Australians are spending billions of dollars on looking good. Are we too quick to judge the pursuit of perfection? Watch Insight episode Looking Perfect on Tuesday 8:30pm on SBS or on .
Damian became bedridden after a diet of mainly McDonald’s led to his weight ballooning to 216kg.
He couldn’t work, move, or stand for more than a few minutes and he relied on others to do simple tasks for him.
“I hated myself back then. You would not catch me outside. I guess I didn’t have enough self-respect, self-love. I just hated life but found my enjoyment with food,” Damian told Insight.
Damian lost 126 kilograms but says his new look cost him some relationships. Source: Supplied
He urgently needed a change, so he accessed his superannuation to pay for the surgeries that would change his looks and all aspects of his life.
Despite his fear of doctors and hospitals, he made a life-changing decision to undergo a mini-gastric bypass.
Damian lost 126kg, but the look wasn’t what he expected. “I went from one extreme to now having a total new anxiety,” Damian said.
The excess skin left after losing weight greatly affected Damian’s confidence and self-esteem. To achieve his desired look, he underwent three rounds of plastic surgery.
Damian says he is now unrecognisable to people who knew him before his weight loss surgery. Source: Supplied
Overall, the four surgeries cost him around $90,000. He had to access his super fund to afford the entire process.
“The people who see me now don’t recognise me at all,” he said.
Anja and her son Richard Source: Supplied
Wanting to look her age
Anja was also struggling with social anxiety due to her appearance. After turning 60, her wrinkles deepened, and she found it challenging to accept her ageing appearance.
“It was very depressing to look in the mirror and have this 85-year-old face stare back at you,” Anja told Insight.
When Anja and her husband retired and moved to a farm, she thought it was time to accept and embrace her wrinkles. Her family didn’t care about her looks, and “cows are not gonna care”.
However, moving to a new place and meeting a new community prompted her to seek a change.
“I was so ashamed of how I looked and so embarrassed. I got pretty down about it all,” Anja said.
Before turning 70, with the unconditional support of her family and after researching multiple options, she decided to get an intense cosmetic treatment for the first time in her life to treat the deep wrinkles.
The treatment cost almost $13,000 and the recovery was painful and longer than predicted, but Anja got her confidence back.
“I know some people say, ‘well, you’ve still got wrinkles’. But you don’t know how I felt before. I feel so much better now,” she said.
To add to the look, her son Richard paid for his mother to have Botox and fillers (injections to smooth lines and wrinkles on the face) before her milestone birthday.
Erin Docherty is a beauty editor who tests the latest beauty trends. She says the beauty industry promotes unattainable ideals. Source: Supplied
Australians are spending more than ever on their looks
A survey by financial comparison site Finder found that, like Anja and Damian, Australians are spending more than ever on their appearance.
On average, Aussies spend $431 monthly on beauty services, which is equivalent to $1.6 billion monthly and a staggering $19.7 billion annually across the country.
The category that includes Botox, fillers, and plastic surgeries is at the top of the list, followed by hair appointments, lash extensions, nail appointments, and skin treatments.
Erin Docherty is beauty and health editor at women’s media network Mamamia. She tests and writes about social media-trending beauty procedures. She believes the perfect look doesn’t exist.
She describes the beauty industry as a “revolving door of often unattainable trends that change from one day to the next”.
“We’re always kind of chasing our tail for that perfect look,” Erin told Insight.
‘Some people didn’t accept the new me’
As for Damian, his extreme look change positively impacted his confidence and personality, but it didn’t have the same effect on his relationships.
“You think people would accept you, no matter what, but they would say ‘you’ve changed’. They don’t change with you and accept the new you,” Damian said.
He describes himself as a brand new person who is now “addicted to Botox” and uses fillers to get more definition on his jawline.
And for more stories head to , hosted by Kumi Taguchi. From sex and relationships to health, wealth, and grief Insightful offers deeper dives into the lives and first-person stories of former guests from the acclaimed TV show, Insight.
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