This is going to be quite a long post. But for those who choose to stick around to the very end, I hope my experience will be helpful or serve as a cautionary tale to you in your own surgical journey.
I'm an Asian female in my 20s. I'm actually of Korean background but I am what they call a "gyopo", which refers to a Korean person who resides outside of South Korea. Even though I grew outside of Korea, thanks to my parents and the internet, I've always gravitated towards the Korean standards of beauty.
My biggest insecurity regarding my appearance was the size and shape of my face. Compared to my friends, whether they were Asian or other races, my face was quite wide and round. When looking at the Korean standards of beauty, in no way was I even close to having a nice or ideal face shape. I hated taking photos I couldn't control because I just felt so ugly when I would look back at the photo. My head always seemed so round and big and fat compared to my friends. It also didn't help that my mom would joke about how my face was like a dinner plate or a satellite dish because I took more after my dad than I did her.
Just to note, she never did it to purposefully verbally abuse me but I don't think she knew just how harmful those words were to my self-esteem during the time I was growing up. For Asians, I don't think it's any surprise that family members make jokes or pick out your flaws. Rather than learning to love myself, facial contouring was just something that eventually became a "necessity" in my life.
In early January 2017, I actually flew back to my home country to get facial contouring surgery. I got all three done - jaw shaving, a chin narrowing genioplasty, and my zygoma/cheekbone reduction. This next part might shock some of you but... I didn't tell anyone. I didn't tell my mom or dad, who are against such major surgeries as there are grand risks and grand price tags. I didn't tell my extended family in Korea, and I booked a guesthouse in Seoul but claimed to be travelling around the country so I couldn't see them. I didn't tell any close friends that I was going through this major surgery. I was completely alone on this ride.
I knew my family wouldn't approve and I just didn't know how to adequately express to any close friends about justifying this major surgery. I just worked hard to earn money and in January 2017, I got facial contouring surgery at a hospital I trusted and found many reviews for on this forum.
I won't openly write the name of the clinic here that did my facial contouring surgery as I'm afraid that they may come after me. I'm not sure if I would be breaking any rules or contracts as the surgery was done 2 years ago. But this clinic is one that frequently is mentioned here and has good reviews and seems to have quite a good standing with even locals in Korea.
However, I was not happy with the results of the surgery. My cheekbones were reduced too much so I look tired and droopy due to the loss of volume at my relatively young age. My jawbones were cut too high and my chin was over-narrowed so that it is pointier than I would like.
My facial contouring surgeon was very nice and I don't have any nerve damage whatsoever. Actually, looking at post-op X-rays from way after the surgery, the bone cuts were done evenly and my cheekbones fused with the rest of my skull as they should have. But the results of the surgery, I just really hated.
I don't blame my surgeon but myself. I admit, that at the time that I consulted with this clinic, I was in such an emotional state and in such a hurry to finally get rid of my facial structure insecurities. I didn't completely grasp how big of a surgery this actually was. I just wanted it done and over with and I feel like, thinking back on it now, I failed to communicate what kind of results I was actually hoping for. I had minimal photos and because my self-esteem was so low, I put all my trust into my surgeon.
(to be continued)
I'm an Asian female in my 20s. I'm actually of Korean background but I am what they call a "gyopo", which refers to a Korean person who resides outside of South Korea. Even though I grew outside of Korea, thanks to my parents and the internet, I've always gravitated towards the Korean standards of beauty.
My biggest insecurity regarding my appearance was the size and shape of my face. Compared to my friends, whether they were Asian or other races, my face was quite wide and round. When looking at the Korean standards of beauty, in no way was I even close to having a nice or ideal face shape. I hated taking photos I couldn't control because I just felt so ugly when I would look back at the photo. My head always seemed so round and big and fat compared to my friends. It also didn't help that my mom would joke about how my face was like a dinner plate or a satellite dish because I took more after my dad than I did her.
Just to note, she never did it to purposefully verbally abuse me but I don't think she knew just how harmful those words were to my self-esteem during the time I was growing up. For Asians, I don't think it's any surprise that family members make jokes or pick out your flaws. Rather than learning to love myself, facial contouring was just something that eventually became a "necessity" in my life.
In early January 2017, I actually flew back to my home country to get facial contouring surgery. I got all three done - jaw shaving, a chin narrowing genioplasty, and my zygoma/cheekbone reduction. This next part might shock some of you but... I didn't tell anyone. I didn't tell my mom or dad, who are against such major surgeries as there are grand risks and grand price tags. I didn't tell my extended family in Korea, and I booked a guesthouse in Seoul but claimed to be travelling around the country so I couldn't see them. I didn't tell any close friends that I was going through this major surgery. I was completely alone on this ride.
I knew my family wouldn't approve and I just didn't know how to adequately express to any close friends about justifying this major surgery. I just worked hard to earn money and in January 2017, I got facial contouring surgery at a hospital I trusted and found many reviews for on this forum.
I won't openly write the name of the clinic here that did my facial contouring surgery as I'm afraid that they may come after me. I'm not sure if I would be breaking any rules or contracts as the surgery was done 2 years ago. But this clinic is one that frequently is mentioned here and has good reviews and seems to have quite a good standing with even locals in Korea.
However, I was not happy with the results of the surgery. My cheekbones were reduced too much so I look tired and droopy due to the loss of volume at my relatively young age. My jawbones were cut too high and my chin was over-narrowed so that it is pointier than I would like.
My facial contouring surgeon was very nice and I don't have any nerve damage whatsoever. Actually, looking at post-op X-rays from way after the surgery, the bone cuts were done evenly and my cheekbones fused with the rest of my skull as they should have. But the results of the surgery, I just really hated.
I don't blame my surgeon but myself. I admit, that at the time that I consulted with this clinic, I was in such an emotional state and in such a hurry to finally get rid of my facial structure insecurities. I didn't completely grasp how big of a surgery this actually was. I just wanted it done and over with and I feel like, thinking back on it now, I failed to communicate what kind of results I was actually hoping for. I had minimal photos and because my self-esteem was so low, I put all my trust into my surgeon.
(to be continued)