For Fox Sake…

Aesthetic trends are on the rise. Russian lips, “Snatched” packages and Fox Eye Brow lifts. So what’s the problem?

Strap in, grab a coffee. This is kind of a long one, but I need to get it off my chest!

This morning, someone sent me a post from an aesthetics page with a huge following (we’re talking 100k +). The post was advertising Fox Eyes, and a snatched face package. The more I scrolled, the more I despaired. I despaired for young girls who are looking at this, thinking it’s the beauty standard to strive for. I despaired at the injectors entrusted with precious, perfect faces, prioritising profit over mental health and individuality. I despaired for the girls in the photos.

I despaired for an industry I have grown to love. I love watching someone bounce out of my clinic room feeling fantastic. I love being able to tweak small insecurities, and boost peoples confidence. I love spending consultations really assessing people, and gently guiding them away from treatment until they’re in the right headspace. And the thing I love the most? I love it when no – one can tell what they’ve had done.

And I am so scared that someone might look at my page, and see Aesthetics, and think that I am selling that same toxic bullshit.

I went down a rabbit hole of diagonal eyebrows, pointed chins, masculine, overfilled jawlines and overfilled lips. Everyone started to blend into one. The same facial package, same jaw, same nose. The comments section was split down the middle. From “oh my god, why do you do this to people” To “OMG I NEEEED THIS HOW MUCH BABES”

If you have followed me on my aesthetics Instagram for a while, you might have seen me rant in stories about aesthetic trends and unethical practice. If it feels like everywhere you look, everyone looks the same, well, they kind of do.

Social media, marketing, adverts, magazines and celebrities. Everywhere we look, we are bombarded with the idea that we need to change. Our nose isn’t right, our jaw isn’t contoured enough, our cheekbones aren’t high enough, or our lips aren’t big enough. If our eyes were just a bit lighter we’d be so pretty. You can see your pores, quick! Filter them away.

Add to it, we have become terrified of showing our faces without filters, largely because everyone else is using them all the time. I remember going to do a story one day, and being really disappointed with my face and apologising for it. Apologising for my face! It’s the only one I’ve got and I don’t want to apologise for not filtering it anymore. It’s the least important thing about me! It’s not to say I never use them, but I am a lot more conscious of them, and their impact on people who look at me, considering using me for their treatments, and hitting me up for skincare advice.

If you don’t already follow her, I highly recommend the powerhouse that is Sasha Louise Pallari and her wonderful #filterdrop campaign, But I digress.

Fox Eyes

Threads can be a really lovely aesthetic treatment. Used to improve skin texture, and as a shorter term alternative to a facelift, in the right hands, they can have fantastic results. In the UK, they should only be done in a CQC – registered clinic (and by a registered medical professional IMO). Side – effects and risks include bruising, dimpling of skin, pain, infection and snapping of threads

In a fox eye lift, a series of threads (usually PDO – Polydioxanone) are placed at the tail of the eyebrow, under the skin, and pulled upwards to give a “Fox Eye” appearance. This makes the brow look entirely unnatural. Imagine a cartoon version of someone really stoned. In some cases, blinking looks difficult! The aim is Bella Hadid, the reality is breathtaking for all the wrong reasons.

PDO threads are not intended to be used this way in my opinion. Threads are absorbable, meaning they dissolve under the skin over time, promoting collagen production. The drastic results you see on some social media pages don’t last, as the thread starts to dissolve the brow returns to normal position. Do you remember in the 90’s and 2000’s when we all over plucked our eyebrows, and how much we all regret that decision now? That is exactly what is going to happen with Fox Eyes.

If you search #foxeyes you will see exactly what sort of result it gives you.

If you want this look, and you’re looking for a safe alternative, the gorgeous Bianca at The Little Lash Company is doing a new style of lashes to give you a more subtle, natural look.

Russian Lips

As the name suggests, a trend that started in Russia. The look is taken from the traditional Russian Stacking doll, and aims to give a heart shape to the lips. The biggest issue with this technique is the way it is delivered. A technique called “tenting” is used, injecting vertically from the lip border. This gives the bulk of the volume to the centre of the lip, and almost makes them look flat. Take a look at the blood vessels in the picture below. Multiple injections in this way, drastically increases the risk of vascular occlusion, bruising and swelling. When vascular occlusion is not treated it can lead to tissue death and scarring. For me, tenting is an out of date and unsafe technique, that results in much longer downtime than normal treatment with cannula.

I don’t feel like the results are as natural as they could be, with more lift than is natural. Maybe this is just a personal preference though. For me, its the technique that’s risky.

Lip Vascular Anatomy. Picture Credit – Researchgate.net

So, what’s my problem?

I know what some of you might be thinking – if you don’t like it, don’t do it and let other people live! But I think these treatments are way more problematic than the procedural risks alone. It’s perpetuating a damaging aesthetic, and the more people have these things done, the more they feel that they need. People lose a sense of what their faces used to look like, and the results become more and more extreme in order to feel satisfied. These treatments are promoting a type of body dysmorphia, and so are the people doing them.

Let me be clear, my problem is not with the girls who are looking for these treatments. My problem is with the people who are doing them. The people who are no longer striving for natural, safe treatments, but cashing in on a trend for profit. The beauty therapists and hairdressers who are ill – equipped to handle the inevitable complications that come with this sort of work, and the medical professionals who should know better.

If you’re being tempted by package deals, and cheap offers (a topic which will get its own blog post in time) please rethink. Most injectors worth their salt will sit down and work out a individualised treatment plan with you, specific to your needs. Not a “6ml for £600” where everyone gets exactly the same treatment. As a side note, to make a profit on that filler, they must be using cheap products which are problematic in themselves.

Aesthetic treatments should make you feel great, taking minimal risks, but most importantly, they shouldn’t make you look like someone else.

If you would like to discuss treatment options, use our contact page. Just don’t ask for Fox eyes or russian lips. A good injector is like a good bartender, I will always tell you when you’ve had enough and it’s time to go home.

Let me know in the comments what you think about these trends and what sort of impact they have on you.