zoom and gloom

Zoom and Gloom: Are Video Calls Increasing the Desire for Cosmetic Surgery?

Let’s face it: when you connect with coworkers and friends via video chat, you spend far less time looking at them than you do studying your own image. Zoom and similar technology holds up a mirror to society, and society is not always liking what it sees.

COVID-19 has prevented us from the grooming habits we once enjoyed. Haircuts and facials were unavailable for months, leaving us staring at the abyss of our own imperfections. To add insult to injury, we can click over to an adjacent window and gaze at our social media feeds, which remind us of how we looked in days gone (way) by. The discrepancy between our younger selves and our current disrepair reminds us of what we can achieve when we apply our best instincts.

As luck would have it, we are able to recapture that youthful glow without jeopardizing our collective health and social responsibilities.

RETURN TO NORMAL

As California safely and slowly reopens its businesses, residents of the Golden State are becoming acutely aware that they may not be ready to face the sunshine just yet. But this phenomenon is not isolated to the west coast. Citizens from New York to the UK are recoiling at what they see in their Zoom reflections.

In response, the desire for cosmetic enhancements is swelling as people assess their “new normal” status. Laptop cameras highlight sagging skin along the neck and puffy fat deposits under the eyes. Anyone who has endured the tribulations of an early morning video conference call can attest that your coworkers are seeing a side of you that you would never willingly show them in person.

RETURN TO THE WORKPLACE

In addition to the heartbreaking medical effects that the novel coronavirus has unleashed on the world, it has also decimated our workforce. Small businesses were unable to operate, shuttering their doors by the hundreds of thousands. This had a disastrous trickle-down cascade that pelted workers with unemployment by the millions.

Jobless numbers skyrocketed from 3.5% in February of this year to a staggering 14.7% in April, and the data just keeps getting worse. Millions of unemployment claims have flooded government offices across the country, making the workforce even more competitive than usual.

Ageism is a sad but true reality in business. Employers want young, ambitious workers who will deliver great results by putting in extra hours and going over and above the call of proverbial duty. Even though experience matters, your face does not want to reflect the years of hard work that you have contributed to your career. If you are suddenly out of work as a result of COVID-19, you want to compete with younger job applicants without facing discrimination based on your age… or even your perceived age.

To really succeed on your next Zoom interview, you want to eliminate insecurity. Take a good long look at yourself in the video mirror and detail what you see. Age tends to show itself most apparently along the upper face and/or neck. Excess skin can betray your youthful appearance, obscuring the energy and dedication that lingers beneath the surface.

To address lax skin, consider the benefits of a face or neck lift. By excising unwanted tissue along the jowls, a neck lift will rejuvenate your profile and raise your job prospects. 

If you do not have the time or resources for a full surgical approach to sagging skin, think about the perk provided by dermal fillers. Those gaps you see staring back at you in the video chat window are a result of various factors, one of which is the breakdown of your skin’s underlying support system. 

As you age, you produce less collagen and elastin. These are the building blocks of healthy skin. In their absence, your outer layers hang farther and farther away from the fine tissue and musculature lining your face. Gaps occur, leaving skin looking wrinkled and empty. Fillers like Restylane and Juvederm literally fill the gaps, adding volume to the face and smoothing the wrinkles above.

Creases are also caused by the persistent muscular contractions of the face. When you frown, your muscles pull at the skin, creating lines that get deeper over time. When you hop on a Zoom call, you may be projecting an angry or worried expression, even when you are perfectly calm and happy. To address wrinkles at their root, consider the many benefits of Botox. Botox is a neuromodulator, which means it disrupts the release of acetylcholine at the neural junction. 

By reducing acetylcholine, Botox allows muscles to gradually release, only showing the emotions you want to project. Botox has also proven wonderfully effective in treating chronic migraines, so if your Zoom image is causing you major headaches, there is hope!

RETURN TO YOUR BEST SELF

Dr. William J. Binder is the pioneer who discovered the aforementioned link between Botox use and migraine relief. His innovation and expertise are unparalleled in the fields of cosmetic enhancement and skin rejuvenation. If being cooped up indoors has convinced you to look at yourself in a whole new digital light, Dr. Binder can contour what you see without changing the essence of who you are.

The point of successful cosmetic procedures is to achieve subtle yet transformative changes. Dr. Binder has accomplished this delicate balance for decades, and the new Zoom era is no exception. Much like video conferencing, Dr. Binder represents the cutting edge of scientific advancement without losing the human component. To polish your online presence, contact our Beverly Hills office at your earliest convenience.