Dimpleplasty is the new plastic surgery trend. Yes, people not blessed by nature with dimples are going under the knife to acquire them.
The trend is said to be gaining traction with millennials in particular. Requests for the cosmetic surgery procedure have almost tripled among millennial-aged patients in North America and Europe, due to its "little downtime, enhancement of facial aesthetics, and lack of need for general anaesthesia," according to Wright Jones, a U.S. plastic surgeon.
And it seems South Africans are also getting on the dimpleplasty train.
Here are five things you need to know about the procedure:
1. It's minimally invasive
It's a minimally invasive procedure performed by a qualified surgeon where a small incision is made in your mouth to create a defect in the cheek. The muscle is then attached to the undersurface of the skin and then when you smile — dimples.
2. It's a short surgery
The procedure takes about 30 minutes, and there's generally no need for general anaesthesia.
3. It will cost you
Dimpleplasty costs in the region of R15,000, according to Women's Health.
4. There are side-effects
Swelling and soreness can be expected after the procedure, until the tissue settles.
5. It does have risks
"Dimples could be overly dramatic, appear underwhelming, look unnatural, disappear with time, or even be located in the wrong place," warned Jones.
YouTube vlogger Beige Ojai noticed complications around the fifth day after the surgery — her inner cheek started swelling. "It was more swelling that I got during surgery... I saw that my stitches had gone away, dissolved."
The stitches are supposed to stay in for at least eight weeks... with hers dissolved prematurely, her dimple literally faded.
South Africans have expressed mixed feelings about the trend on social media:
Ojai's hope is that as the trend gains even more traction, more people will be open to talking about it — both the good and the bad. "I feel like this is a newer procedure — there are not a lot of people talking about their experiences. I have noticed a lot of people are getting it done, but no one's really talking about the [reality of] the whole procedure," she said.