By Plastic Surgeon Dr Dirk Kremer. 

As a plastic surgeon with global experience in the aesthetic industry, I have seen, read and heard about many worrying trends in the industry. These trends have included everything from Facebook facelifts to couples having plastic surgery procedures together, but a new trend currently sweeping the cosmetic industry is giving me cause for concern.

I have always said that any decision to have plastic surgery should be thought-out, well researched and ultimately made by the individual alone, without pressure from anyone. Patients should not be forced into cosmetic surgery by a third party and shouldn't use plastic surgery as a way of resembling someone else. We all have an individual beauty which can sometimes hidden behind blemishes or medical problems which we cannot control. Plastic surgery can help to improve individual body/facial features to harmonise and enhance our individual beauty.

It is therefore worrying to hear about people using plastic surgery to look like their favourite celebrity. These crazy procedures are often expensive and require numerous trips to the operation room in order to complete the look. Plastic surgery is never benign and going under the knife too many times can have disastrous consequences. Below are some examples of unwise aesthetic procedures I’ve come across lately, and I hope that these stories will help reinforce the importance of choosing carefully the procedures to undergo and of knowing when to stop having plastic surgery.

Man has plastic surgery to look like Justin Bieber

In January 2014, the Daily Mail ran a story about a 33 year old man from Los Angeles who was so infatuated with Justin Bieber that he paid over $100,000 (£60,000) on cosmetic surgery procedures to resemble the teen pop star. Toby Sheldon revealed that he has spent the last 5 years in and out of his cosmetic surgeon’s operating room having numerous aesthetic procedures including eye lifts, hair transplants, face fillers, chin reductions and lip lifts to ensure his looks resemble those of the Canadian pop star. Worryingly, Mr Sheldon has said that he still isn’t happy with his look and plans to have more cosmetic surgeries to ensure he achieves his dream image. You can never be the spitting image of someone else - unless you have a twin - so you are likely to never be satisfied with your looks if you try to change all your facial features with cosmetic surgery.

Comic book plastic surgery

Undergoing cosmetic surgery to look like a celebrity is one thing, but having plastic surgery to resemble a comic book hero is another. That is exactly what 35 year old Herbet Chavez from the Philippines did over a 16-year period, up to 2013. Mr Chavez was so obsessed with Superman that he spent over £4,000 on cosmetic procedures such as rhinoplasty, skin whitening, pec implants, lip liposuction and jaw realignment to turn himself into a real life Clark Kent. Today, Mr Chavez can be found in Calamba City, where he lives, portraying Superman at local events for school children and even for TV performances.

Korean woman changes face to look like Miranda Kerr

The most recent example of plastic surgery being used to resemble a celebrity was published by The Huffington Post at the end of May. Hong Yuh Reum, from South Korea, has undergone multiple cosmetic procedures to ensure her face resembles that of Miranda Kerr; she says that these procedures have only included nose jobs and eye lifts and that she hasn’t undergone a full facelift. Hong Yuh Reum has stated that her surgery has improved her career as an international model and done wonders for her self-esteem.

Plastic surgery should help enhance natural beauty

These stories have caused me much concern because while they may have made the patients happy, I believe plastic surgery should only be used to help improve someone’s natural beauty. In the cases mentioned above, the patients are looking beyond their own beauty in favour of someone else’s, which is not what I believe plastic surgery should be used for.

If you’re thinking about plastic surgery to improve your natural beauty (I won’t perform extreme surgery like the cases mentioned here), please contact us at Harley Street Aesthetics to arrange an initial consultation and we’ll discuss why you want cosmetic surgery and what options are available to your specific case.