With a far longer lifespan than Vine ever had, TikTok has quickly soared to become one of the leading social media apps used in the last few years. It seems everyone is on TikTok now, from celebrities, chefs, dentists, authors, and everyday parents. It seems if it exists, there’s a TikTok niche dedicated to it.
One such niche that has caused a fair bit of controversy is plastic surgery Tik Tok. Trending hashtags like #plasticsurgery and #nosejob have garnered billions of results and views. This is due primarily to the app having both the patients of plastic surgery and the doctors who perform them on the app.
With a simple search, people can answer their burning questions such as “how much is liposuction” and have them personally answered by professionals on the app either in the comments or via dedicated video response.
So how is TikTok helping to reduce the stigma behind plastic surgery?
Increased Relatability
Plastic surgery was once thought to be only attainable by the rich and famous. Of course, while the associated costs can still be high, this is no longer the case. Social media such as Youtube and TikTok allow viewers to watch everyday people like themselves document and talk about their plastic surgery ventures and why they got the procedures done, to begin with. It’s easier for a person to visualize themselves getting plastic surgery if somebody they identify with and can relate to is getting it themselves. Such as an influencer specializing in content about motherhood discussing getting a mommy makeover or a younger influencer documenting their first Botox injection due to insecurities.
Decreased Mystery
Unless you’re already in a consultation room with a doctor, you may not have any idea what recovery from plastic surgery can look like. It’s easy to read that a procedure can take “a few weeks” to heal from, but what does that look like in terms of bruising, bleeding, pain and more?
Google images can be a horror show to look out, especially out of context of knowing the exact procedures. Many online articles prioritize surgeries that have failed over ones, the majority that has been properly performed.
Many influencers and even celebrities now disclose their procedures as they transpire. For example, Marc Jacobs made headlines recently by documenting his facelift recovery in daily progress photos vis social media. Other Tik Tok influencers such as Charli D’Amelio documented her recovery from Rhinoplasty. By seeing what plastic surgery recovery is (and in some cases even streaming the procedures themselves), it’s easier than ever to see the step-by-step process of what it means to get plastic surgery.
TikTok Is About Trends
One of the biggest trends of TikTok is the way a trend or hashtag can spread like wildfire. When this happens, the awareness of the trend spreads to millions of people, branching out onto other media like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Because of this, people are always on the hunt for the next trend. With the world of cosmetic surgery generating billions of views, many are seeking trendy new procedures to set them apart in their content. These procedures don’t even need to be invasive or even surgeries at all. Non-surgical procedures such as CoolSculpting, dermal fillers and laser therapy have become more prevalent in recent years, partially due to the influence of social media.
