Botox, Boundaries, and Beauty Standards

Dr. Michael Brandt has spent his career studying faces. And he still says attraction has almost nothing to do with symmetry. In this episode, Mehak sits down with Dr. Michael Brandt, facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Form Face and Body in Toronto, to talk about "iPhone face," the beauty standards social media has pushed us all toward, and why he'll turn down a procedure before he'll lose his judgment. Dr. Michael opens up about the scar and the hair loss that shaped his own path into medicine, the patients who show up with a partner's ultimatum instead of their own reason, and the "revenge glow-up" requests he gently talks people out of. He breaks down the gender differences in what men and women ask for, debunks the collagen-stimulation trends flooding TikTok, and explains why he thinks nobody is obligated to disclose what they've had done. Along the way: the thread lifts he refuses to perform, the Michael Jackson effect, and why the best provider is the one who knows how to say no. This one is a reminder that looking better might open a door, but it's never the whole house. Attraction is a state of mind, and the right person will love the face you have now and the one you'll have in forty years. Follow Dr. Michael Brandt @dr.m.brandt on Instagram, and visit Form Face and Body in Toronto to learn more or book a consultation. Hosted by: Mehak @whathemehak on TikTok Follow us on IG⁠ @lovelythepod⁠ &⁠ @immigrantlypods⁠ Producer: Saadia Khan and Shei Yu | Content Writers: Mehak | Editorial Review: Saadia Khan | Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin | Love-ly Theme Music: Lou Raskin | Other Music: Epidemic Sound | Cover art design: Josephine Chai | Executive Producer: Saadia Khan Please share the love and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify to help more people find us! Don't forget to subscribe! 🔗 Subscribe to Hyphenly, our newsletter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes. 💌 Share your thoughts: [email protected] Subscribe to our Immigrantly Uninterrupted Channel for ad-free listening Love-ly is an Immigrantly Media Production For advertising inquiries, please email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices