Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Plastic Surgeons on Snapchat

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably know that I'm a comedy fan. That sounds dumb, because "who doesn't love to laugh?" But I mean that I like following my favorite comedians on Twitter both to read their comments on a daily basis and to keep tabs on their latest projects. Then I started using Snapchat, and I don't follow as many comedians there as I do on Twitter, but I do follow Jackie Kashian, Katherine Ryan, Whitney Cummings, and Chelsea Handler.

It's super interesting, and I get to see snippets of their day-to-day lives. Snapchat has been a refuge for me lately when I've been overwhelmed by stress from the news so, when Katherine Ryan mentioned on Snapchat that she's following a plastic surgeon called Dr. Miami, I remembered how I used to love to watch Discovery Health and The Learning Channel (TLC) when I had cable and the content on those channels was actually educational--before cable was taken over by reality shows. There was one show in particular that I remember watching. It was called Plastic Surgery: Before and After. It was super interesting! (And later I watched all of Nip/Tuck, but the Snaps I watch are real surgeries, not a drama, so that's a bit beside the point.) So of course I immediately followed Dr. Miami.

Well it turns out that Dr. Miami has a squad, the members of which he and his social media team routinely promote via Snapchat and Instagram. Flash forward to a few weeks later, and I am now following twenty-four plastic surgeons (not all of whom are Dr. Miami Squad members) and one dentist.

Let me tell you, I've had no shortage of  interesting Snaps to watch. Many are very graphic. They do Snap live surgeries. You see them cut off real skin and fat, cauterize cut blood vessels, perform labiaplasties, slice into eyelids, and peel back the tips of noses. The range of techniques, tools, and vocabulary is really fun to learn ("Why is this doctor using a scalpel and tongue depressor to repair this guy's earlobe when all the other doctors use scissors???" --Example of my thoughts on a daily basis). Also, it's not only interesting to see the amazing things that can be accomplished with plastic surgery but also to learn its limitations (e.g., breasts will never be perfectly identical).

Besides all the technical stuff, it's fun to see the doctors' and their staff members' senses of humor. Some perform skits for Snapchat, some are more straight-laced and all business. One of my favorite things is when one of the more straight-forward educational-type doctors cracks a joke. It's almost always like a dad joke, but I love it! Much of it is like eavesdropping on regular people making conversation with their coworkers to get through a routine day.

The third thing I like about watching plastic surgeons on Snapchat is that it's helping me make peace with my own physical form and count my blessings. Yes, my hair is thin & fine and my forehead's huge, but I probably don't need a hair transplant. Yes, I have bra rolls, but they're not very pronounced. My BMI is actually within the range that would qualify me for plastic surgery (most won't do work on patients with a BMI over 32 for safety reasons). Yes, I have a saggy butt and cellulite on my legs, but from the Before pictures I've seen of even much thinner, younger people, I'm beginning to believe that this is very natural, so I care a lot less about what anyone thinks about my backside. Sure, my boobs don't look like they did at 23, but I'm 43 now, so that makes sense ("Gravity always wins." --Dr. Martin Jugenburg). My tummy will probably always have an extra flap of skin and fat regardless of whether I ever lose weight down to a "normal" BMI, and I'm okay with that. I see it as a tax for spending decades eating and behaving like a teenage boy on Christmas break (stuffing my face constantly and sitting around watching movies). My ears stick out, but not like jug handles. My face is becoming wrinkled, and I still want laser resurfacing. (lol) But it can wait and I will use sunscreen religiously in the meantime.

Each doctor has a different style Snapchat account. Some have social media professionals Snapping, some do it themselves. Some are more serious. Lots have catchphrases or intros they use daily. Some have annoying things they do to try to stay on-brand (e.g., winking at the camera) and at least one promotes "natural remedies," but they still have great content otherwise. There are lots to choose from, so check 'em out.

If you're interested in following plastic surgeons on Snapchat, I recommend starting with Dr. Miami and checking out his squad via Instagram. Dr. Miami's office is closed for the week for Passover, but there are lots of pics on Insta as well as Snapcodes for his squad members.

Have fun!