The faces of Donald Trump’s cabinet and those of his supporters are recognisable – professional outfits, nice jewellery and, as of late, filler.
Dubbed the ‘Mar-a-Lago’ face, after Trump’s golf course and resort in Palm Beach, the excessive filler and plastic surgery has become a staple of the President’s staunchest supporters.
Now, plastic surgeons in Washington have revealed a larger wave of Trump insiders are asking for procedures to get the look.
Plastic surgeon Troy Pittman told Axios that the trend of subtle cosmetic work is fading, as more and more clients ask to look as though they ‘had something done’.
Another DC surgeon, Anita Kulkarni, said clients wanting to have more filler and injections on top of already done faces can be dangerous, and a sign of ‘filler blindness’.
It’s not just women, either – men are opting to get jaw filler and other procedures to look ‘younger, more virile and more masculine’, Pittman said.
The poster girl of this trend is arguably the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, who had a fantastic transformation – albeit dramatic.
Anne Higonnet, a professor of art history at Barnard College, told Mother Jones: ‘I read it as … the idea that the surface of a policy is the only thing that matters.
‘In a way, these women are performing a key part of Donald Trump’s whole political persona.’
Foreheads that don’t move, lips filled until they look like ducks, and cheek fillers are all staples of the new Trump era in Washington, the surgeons argue.
Some surgeons in Washington have turned away clients who want dramatic filler and implants, citing dangers of potential ‘filler blindness’.
This ‘filler blindness’ is often considered a subset of body dysmorphia, in which people are obsessed with their physical flaws.
To remedy this, some turn to plastic surgery and keep using more filler to tackle what they view as an issue, but end up with ‘pillow face’.
A 2017 Axios report claimed that Trump wanted his female staff to ‘dress like women’ and demanded that his male employees have a ‘certain look.’
‘Over the years, it seems the “certain look” has only become more extreme,’ The Guardian argues – and plastic surgeons are trying to keep up.
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