On this episode of The Natural Plastic Surgeon, I meet with Ali Weiss and we dive into all things plastic surgery, Instagram, the Kardashians, and calling out celebrities.
#35 Ali Weiss Tales Of Taboo With Dr. Barrett | All Things Plastic Surgery
Dr. Daniel Barrett and Ali Wiss talk about all things plastic surgery, The Kardashians, celebrity beauty standards, and self-esteem. Check this episode out on our Youtube channel and be sure to subscribe, comment, and click the notifications bell for our latest! Visit our website at www.drdanielbarrett.com for more information.
Ali Weiss (00:08):
All right, there we go. I’m so stoked. All right, Dr. Barrett. So I think a great place to start would be, as a plastic surgeon, what is the most common complaint that women have about their appearance? And I’m especially interested in hearing this from you, because you live and work in Beverly Hills, which is the HQ of some of the most objectively beautiful women in the world. So when you get close to your patients and you’re talking to them about what they’re dissatisfied with, what they might want to work on, what do you see as their biggest insecurity?
Plastic Surgeon Breast and Body Producers and How They Appear
Dr. Barrett (00:42):
So, I’m kind of biased. I am a plastic surgeon, I do a lot of face and body procedures, but I will say that the majority of women that come to see me have some kind of complaint about their bodies. And it’s weird because society has a standard. I think the majority of the complaints I see are body-related. My breasts are too small. My breasts are asymmetrical. My breasts are… They don’t look like normal breasts. So as a plastic surgeon, I deal a lot with… I do a lot of breast and body procedures. I would say I do that more so than I do facial procedures. When women come to my… I get a lot of women that come to my office and I actually get a fair amount of men coming to my office as well. The number one thing that women complain about their bodies is typically breast-related, or it could be after a pregnancy or after a weight loss kind of situation. Right. So for a lot of women, they complain a lot about their breasts and how they appear.
Dr. Barrett (01:45):
And with the ones that come to my office, this comes from within, it actually doesn’t come from their boyfriend or their husbands. And if their husbands are involved, the husband’s like, “Honey, do whatever you want. This is all you.” And this comes from within, from women and funny, it’s a lot about having clothes fit right. It’s like, I just don’t fit right in my clothes. And the messed up part is, is that our society makes clothes as a one size fits all. Right. You got to have this certain figure with breasts, or a certain size compared to your waist, compared to your hips and not every woman is built like that. And first thing I do is, I kind of reassure my patients, “Look, you’re completely normal. Breast asymmetry is completely normal,” or, “Tubers breast is actually a normal variant.” Right. And so, we start there and they like, “Yeah, I know that, but I’ve been thinking about this for years and I just want to do it.”
Dr. Barrett (02:38):
And it’s a relatively straightforward procedure. So I’m like, “Great. Then let’s do it.” And so that’s one side of the things. The other one is more like the reconstructive side of things. Like, I’ve had three pregnancies and the last one was twins and my tummy was out to here and it didn’t go back right. And it’s like, no matter, I’m a gym rat. I hit the gym or I swim every day. And I just can’t seem to get rid of that extra skin or my muscles have widened. And these are women that just kind of want to get their body back, or they’ve had gastric bypass surgery, or they’ve lost a bunch of weight and they work so hard, but then no amount of diet and exercise can get rid of that extra skin that they have. And so that’s where I love to come in, because I can kind of finish that whole journey for them and kind of put the icing on the cake, as I like to say it, to kind of get their body back.
The Two Major Complaints About Themselves: Breasts and Body
Dr. Barrett (03:22):
So those are kind of the two major complaints. Breast that starts right at the end of puberty, like my breast never came in. My sister has them. My mom has them. My grandma has them. I don’t have them. And then I also get the women who… The moms and the people who have lost weight, that they complain of about the stuff that they can’t do anything on their own.
Ali Weiss (03:41): It’s About Fashion and How Important Woman Feel In There Clothes
That’s a really interesting angle that’s never been mentioned to me before, is fashion and how important clothes are to most women and not looking right in clothes could lead somebody to want to alter the way that they look. Because of course, when I think about beauty standards and especially sexual beauty standards, I kind of always make the assumption that most women learn from porn, or they learn from the women that we see in Hollywood, or if you live in a major metropolitan area and you’re surrounded by beautiful women, it’s kind of that innate female to female comparison. But to hear it pertain to the way that we do dress and the way that we show ourselves to the world, that’s a really interesting way of looking at it. Have you ever had a patient who’s come to you and said, “My boobs don’t match what I’m seeing in porn,” or “My boobs don’t match the women that are inundating my Instagram feeds”?
Dr. Barrett (04:41): Instagram Plays Important Role
I haven’t had women mention porn specifically, and I haven’t had… Actually, Instagram, I think, has come into play, but it’s more self-reflective. They don’t like how their body looks in, either, a selfie or photos. But when it comes to fashion, I can tell you about a patient that came in on Monday. She’s a normal size woman, but her breasts were way too big for her body. I mean, we’re talking G size, and she was here to see me for a reduction because we do those as well. And it was all about fashion, because she’s like, “There are about seven different things that I have to consider when I go in to go for bikini shopping, or I go in to go dress for clothes,” and so forth.” So, that one experience of this on the top of my head. But I don’t know, again, I haven’t had a whole lot lot of women mention porn, specifically, but I think Instagram.
Dr. Barrett (05:46):
And this is the sneaky part about Instagram is, is what they see and then they haven’t really quite mentioned it, but they do pull up models to show me about, in terms of when they want a Brazilian butt lift, which is a procedure I do, where we do liposuction of the waist and then fat transfer the buttocks. They do mention certain women and their bodies. And I know when I see them, I’m like, “Okay, this is a Photoshopped result.” Right. And it’s pretty easy to do now on Instagram or any social media or any photo really. And I’m like, “That’s not always attainable.” And I don’t think everybody realizes that. And that kind of drives me nuts. And there’s some celebrities that kind of go into that too, celebrities that either get plastic surgery and don’t admit it.
Dr. Barrett (06:29):
So their bodies look really good and then they make them even look even better. Or celebrities that are actually face… Or their Photoshopping themselves, which I think is also misleading to a lot of women, who this is their primary source of the world now, in terms of what women should look like.
Ali Weiss (06:49): BBL’s
Yeah. I’m really glad that you mentioned BBLs. Obviously, that is a procedure that’s been tremendously popularized by the Kardashian body. And I am a big believer that all women are entitled to look exactly the way that they want to look. And if you want to get plastic surgery, you should get it. But I’ve really taken issue for years with the way that the Kardashians have never owned up to the procedures that they’ve had, because you really study the dimensions of their body, not only with the procedures, but with all the Photoshopping, or the face tuning, that’s going on top of that. And you’re like, “What the ****? How in any, way, shape or form am I supposed to achieve that?” And I wasn’t even aware of a VBL before they kind of came into existence.
Kardashian Body Effect
Ali Weiss (07:31):
But I would love to talk a little bit more about that, about if you’ve seen the Kardashian body affect what women in your office are asking for. And also from your professional standpoint, regardless of whether or not you know for a fact, what you speculate all the Kardashians have done, if it’s just a BBL or you think that there are other things that have contributed to that now iconic figure.
Dr. Barrett (07:54):
Well, I love the Kardashians. I think they’re great. I do have the same issue that you have, but I think it goes down to publicity for them. Because Kim Kardashian, who first came out, it was about a sex tape, right? That was taboo and it wasn’t supposed to happen and try to keep it secret, or did they? Or was it released on purpose? You know what I mean? So it’s like, there’s this whole publicity aspect to what they’re doing, that I think is kind of genius. I just wish that everybody kind of understood that, because going and getting your lips done with a bunch of filler, six, seven syringes, probably, perhaps. Who knows? And then telling the whole world that they just look like that naturally is completely misleading and-
Ali Weiss (08:41):
Or they’re overlined. Overlining their lips.
Dr. Barrett (08:43):
Yes. Right. Exactly. That’s what they said. And I was just like, “That’s completely ridiculous,” that you can see before and afters. And I actually have a series on my TikTok page, where I actually go… Not go after, I mention what work I think that each of the Kardashians might have had done. And then it’s fascinating, because then they set the trend in the other direction. So it’s like-
PART 1 OF 4 ENDS [00:09:04]
Celebrity Beauty Standards
Dr. Barrett (09:03):
It’s fascinating because then they set the trend in the other direction. Kylie mentioned she got all of her lips dissolved and she finally comes clean. You know what I mean? And then, now everybody’s not so into that kind of crazy, overdone lip look, which I think is good, by the way. I think nice, natural, full lips is good, but overdone and unnatural can cause problems and so forth. It’s a yes and no with the Kardashians. They’re kind of a unique thing. I do think a lot of the work has been overdone and they use it to their advantage and haven’t been public about it. And when they’re in the public eye about it and they’ve been asked about it by a lot of women who may have some insecurity, body issues, they haven’t been honest about it. I think there’s some negative consequences there that I don’t think they really fully appreciate.
Ali Weiss (09:48):
Yeah. And similarly, I’m just thinking about other celebrities who have kind of morphed from one appearance into an entirely different one. Bella Hadid is a beautiful woman, and she also seems like a really genuinely nice girl. But, there are photos all over the internet of her, the way that she used to look, and now having this entirely different angular fox eyed, cat eyed face. And people have asked her about it point blank and she said no. I remember there was this one quote. She said something along the lines of like, “You can scan my face. There’s nothing in there. There’s no filler in there,” but it was then revealed not by her, but by people who were speculating, there was a procedure she had done, which I think had either pulled her eyebrows up or pulled the eyes out, or something with threading. And that’s this whole different angle of plastic surgery where you’re not technically going under the knife and so you’re not lying, but it puts you into this gray area of something else that you’ve done that still creates this unrealistic expectation.
Dr. Barrett (10:47):
Yeah. Yes, but you got to also look at these celebrities like Bella Hadid. When this happened, she was very young, and I can’t imagine… If my name pops up in the internet, I’m like, “Well, what happened?” But, some of these women, especially young women, are in the public eye to a certain level that they can’t even go out and have lunch without paparazzi taking pictures of them. On one hand, I can see why they want to deny things because maybe they’re insecure personally about some of these things that they’ve had done, but also the incredible pressure that they are in this industry, the double standard that exists for women that they have to look good, they have to stay youthful and all these things.
Dr. Barrett (11:29):
But yes, I agree, that one was a pretty obvious cover up. I think she looks beautiful, looked beautiful before, beautiful after. But, I will say that, again, I think it’s totally okay for anybody that wants to do some things, but when you’re in the public eye, I think there is a little bit of ownership that you need to or at least a little bit of transparency you want to have for people just for a lot of benefit for these young women out there and men.
Ali Weiss (11:59):
Yeah, I bring these points up not for the sake of ******** on any celebrities. Again, I think everybody has a right to do exactly what they want to do. And God knows I’ve Facetuned more than one photo that’s gone on Instagram. We all want to look our best. But, it’s just interesting to think about how there’s this ongoing dialogue about how we need to start embracing our individuality. We need to start embracing different ideas of what beauty is, what beauty means. And I think all of that is so well and good and necessary. But when that dialogue is coming up against the Instagram age and the age of being able to have a wide range of procedures to subtly or dramatically alter the way that you look without having to go under the knife, I guess, how do we actually make change? I don’t have an answer for this.
Ali Weiss (12:44):
I’m curious to know what you think, because we should move more in the direction of not feeling so pressured to look anything other than our best self. But, regardless of whether or not we’re famous, there’re cameras on us all day. We’re constant looking at our own reflection and comparing that reflection to others.
Dr. Barrett (13:04):
Yeah. I mean, this is something I think about all the time. I’m a biology major. I’m a man of science. I’m a plastic surgeon. We have to go through medical school, and I have a master’s in physiology. And you go back to how humans evolved, that there’re things like beauty, symmetry, round objects. Believe it or not, round objects stimulate dopamine in men’s brains. There’s a lot to be said to wanting to look better, to have beauty. Beauty is power, right? And so, there’s a lot of competition in this world to get power, to elevate yourself.
Dr. Barrett (13:46):
I think the question is kind of where do we draw that line? I struggle with it all the time. I have feminists that come into my office after years of trying to self accept their bodies. And they’re like, “I cannot believe I’m in a plastic surgery office getting breast augmentation.” They’re so hardcore about it and they’re like, “This is just something that I can’t get over.” It’s one of those things that is really fascinating. I don’t have all the answers. I ultimately think, I agree with you, I think it comes down to the individual. What you want to do with your body is your choice. And if it makes you feel good, life is short, do something about it.
Ali Weiss (14:26):
Yeah, that’s a fascinating point that you bring up. Oh my God, I completely forgot what I was going to say. Sorry, this happens to me all the time. Right, the feminists coming in. I remember what I was going to say now. The feminists coming in and them saying, “We’ve tried for years and years and years to radically self accept,” which leads me to my next point of, do you have patients who genuinely believe that altering the way that they look physically is going to help them deal with a deeper psychological issue or with a more kind of existential unhappiness, dissatisfaction with life, or maybe it’s even subconscious? Maybe they don’t realize that they are dealing with a sort of trauma and they think that making a tweak here and there is a simple way to improve their quality of life.
Ali Weiss (15:20):
I would have to imagine that aside from being a plastic surgeon, you also kind of do double as a therapist some time for people who come in and talk about the things that they’re dissatisfied with. But, that’s a really interesting intersection that I would love to hear you elaborate on a bit more.
Dr. Barrett (15:35):
Yeah. I think as a plastic surgeon, 50% of my job is psychiatry. You really have to understand people. You really have to get inside their head in terms of what they want. When I first came out and I started practicing, I did a lot of more reconstructive and then I started getting into the cosmetic side of things. And I’m like, “Okay, this is a superficial choice that people are making for their bodies. I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it well,” and so forth. ” Whatever problems they have on in their life is really unrelated to their physical appearance, because how does that make sense? Mind over matter, right?” And then, I would say after my first year of doing a lot of cosmetic surgery, I changed my opinion because these very successful women coming in who are insecure, or even some women who were just regular women that just in school or whatever else, would come into my office, struggling over this situation for a year.
Dr. Barrett (16:28):
I always ask people, “How long have you been thinking about this?” It’s always years, and that’s a long time to think about something, to finally make a change. Getting operation, getting like a breast augmentation for some, a simple operation is breast augmentation. There’s a lot of complexity to it, but it’s relatively simple compared to some of the other operations I do. Coming back in six weeks, completely holding their shoulders back, their heads up high, completely a different person and way more confident about themselves. Nothing else changed. Majority of people probably can’t even tell that they had the breast augmentation because we try to keep it natural and you can always kind of cover it up, and these aren’t the type of women that are flaunting it. But, something clicks, and a lot of these women, and men as well, that this changes changes their self-esteem.
Dr. Barrett (17:15):
And I see, one of the side effects of some of the surgeries I do is women, they often get engaged. Soon enough, they’re getting engaged, and I don’t think it has very much to do with the physical component. I think it has a lot to do with their mental component, because a very strong woman or man who’s self confident is going to be successful in interpersonal relationships and they’re going to be successful with whatever they want to do. And so, I find it hard now because like, “How is it that this is actually doing this for these people, these men and women, but it is what it is? I see it with my own eyes.” And I’m not trying to tout plastic surgery, but it’s one of those deep things that people have. And there’s a lot of women like, “Hell, I’m not going to touch my breasts,” or “I’m not going to touch my body.”
PART 2 OF 4 ENDS [00:18:04]
Change In Their Self-Esteem
Dr. Barrett (18:03):
Things that people have. And there’s a lot of women like, “Hell, I’m not going to touch my breast.” Or, “I’m not going to touch my body. I feel great.” And that’s awesome. But then there’s some women and there’s some men that they really want to do something about their bodies and it’s bothered them for so long. And it’s… and I think it might be subconscious. I don’t fully understand the subconscious. It’s 90% about this chatter that’s going on in her head. It definitely has a role and where it starts? I don’t know. But doing things like this, whether they make a difference on the outside or not, they make a difference on the inside.
Ali Weiss (18:27):
I’m… seeing as how my show is called Tales of Taboo, I am super happy that you brought up the taboo of beauty being power. I think talking about beauty now is kind of difficult subject matter to approach because of the dialogue that I mentioned earlier of this, almost pressure, to embrace radical self-acceptance. And it’s almost seen as being un-feminist. Or it’s seen as being not progressive or not woke, if you admit to yourself and the world, that you would like to fit into that kind of standard of ideal beauty.
Ali Weiss (19:08):
And, to answer my own question that I posed to you earlier, I don’t know that there’s ever going to be a solution. Because, yeah, of course. The more women that embrace themselves and say, “I’m perfect as I am,” and find confidence from within, to go out and accomplish everything that they want to accomplish, there will definitely be a domino effect. And that’s fantastic.
Ali Weiss (19:29):
But there’s so many years of wiring that both men and women have, in terms of what they look for in not just like a sexy person, but a powerful person. And you can read a room and you can suck that energy right in. And so you have clients who come in and they get their breast augmentation and they come in six weeks later and they’re like a changed person. The proof is in the pudding.
Ali Weiss (19:53):
So I don’t know that there will ever kind of be that middle ground. I think it is just going to continue to boil down to personal choice. But I do think that it’s wildly taboo to say, “People who look a certain way, regardless of whether or not they deserve that power, have that power. And by making slight alterations to the way that you look, you, too, can have that power.” It’s something that sold to us incessantly through marketing and the media but it’s something that barely anybody actually verbalizes.
Dr. Barrett (20:28):
Yeah. I agree. I do. It is not talked about and it starts from a young age. But I think it also goes back to evolution, right? It’s like, how did we evolve? The people that procreated the most are here, right? So if you look over the million years of evolution, right? So it’s like, the things that we do now is, at some point, was beneficial to us figuring out how to procreate and have children.
Dr. Barrett (20:54):
So it’s like… being in a powerful situation, you’re more likely to gather resources for your children and they’re more likely to survive. Having more beauty, if you go back to ancient Egyptian artifacts, or even some artifacts in India, there’s jewelry, there’s makeup, there’s all types of things. There’s even body modification that people thought was, at the time, aesthetically, or we think, was aesthetically pleasing, right?
Dr. Barrett (21:22):
So, this isn’t a new concept. I do think that it is overdone now. Every single magazine, makeup. Makeup is a form of altering your body, right? And people don’t talk about. It’s like, “Okay. What’s the difference, in my mind, from plastic surgery to someone putting on makeup every day? Or someone going to the gym so they can look more fit?” I don’t… I don’t… where do you draw the line?
Dr. Barrett (21:47):
So I think people that are critical about plastic surgery, I was like, “Is there anything you do to kind of make yourself look more presentable?” And they’re like, “Oh, I just do it for myself.” And I’m like, “Okay. Well, that’s what they do, most of the time, in plastic surgery.”
Ali Weiss (21:57):
I have to chime in here because I’ve had this conversation with people before, especially women in a generation that’s older than mine.
Dr. Barrett (22:03):
Yeah.
Ali Weiss (22:04):
And their response is always, “Well, plastic surgery is permanent. You’re permanently altering the way that you look. I go, “But you wake up every single morning and you put makeup on every single morning.”
Dr. Barrett (22:15):
Right.
Ali Weiss (22:15):
So what is the difference between waking up and putting on the same layers and layers and layers layer cake of makeup and doing something that actually prevents you from having to make that change? Or wearing a pushup bra every single day? I think you’re completely, right, Dr. Barrett. I don’t really see that much of a difference.
Dr. Barrett (22:34):
Yeah. I… yeah. I mean, what I tell people, I think it’s important to just kind of try to understand where these urges come from. I tell them, I’m like, “Do some self-reflection. What do you see for your body? Is this really going to make you happy?” And try to figure out where this urge is coming from. And is it coming from external? Is it coming from somebody else? Or is it coming from within? Most people have actually already thought about this stuff and, if it just makes sense, then go for it.
Dr. Barrett (23:08):
It’s a shame that it’s like… it’s funny how big breasts and tiny little waist is so promoted and everything that we see. But at the end of the day, we got one life to live, unless you believe in reincarnation, and live it to its fullest. If it makes you feel better that you get a little lipo to look better in your bikini on your spring break, then go for it.
Ali Weiss (23:30):
Yeah. So how do you handle being in situations with patients where you firmly believe that they do not need the procedure that they’re asking for but they are so adamant that they want it anyway? Is there a two way dialogue or is it your obligation as the doctor to give them what they want? Because I would imagine that that must take a little bit of a psychological toll on you, as well.
Dr. Barrett (23:57):
Well, it’s great what I do because nobody needs the surgeries that I do. It’s not life threatening. I mean, you got to describe. What do you mean by need? So it’s like when someone comes in, they want to get a tummy tuck. They don’t need it, right? They could perfectly be fine without a tummy tuck. I might make their abs a little bit stronger, their tummy flatter. But there are those people that come in, what we call that have body dysmorphia, pointing out a bump in the nose that they see that I don’t see.
Ali Weiss (24:24):
Right.
Dr. Barrett (24:24):
And I can see almost everything. I can really see [inaudible 00:24:29] I walk into a room and 20 feet away, if there’s a painting that’s crooked, always since the beginning of my life, if there’s a painting that’s crooked, I could tell it’s off. I’m like, “All right. That’s not okay.” Right?
Dr. Barrett (24:38):
And I’m like, “Okay. Well, I don’t really see this. Did you feel like… does it hurt or something? Because physically, I don’t see it.” And then I’ll take pictures and I’ll show it to them. Then they’re like, “Yeah. It’s right there.” And I’m like, “Okay.” Those people I get a little more concerned about. And that is… those are major blind spots that they’re having. A lot of times it goes along the line with body dysmorphia. And I think those are the people that I don’t operate on because if it’s not there to begin with, there’s nothing I can do to make it better, right?
Dr. Barrett (25:06):
If a woman comes in who has good sized breasts already and she wants a breast augmentation, I’m like… first of all, I always tell all my patients, I say, “You’re beautiful and just how you are. Your breasts are beautiful.” And they’re like, “I know. Thank you. But I want them to be fuller.” And I’m like, “Okay. If you want them to be fuller, then let’s do it. And show me a picture of what you’re thinking.” And that’s kind of how I approach it. I don’t ever say that, “Oh gosh, you need breast augmentation,” to my patients. It’s just because… they don’t need.
Ali Weiss (25:39):
Yeah. So you do speak up and you do say to them, “In my professional and personal opinion, I don’t know that this would benefit you.” Because I’ve always wondered about that with plastic surgeons. And I’ve always wondered if you guys ever deal with having a guilty conscience.
Dr. Barrett (25:58):
Yeah. So my number one thing whenever… so whatever I do here in the office, I need to go home the end of the day and be happy with myself for doing that. “Did I make someone’s life better in some way? Did I take the trust that they gave me, and coming to see me as a plastic surgeon, that I can actually medically and surgically alter them in a way that is what they wanted and is what I promised to do?” That’s really important to me.
Dr. Barrett (26:26):
It is not… I don’t need… I’m not desperate for the money, right? So it’s like I want to make sure that people are going to be happy. So if they ask me to do something that I don’t think is going to make them happier or is going to achieve what they want to do, I’m like, “No. I’m sorry. I can’t help you.” And then I can give them some referrals. And it’s not always a good fit. You want to make sure that you’re on the same page with your patients and that’s why I said plastic surgery is 50% psychiatry, 50% plastic surgery.
Ali Weiss (26:54):
Yeah. So interesting. So we’ll wrap up soon, but I would love to know how you feel about that kind of in-between procedures.
PART 3 OF 4 ENDS [00:27:04]
Advances In Plastic Surgery
Ali Weiss (27:03):
But I would love to know how you feel about those in-between procedures. So let’s say that you’re not ready to go for full blown liposuction and you don’t want to get a full blown tummy tuck. Things like sculpture or cool sculpt or I don’t even really know how that technology works, but you hear great stories and you hear horror stories. How do you feel about technology like that? And similarly, is there any technology breast-wise, that is not a breast lift nor an augmentation that can help change the size or the shape of your breasts?
Dr. Barrett (27:37):
Yeah. There are some new technologies coming out and some of them are very good. Some of them overpromise under-deliver, unfortunately. I do think cool sculpting works and how they figured out about how cool sculpting is people riding horses in the cold. They notice their lateral thighs that would constantly get cold from the air was actually thinning out and a certain temperature actually will cause fat cells to die. So I do the things like cool sculpture sculpture works, but it’s pale in comparison with what you can do surgically. For tiny little stubborn areas, it’s not a bad idea. And especially for people that don’t want to have surgery, I think the important discussion is to make sure you talk to somebody that’s going to be honest with you, that can actually offer the full spectrum of things, that’s not just a tiny clinic that can only do non-invasive things.
Dr. Barrett (28:26):
Is this going to be a good thing for me? And they’re going to say, “Of course it is,” because they don’t have anything else in their toolbox. So that’s why here at our office, we have everything from skincare all the way up to major plastic surgery. So we can just value you in based on what you want to do. But I do think there are some good advantages of some of these noninvasive things for the right person. For breasts getting bigger, we have a lot of people that don’t want to do implants and that’s fine. I also do a lot of fat transfer so we can take fat from certain parts of your body. And so instead of doing the Brazilian butt lift, we can take the fat, put it in your breasts and that’s a home run, right? Take fat where you don’t want it, put it in your breasts and then you don’t have the maintenance factor. The problem is, is we can’t quite duplicate the size difference that we can get with implants. But if your goals are modest, it’s like, why not? Let’s do it. And there’s also other ways to make your breast beer. You can get pregnant, you can breastfeed, you can gain weight, but those are not always convenient for most people.
Ali Weiss (29:18):
Right. Especially in Beverly Hills.
Dr. Barrett (29:21):
I know. So that’s all I have at the moment.
Ali Weiss (29:24):
That’s really interesting though. I would imagine that taking the fat from different parts of your body and putting it into your breasts is a great option if you’ve just experienced a little bit of deflation, maybe you’ve had a kid or just with age and time, if you just want a little [inaudible 00:29:39] without becoming a different person.
Dr. Barrett (29:41):
Yeah.
Ali Weiss (29:41):
In the back of my head now I’m like, “All right, after I have babies, that’s probably something I would want to go for.”
Dr. Barrett (29:46):
Yeah. Yeah. It’s a great newer technology that was developed in New York and then we’ve copied it out here.
Ali Weiss (29:54):
Awesome. So my last question for you is we have seen a variety of body trends over the years. In the nineties to the mid two thousands, the uber skinny, jutting hip bones, waveish look was very popular. And then as we discussed with the rise of the Kardashians, that fuller figured, super curvy, heightened femininity look was really popular. I wonder if you think there’s going to be another change and if so, what that next change looks like?
Dr. Barrett (30:24):
It’s kind of interesting. See, it’s only been very recently that I’ve gotten out of schooling. There was about 17 years of my life that I was locked away in a medical school or residency program, but I do remember some of these trends that were happening at the time. Do you remember the rap song that was Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot?
Ali Weiss (30:44):
Yeah.
Breasts To Butts
Dr. Barrett (30:44):
And it was talking about butts and I was like, “That’s cool. I mean, butts are cool. That’s great.” In the eighties and from nineties and Baywatch, it was all about the breasts and now it’s about the butts. And then I think you’re right. Now it came about the breast and the butts. So I think there is a slight trend going even coming from celebrities, going towards more of a natural balance look and more health focused. So I think it’s the great butts, the great boobs, but in proportion. I think it is dialing back a bit and you can see a lot of celebrities embracing that mentality, which I think is great.
Ali Weiss (31:26):
I remember there was a slogan, it might still be around, but it was strong, not skinny. I think there’s been this emphasis on athleticism now and being able to really perform and you see a lot of female athletes that are on beauty and skincare campaigns, Evian campaigns. And I think that’s really cool and a pretty awesome halfway point to say, “All right, we still value a body that’s fit and tight and toned, but it’s something that you too can do if you go outside and put in the work rather than dumping thousands of dollars into getting an artificial procedure.”
Dr. Barrett (31:59):
I do think a little bit of body fat is okay, right? So I think that we’re also getting out of this famished skinny model look that still existed on the fringe and some of these modeling runway shows. And I think we’re finally like, “Hey, first of all, this is less than 1% of the population that can actually have a figure like this. And second of all, they’re very beautiful women, but it’s like, why are we focusing this?”
Ali Weiss (32:26):
Right. Why do we want this?
Dr. Barrett (32:28):
The normal body fat percentage of a woman is 14, 15%. It’s not less than 5%. That’s so far off the scale, right? So I think in terms of yes, fit, but not skinny emaciated, starving-looking, so the models of the nineties and early two-thousands, which I think is good. So I agree with you.
Ali Weiss (32:47):
Yeah. Cheers to that. Well, thank you so much, Dr. Bart, you were such a good interviewee. I genuinely enjoyed this and very, very enlightening and some really great points that you made there. Again, you with the good lighting, other surgeons did not have the good lighting. You with the good points. Other surgeons did not have the good points, especially that bit talking about beauty and its relation to power. I think that’s really valuable. So thank you.
Dr. Barrett (33:12):
Welcome. Thank you Allie. Anytime I’m happy to chat with you.
Ali Weiss (33:15):
Yeah.
PART 4 OF 4 ENDS [00:33:15]
#34 – Ali Weiss Tales Of Taboo With Dr. Barrett | All Things Plastic Surgery
This Week Dr. Barrett talks to Ali Weiss of the “Tales of Taboo.” Ali and Dr. Barrett talk about all things plastic surgery, The Kardashians, celebrity beau…