKER_06That's a common one. I think other stuff, there's a lot of stuff out there for guys and hormone stuff all over the place about you know, you know, stuff to kind of help you, you know, be more of a good a mere more of a dude and be better in bed. I think I think I just be careful with all those things and figuring out what's what, where is it coming from, or get taller because that's happening. Yeah, no, the taller ones that's not happening. Um, there's lots of stuff for from a from a nutrition standpoint, tremendous things from a nutrition standpoint. And that I think I would just say I would just say be careful because like people are trying to make a sale, people are trying to get you to buy, you know, all these things, all these things are there, they're engineered for you to buy, buy, buy. Correct. And so just make sure you're getting what you're gonna actually utilize and consume. What about from a from an aesthetic side? What about these roller treatments that that kind of ladies will get? What do you think about that?
SPEAKER_03I mean, you're getting you're causing some micro trauma, right? So the the micro trauma does help, you know, build some some collagen in your skin. So I think it it is beneficial.
SPEAKER_06Um I'm okay with that too. How about how about your girl, uh Kim Kardashian's facelift, post-op facelift garment?
SPEAKER_03Oh, it's a huge negative, right?
SPEAKER_06I mean it's a zero, it's a it's a it's a zero, and this is what I mean by like it's all bullshit. So when you get on there and there's something like that and people are buying it like crazy, it's literally you're spending money for nothing. It's literally a facelift compression garment that is being sold for profit. And there's there is there's quite a bit of that hype. So when something doesn't make sense or it's like, oh my god, that's so easy. Why wouldn't I do that? Also think about who's behind it, who's endorsing it. I think those are those are things to think about. But listen, I bought all kinds of stuff too on that. I see there's a lot of stuff on sleep too, tons of stuff for like sleep aids that are on there, weird mushroom coffee stuff. I mean, there's all kinds of stuff out there. Yep. And it's just basically programmed for you to just buy it, or you have to delete or stop the ads. So once you go down the hole, it's coming back for you. And you're either gonna bite on it or you're gonna delete it. Yeah, the algorithms against it.
SPEAKER_03I think there's a huge infatuation in our society with celebrities, right? They're always like, what are they doing? How are they looking so young? What can what can I do to look like them? So, as you would imagine, it's a hot topic in plastic surgery world, right? And every plastic surgeon is jumping on it, have a video of them saying, Okay, Brad Pitt did this, or you know, this person did this, or this person did this. Because again, they're ultimately looking for views and then ultimately help trying to to elicit that that same response out of patients going, hey, perspective patients going, I want to look just like them.
SPEAKER_06Right, right. And you know, I think that I like it, but I hate it at the same time. I think sometimes when um when it's done in a way that like potentially erodes uh reputation or like kind of like is like in an inflammatory way, I just don't like it. I just in your like this too. I think we we um we should build people up versus break them down. So I think as long as it's done in a positive light, but all these things are kind of uh they're sort of guessing, they're making educated guesses, and also some of these images like I don't even understand. Like they'll show you a before and after. I'm like, all right, yeah, there's something that's been done, but also this image has been manipulated the shit out of. And so this is the problem is that we don't ever have real before-afters that we're talking about. We're talking about a picture that was taken at this time that was edited, another picture that's taken at this time that's edited that we're looking at, and you're talking about what's the difference. Um, at the end of the day, I think it's good for conversation. Um, but I don't ever want and I think about it, I think about my children. Like, I don't want them striving for somebody else's aesthetic ideal at all. Like it's like maybe you're looking for harmony, you're looking for balance, you're looking for restoration.
SPEAKER_03If you want to be the best version of yourself, you're not gonna be able to do that. You don't want to be the best version of yourself, you don't want to look like somebody else, and I I think that's kind of a bad thing. And and I think to your point, trying to be positive, we have to understand these celebrities are real people. Oh, yeah, they're huge, they're real and they're having real procedures for reasons we don't know. Yeah, and who are we to judge them for wanting to have that procedure done and to judge their appearance? I wouldn't want anybody to put my picture up there and judge me. No, and just because they're a celebrity, you know, this is their job. Yeah, their job is to be in movies or their job is to be you know on TV or to be a you know um social media star. Who are we to judge who and what they are? So I I'm I'm anti-it for that reason. Yeah, um, and so but I I think it does bring to light, I I do like the celebrities who come out on their own and talk about their plastic surgery. Right, I'm all in favor of that because I think it's shedding good light into our specialty. Um, but I'm reluctant to be that guy that's gonna be out there saying this celebrity had this and this for for different reasons, because again, uh I who am I to judge why they got something done or not? And I'm definitely not gonna judge somebody else's appearance.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, you know, and it's tough. Like I get it, it's what we do, it's our space, you know, this is literally what we do, and you can kind of point things out. And every once in a while, I will tell you when we do that, we're wrong too. So I think that it is what it is. I think it's fun to uh uh appreciate beauty, and um, but there are certain times, there's no doubt when people overdo or do things in a way that just don't look great and they they take on a distorted sense of self, and so it's always it's unfortunate to see that, and I think we're seeing less and less of that. So it's good that that's happening. Um but at the end of the day, public kind of shaming broadcasting, it kind of sucks, and so I think that we we we like it when people do it more of a tasteful or more of a kind of under the radar fashion. I would say that TikTok, Instagram, YouTube have had a a massive um part in our the way that our industry has behaved and will continue to behave. Um but you think about these things and how this idea of influence or influence and aesthetic and trends have always been there actually. People influence each other's behavior, their sense of style influences others, their way that they they consider what's beautiful and aesthetic has always been there. There's always been pressures. It's just a different different platform now, different platform and different levels of kind of um exposure and and and potentially uh there could be this way that you can kind of sort of create more of a actually homogenous look. I think that's the only thing I worry about is when you have these social things, you all of a sudden get broadcast. Everybody, everybody thinks everybody, this is how it's supposed to be, and it's like all the way out there. And that I feel like could potentially erode kind of the uniqueness that we all have.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we see we have to be careful, as in with anything. Watch out for AI, watch out for these filters, watch out for unrealistic, unrealistic expectations. Do your research, you know, search for the right surgeon, right provider. You know, I I think that's the the good in social media.
SPEAKER_06And be you only when you when you want to lose images, but maybe a little better so that you just like what you see when you look at yourself, not necessarily striving for some other you know, look that you think you're supposed to look like. All right, everybody, thanks for listening. Please be sure to like and subscribe. Check us out on our social channels and uh send us some messages of anything you want us to talk about or any questions you might have. Tune in next time. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03Thank you for listening to HKB Uncut. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to us on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.
SPEAKER_06To book a surgery consultation or med spa appointment with our team, visit our website at hkbsurgery.com or head to the links in our show notes.