Social media has brought attention to an issue more women are turning to plastic surgery to remedy: Ugly hands in engagement ring selfies.
According to Elle Magazine, the question “Will you marry me?” has women flocking to their local cosmetic surgeon for a “hand lift,” which is basically a quick shot of Botox, before announcing their engagement via Instagram or Facebook to “de-vein” their hands.
New York-based dermatologist Ariel Ostad, who pioneered the procedure, told Elle he’s seen 40 percent more women for the procedure since “the rise of social media and selfies.”
"Social media has certainly led people to be more concerned about their appearance and how they present themselves, so if women can receive a quick procedure to make themselves feel better and younger, it’s something that they are willing to do," Ostad told Elle.
The Gloss Magazine said hand lifts last about 9 months and cost about $1,200.
And thank goodness, Gloss writer Julia Sonenshein quipped.
“Well thank god, because nobody is actually happy for you when you announce your engagement — everyone is just talking about how ugly your hands are,” Sonenshein wrote. “For that money, you might as well get your 4-year-old cousin to model your ring. I bet her hands are nice and full and young, and you just saved $1,200! But seriously, don’t do this.”
Some on Twitter echoed Sonenshein’s sentiment.
“If you’re getting a ‘hand lift’ so you can take a good engagement ring selfie, then I’m not sure what’s left for you in this world,” Amanda Grinavich tweeted.
Even people who seemed to sympathize with “ugly hand” selfies felt surgery isn’t the way to go.
“In re to people get (sic) plastic surgery on their hands for engagement photos, maybe you can just not take a photo of your gross hand,” @rebeccacollinzz tweeted.
Others, like Shape Magazine’s Charlotte Hilton Andersen, say the engagement ring selfie is becoming a wedding tradition.
“These days the engagement-ring selfie on social media is just as much a tradition as something borrowed and something blue. How else can you show off your sparkler to your grandma, best friend from college, and the girl you met in yoga last week, all at the same time?” Andersen wrote.
Or the latest sign of the rise of wedding extravagance, as Sonenshein said.
“This crosses into my major area of cultural judgment, and that includes wedding-mania,” Sonenshein wrote. “This seems like a major extreme in the world of going absolutely nutso over engagement photos, custom wedding venue urinals made of mason jars, extreme diets, choreographed three movement ballets as an entrance, and artisanal mustache wax required for all male attendees.”
Email: chjohnson@deseretnews.com
Twitter: ChandraMJohnson