When it comes to cosmetic surgery, where does one draw the line? This 22-year-old's obsession with one of the world's most beautiful women led her down a dark path of cosmetic alteration—one that eventually landed her behind bars...
Unhealthy Fixation
Celebrities spend most of their lives in the public eye, so it's no surprise that aesthetics are a top priority. Even if money can't buy happiness, it can buy an endless array of procedures to maintain the illusion of youth. Angelina Jolie has been cited as the world's most beautiful woman by a variety of media outlets—but just how far would you go to look like her?
Shocking Decision
Some people will go to great lengths to emulate their idols. For a young Iranian woman named Sahar Tabar, it became her life's mission. The 22-year-old decided she would do anything to look like the former wife of Brad Pitt. After fifty surgeries, Tabar's facial features became grotesquely distorted, but the 22-year-old didn't care. Tabar's grim cosmetic adventure was documented via her Instagram page...
Fifty Surgeries
Tabar only admitted to receiving a nose job, botox, and liposuction, but several news outlets reported that the 22-year-old paid for over 50 cosmetic procedures. Tabar allegedly lost almost 90 pounds to transform into Jolie. With every surgery, Tabar's appearance became more cartoonish.
Instagram Queen
Although Tabar's intention was to supposedly look like her idol Angelina Jolie, many of her online followers have deemed her features akin to that of Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride." Instagram is one of the few platforms that remain active in Iran. When Tabar began to post photos of her increasingly warped face, her page began to gain traction...
Confusing Intentions
At first, Tabar's selfies seemed relatively undoctored, but each picture revealed a more drastic change to the 22-year-old's physique. Soon, people were questioning the authenticity of her account. Every time Tabar posted a photo, Internet sleuths began trying to uncover the truth.
In Trouble With the Law
As Tabar's Instagram account grew in popularity, the pictures she shared became progressively more bizarre and disturbing. Her eyes, once brown, were now frosty blue. Her nose turned further and further upward. Her lips were steadily inflating. In fact, Tabar's transformation was so peculiar that the Iranian government took notice.
Distracting Appearance
Tabar's Instagram audience became even more fascinated—and horrified—by her continued operations. However, after members of the public made complaints about her looks, judicial authorities stepped in. The BBC reported that Tabar was arrested by the Iranian government...
Charged With Blasphemy
Tabar was held on charges of blasphemy, instigating violence, illegally acquiring property, insulting the country's dress code, and encouraging young people to commit corruption. Tabar, having been branded a "zombie" version of Angelina Jolie, decided to explain her side of the story.
Heavily Edited
Tabar came forward and admitted that her Instagram photos were digitally altered. She also claimed that her make-up was done specifically for dramatic effect.
"This is Photoshop and makeup. Every time I publish a photo, I paint my face in an increasingly funny way. It is a way of expressing yourself, a kind of art," she said. "My fans know that this is not my real face."
Self-Expression
Tabar also denied that she ever intended to mimic the appearance of Jolie, stating: "I had no interest at all to be like Angelina Jolie, and I did not want to look like anyone. That was not my aim." Regardless of her intentions, Tabar could be facing between 91 days and 2 years in jail if convicted. Tabar wasn't the only person to undergo extreme plastic surgery to achieve a unique look...
Toby Sheldon
Toby Sheldon was a songwriter from Los Angeles, California who spent over $100,000 to look just like teen heartthrob Justin Bieber. Throughout the course of 5 years, Sheldon used Bieber's features as inspiration for a variety of surgeries, including chin reduction, eyelid surgery, and facial fillers. There was a deeper reason why he wanted so badly to look like Bieber...
Afraid of Aging
When Justin Bieber hit the scene in 2008, he was the pinnacle of adolescent youth. Sheldon had already spent $8,000 on hair transplant surgery to fix his thinning hair, but he wasn't happy with the results. It took three rounds of transplants—totaling $21,000—for Sheldon to be satisfied with his new hairline. He admitted that the reason he was obsessed with Bieber had to do with his own phobia of aging.
Fixated on His Face
"By using Justin’s charming baby face as my inspiration, I've been able to restructure my entire look to maintain a much more youthful appearance through plastic surgery," said Sheldon. He added that he never really listened to his music. Sheldon had more plans to sculpt his face into what he believed to be the perfect Bieber lookalike, but sadly, tragedy struck in 2016.
Dead at 35
Sheldon, whose real name was Tobias Strebel, was found dead in a motel room in the San Fernando Valley. He had been reported missing the week prior; the county coroner listed his cause of death as "multiple drug intoxication." Strebel's death was ruled accidental. Still, these extreme cases of plastic surgery prove how easy it is to take things too far. For example, this model was so desperate to look like a cartoon character that she had six of her ribs removed...
Pixee Fox
Pixee Fox, a former electrician, has undergone over 200 plastic surgeries in order to look like a "living cartoon." Fox says she "never really felt human," preferring to view herself as a "pixie, fantasy creature." Fox has traveled all across the globe in order to seek out surgeons who will perform the procedures she desires. Pixee even invented some surgeries of her own...
Disturbing Proportions
Fox has had six ribs removed to offer the appearance of a narrower waist, had her ears surgically sown to look like an "elf," and became the first woman in history to use her pubic hair for an eyelash transplant. Fox approached Dr. Paul Nassif and Dr. Terry Dubrow twice on the show Botched. At first, they declined to go through with the absurd procedures they requested...
Mentally Ill
When Dr. Dubrow saw Fox again, he remarked that he couldn't believe how many operations Pixee underwent since their last meeting. "I have never seen anything like it in my entire career," Dubrow said.
The doctors warned Pixee that she had to stop getting plastic surgery; they believed she was addicted to cosmetic procedures and suffered from body dysmorphia. Pixee dismissed their concerns...
Surgery Addict
Pixee most recently traveled to Seoul, South Korea in order to undergo a procedure in which her jaw bone was broken, shaved, and reset, which would effectively change the shape of her face. Fox, 30, has gone under the knife so many times since 2011 that she now considers herself "hooked."
Although Pixee's procedures made her look more like a cartoon character than a real person, another woman spent thousands of dollars to look like a certain member of the British royal family in headlines today...
From Lawyer to Duchess
Meghan Markle's influence led Xochi Greer, a 36-year-old lawyer, to seek out the "Markle sparkle" via plastic surgery. Markle met with a surgeon around the time of the royal wedding, and Greer used Markle's presence in the media as an anchor for her point of reference.
"I think [Meghan Markle] is a gorgeous woman with beautiful features and I felt like a nose similar to hers would look great on me," Greer said. "Meghan also has a gorgeous strong jawline so I wanted to try and make my jawline a little stronger as well."
Markle Sparkle
Greer expressed how stunning she found Markle, which made her want to replicate Markle's features on her own face. Greer went under the knife for $30,000 worth of surgery in order to resemble Markle as closely as possible. In the end, Greer believed that her appearance has been greatly improved...
When Does It Become a Problem?
According to media psychologist Dr. Pamela Rutledge, the link between confidence and beauty is actually more dependent on one's own self-image. Even though plastic surgery may improve psychological wellbeing, it's more likely that the unrealistic expectations of the patient are never met. Celebrities are okay to use as a reference point, but a line has to be drawn somewhere...
A Turning Point for Plastic Surgery
"The psychological impact of the result will be positive if your expectations were such that you now feel more confident about yourself," Dr. Rutledge noted. "They will be negative if you expect looking like the Duchess of Sussex will transform your life into hers or somehow connect you with her."
Although celebrities were once considered the pinnacle of modern beauty, cosmetic surgeons are seeing more and more patients arriving at their offices with an unexpected reference photo...
Snapchat Dysmorphia
Doctors have noticed a rising trend in which people bring in their own selfies, usually edited with an Instagram or Snapchat filter, during consultations. They want to look like themselves, but enhanced, often in a vaguely alien way.
In recent years, a dangerous phenomenon has surfaced with the rise of Snapchat and Instagram filters, which has since been dubbed "Snapchat dysmorphia"—and everyone on social media is at risk.
Underlying Illness
Dr. Tijon Esho, the cosmetic doctor at The ESHO Clinic and resident doctor on E4's Body Fixers, notes that he often denies patients who come to him with the request to look like their filtered selfies. Dr. Esho looks for any red flags indicating that the patient is suffering from body dysmorphia, in which case he recommends them for counseling and psychological support.
Experts are growing increasingly concerned about the effect of filters on people's self-esteem...
Impossible Standards
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine's Department of Dermatology recently published an article in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery citing concerns for those suffering from Snapchat dysmorphia.
"This is an alarming trend because those filtered selfies often present an unattainable look and are blurring the line of reality and fantasy for these patients," the article reads. And it's not just Snapchat—the introduction of the Facetune app has created "unrealistic expectations of what is normal." Would you instantly erase all of your flaws for a flat fee of $3.99?
Different Motivations for Plastic Surgery
In 2017, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery surveyed its members to learn a startling fact: 55% of surgeons said that patients were motivated to get cosmetic surgery solely for the purpose of looking better in selfies, skyrocketing from only 13% in 2016. Unfortunately, filters accomplish something that surgical procedures aren't able to achieve: instant perfection.
Picture Perfect
"The first thing that any of these filters do is give you a beautiful complexion," says Dr. Wassim Taktouk. "Your nasolabial [laugh] lines, from the nose to mouth, aren't existent—but that's not a human face. No one doesn't have those. You can see them in children."
Filtered selfies have led to the rise of various fillers, which are less invasive than surgery, but they still carry severe risks. There is no minimum age for fillers and very little regulation, meaning that just about anyone can go through with these procedures—even if it's just an illusion, thanks to Instagram "cosmetic surgery" filters.
Cosmetic Surgery Filters
Plastic surgery has become so glamorized that Instagram was forced to enlist a ban on all augmented reality filters that promote or depict cosmetic surgery. These effects—mimicking filler, lip injections, nose jobs, and facelifts—have been removed from the platform in an effort to protect users' mental health.
"While we're re-evaluating our policies, we will remove all effects from the [effects] gallery associated with plastic surgery, stop further approval of new effects like this and remove current effects if they're reported to us," said an Instagram spokesperson.
Is It Better to Stay Authentic?
As it turns out, using Instagram filters may earn you less positive attention online. AR filters may have taken Instagram by storm, but a new report has found that using photo filters in selfies tends to result in fewer likes than selfies without filters. The report states that filters "can be perceived by other users as an ingenuine behavior" because its intention is to present only the most ideal version of oneself.
Does this mean that it's worth it to give up filters in the long run?
Social Media is Linked to Depression
FOMO is actually very, very real. New research has revealed that social media has affected our behavior, our social relationships, and our mental health. There is a causal link between social media and negative effects that can result in loneliness and depression. The meticulous curation of our online persona constitutes a natural comparison: who has the better looks, nicer possessions, more fulfilling lives?
In the end, the systems designed with the intention of keeping us connected could become dangerous for our wellbeing.