Hrush Achemyan is alerting friends and followers to the possible danger and dissatisfaction surrounding certain plastic surgery procedures.
“I used to be a plastic surgery fanatic,” says the Soviet-Union-born Armenian makeup artist who has styled some of the world’s most famous celebrities, from Kim and Khloe Kardashian to Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
“I used to be pro plastic surgery. Now, I am not. Why? I had septic shock when I had a procedure.”
The procedure was a breast reduction.
Complications from it left her “28 minutes away” from losing her life.
And that was just four years ago.
It took her a year to muster up the strength to talk about her near-death experience, she shared in a July 2018 article.
Now, she is opening up even more.
The “Truth About Plastic Surgery” Series
Hrush (Ha•roush) says if viewers appreciate the video, it may well be the first in a “Truth About Plastic Surgery” series.
More than 500 supportive comments so far suggest as much.
What prompted the August 22nd video that has now been seen 27,000 times, were assumptions posed by some of her 2.4 million Instagram followers—as well as a TikTok trend that has caught her eye.
“Anytime I’ve asked for questions on Instagram or anything of that sort, I always get asked plastic surgery questions,” she says.
- “You got a nose job.” (Yes, at age 28).
- “You had your lips done.” (Yes, injectables that left her lips stretched).
- “You got a boob job and a lift.” (Yes, but no implants).
TikTok Trends
As for the TikTok trend, Hrush says, “Please, everyone should be doing whatever makes them happy, but I am not okay with all this stuff on the internet, especially TikTok.
“Sometimes I’ll be scrolling through and I see girls [saying], ‘This is your sign to get a BBL’ [Brazilian Butt Lift]. And I see girls under 18 getting it done without knowing that a BBL is actually the most dangerous plastic surgery procedure you can ever have done.”
Social media played a part in prompting Hrush to undergo the plastic surgery procedure that left her near death in May 2017, so she speaks with no qualms today.
“I am not pro plastic surgery so I feel like I’m the perfect person to tell you why you don’t need the mother f—ing procedure,” she says.
Lip Lifts & Lip Injections
“I know lip injections are not plastic surgery, but a lot of people right now are getting lip lifts,” says Hrush. “Meaning, they’re cutting this [the philtrum] and they are lifting it to get like this cupid’s bow effect.”
Hrush hasn’t had a lip lift herself but years ago had repeated lip injections that left her lips stretched.
She also says something that no one anticipates but that everyone experiences is the “extremely visible” scarring that accompanies any lip lift.
“The thing about plastic surgery is once you do it, it’s very addictive.”
Hrush Achemyan
“If anyone looks at you directly in the face, they’re going to be able to tell that you had a lip lift,” she says.
“No matter what surgeon you go to or how good they are, a lip lift would cause that.”
There are plastic surgeons who would argue to the contrary. Their proof is in before-and-after galleries. Scarring is inevitable, but lasers and other non-invasive treatments can reduce their appearance.
Rhinoplasty
Hrush had a deviated septum and got a nose job when she was 28.
She shares these as the “things they don’t tell you.”
- You may start snoring only after a nose job.
- You won’t be 100 percent happy with the outcome.
- You could lose all sensation in your nose for some time.
- You may need multiple surgeries if cartilage deteriorates.
- You may have a hard time breathing out of one or both nostrils.
“I’ve never met one person, not one person, that has had a nose job that says ‘I’m perfectly happy with my schnoz,’” she shared.
According to RealSelf, rhinoplasty surgery has a 90 percent “Worth It rating.”
Binding Arbitration
“You’re going to basically sign your entire life away,” says Hrush, referring to binding arbitration that is especially strict in California.
If you don’t sign paperwork revoking your right to sue, you would be unable to have the procedure, the celebrity makeup artist shared.
Many, but not all, plastic surgeons require binding arbitration be signed by a patient before proceeding with surgery.
Opioid Addiction
“I definitely think one conversation that’s to be had is…the addiction to opioids that happens after plastic surgery. And it’s not only plastic surgery, sometimes people break their foot, break their arm, break their back, and then the doctors put them on these painkillers and people start liking the high and they can’t get off of it or they don’t know how to wean off of it.”
Hrush says addiction to pain medication is common after surgeries. “One thing I see very common in people is the way their addiction starts, is from plastic surgery procedures that literally were so minimal. I’ve seen a lot [of people] with nose jobs and they’re on Vicodin, Percocet, or Norco and they’re taking it not realizing they actually don’t need it. And then they don’t know how to get off of it because they like the high it gives.”
In an article for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Dr. Trent Douglas says “most patients are at a very low risk of becoming chronic opioid users.”
Video comments paint something of a different picture, with numerous viewers expressing concern over addiction and painkillers.
Plastic Surgery Addiction
“The thing about plastic surgery is once you do it, it’s very addictive,” says Hrush.
“Plastic surgery is a ‘drug.’ Once you’ve had a taste of it, you’re not going to stop until something crazy happens to you. If septic shock didn’t happen to me, I could imagine myself getting so many more procedures.”
According to a December 2006 study, between 7 and 15 percent of patients presenting for cosmetic treatments may be experiencing BDD, or body dysmorphic disorder, which can manifest as a desire to undergo multiple or even endless procedures.
“Not one procedure is going to give you the result that you want. So with nose jobs, boob jobs, when they get implants, a lot of people do it over and over again,” she says.
Professional literature says “surgiholics” are high-risk, but the fact is only a cause for great caution, not a contraindication for future procedures.
Breast Augmentation
“These almost cost me my whole f—ing life,” says Hrush, who brings attention to scarring, possible infection, capsular contracture, and breasts returning to their original size after reduction surgery.
“Those scars definitely look like you did something to your boobs. Those scars are very visible. I don’t care what anyone says, I have not seen one person whose scars are not visible to me.”
Brazilian Butt Lifts
Hrush saved her most dire warnings for a TikTok trend and procedure that have caught her attention. She touches on the BBL, or Brazilian butt lift, twice in twenty minutes.
“A BBL is the most dangerous plastic surgery procedure you can have done,” she says.
“There is a vein—the inferior gluteal vein—and the region where they do the work is located right where this vein is. Now, this vein is connected to your heart. It’s located where your greater sciatic notch is.
“So basically, what happens if this sensitive vein is injected with fat or even poked lightly—R.I.P.
“It leads to your heart. Instant death. Even if you go near the vein, it’s going to cause complications.
“BBL is the number one, number one, fatal plastic surgery you can do. One out of three thousand people die.
“This is a real statistic. If you guys are going on TikTok and [seeing] all these people like, ‘This is your sign to do a BBL,’ and this and that, then imagine how many people are viewing it, liking it, and getting the idea to do it.
“The most prestigious plastic surgeons refuse to do BBLs for that reason.
“It’s actually a very, very dangerous procedure,” she says.
Hard Facts
“I’m not holding anyone back from what their dreams and desires are,” says Hrush.
“I’m just here to give you hard facts.”