'Selfies' lead to boom in plastic surgery, survey shows

The social media phenomenon of “selfies” appears to be pushing more Americans to have plastic surgery, Reuters reports.

According to the report, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery recently conducted a survey of its members. One in three had noticed “an increase in requests for procedures due to patients being more aware of their image in social media.”

Sam Rizk, a plastic surgeon from Manhattan, reported a 25 percent increase in requests for plastic surgery over the past 18 months to two years, which he said was “very significant.”

Rizk said selfies produced “distorted images” of the person taking the photo and did not represent what a person actually looked like.

"I refuse a significant proportion of patients with selfies because I believe it is not a real image of what they actually look like in person,” he explained.

Dan Ackerman, senior editor from CNET, a website that tests and reviews products, recommended healthier and less costly alternatives such as makeup tips and apps that help smooth the wrinkles out of photographs.