Years ago, plastic surgery was seen as something rather unattainable. Besides showing up on niche television shows like The Swan and on the front of magazine covers, plastic surgery was predominantly a private affair.
Fast forward a decade and plastic surgery has become more mainstream and relatable, with reality TV show stars showing off the results on daytime television and social media. Plastic surgeons have themselves capitalized on this trend—Snapchatting their patients as they go through their procedures in all their goriness and showing off the final results, like Dr. Michael Salzhauer (a.k.a. Dr Miami), who boasts almost a million followers across Snapchat and Instagram.
But the rise of social media has also led to a slightly less well known phenomenon: The digital revolution has given young women instant access to cosmetic surgery through their social media channels, and many patients—particularly women—have started recording their “plastic surgery journeys” on different platforms, with Instagram playing a prominent role.
