The massive success of the“Barbie” movie may be inspiring some people to examine the way their shoulders look.
Yes, their shoulders.
#BarbieShoulder has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Instagram and TikTok with posts claiming Botox procedures will help people develop a straighter and leaner-looking neck.
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“It looks like Botox is being used to relax the tranpezius muscle, allowing the posture to open up and change the contour of the muscle,” Dr. Thomas Su, a cosmetic surgeon, explained. “It would flatten the muscle to create the longer look of the neck.”
Su said while Botox is known to safely shrink and relax muscles, he urged people to review the latest “Barbie shoulder” trend with a grain of salt.
“The treatments may be safe, but they’re not cheap, maybe up to $2,000,” Su warned. “You may need several treatments, and things don’t last forever.”
Along with the shoulders, #BarbieArms also appears to the envy of some women. Similar to the shoulder trend, social media posts claim the mix of Botox and Cool Sculpting helps people develop leaner, Barbie-like arms.
The plastic surgeon said although he understood the struggles that many women have with arm fat, he was also skeptical of the cosmetic treatment.
“You don’t have to be heavy set to have problematic arms,” said Su, who claimed an average woman carries half a pound or a pound of fat on their arms. “But you don’t want to shrink your arm muscles. These are misguided attempts.”
Instead, Su recommended liposuction as an effective aesthetic procedure to get the looks of Barbie’s shoulder and arms.
The procedures may sound outrageous to some, but Su predicted there would be an uptick in the number of people seeking procedures to look more like Barbie.
“From what I’m seeing, ‘Barbie Leg’ may be the next trend.’”
