There has been a growing trend worldwide of cosmetic enhancements. Recently, there are videos on social media with several women wheel chairing through airports in the Dominican Republic.
According to the 2020 plastic surgery report by National Clearinghouse of Plastic Surgery Procedural Statistics there were 15.6 million cosmetic procedures in 2020. Breast augmentation, eyelid surgery, facelift, liposuction, and nose reshaping are among the top five surgeries being done.
Breast augmentation continues to be one of the top five cosmetic surgical procedures and has been since 2006. Silicone implants were used in 84 percent, and saline implants 16 percent of all breast augmentations in 2020.
As more women embrace society’s take on what the perfect body should be, many more entertainers and women in the dancehall space have opened up about enhancing their body.
In Jamaica, public figures such as “Queen Nikki” famously known for dancing, is one of the ambassadors of a cosmetic surgery company called Designer Bodys. According to The Star, Michelle Garcia, a representative of Designer Bodys, stated that “about 70% of the clients are from Jamaica or they are of Jamaican descent”. Garcia also added that the most requested surgery procedures are those that give flatter tummies, smaller waists and enhancements of the hips and bottom.
The dancehall space has not been exempted from this trend with former dancer, Sher Luxury Doll being the first to admit that she had cosmetic surgery. The former dancer opened up about her surgery which included breast implants, liposuction, and a Brazilian butt lift (BBL).
The Queen of Dancehall, Spice, who herself has gone under the knife, recently shared on her Talk Show, Magnum Spice It Up, that she wasted no time when it was her turn to do the surgeries. The entertainer confessed that she had a Brazilian butt lift, liposuction, and breast augmentation in one take when she visited the Dominican Republic.
What’s her reason for her body transformation? To help remove the naturally occurring hip dips which plagued her self-confidence over the years.
To break it down, breast augmentation increases breast size and enhances breast shape, typically through the placement of silicone or saline breast implants. Liposuction is a fat transfer process which removes fat from the hips, abdomen, lower back, or thighs, while the Brazilian butt lift uses that fat transfer to alter the size and shape of the buttocks without implants.
Lisa Hyper, is one of the most recent dancehall entertainers to show off her work, proudly flashes her new body through various posts on her Instagram account. The Gaza princess who was a guest on Magnum Spice It Up stated that she was happy with her figure and added that a six-month time frame for healing is recommended for her BBL and lipo procedures.
Getting under the knife is expensive. Surgery will run about US$10,000 but depends on the procedure.
But what are the physical and emotional costs of doing surgery? Many patients are not prepared for the full spectrum of physical, emotional, and cultural side effects that sometimes follow.
According to Lisa Hyper, there are many people on social media who have thrown negative jabs her way. How does she handle such negativity? “Block and Delete”, a simple recommendation found in one of Alkaline’s hit tracks, works wonders for her.
Recently, former dancehall queen, Sher Luxury Doll took to social media to speak about the dangers of getting body enhancement. Sher spoke about the illegal butt injections that she had done and how it affected her.
In her Instagram live she spoke about getting an MRI that showed the gel particles from the butt shot injection had moved from her buttocks to her ovaries. She recently removed her butt shots which cost her over two million Jamaican dollars.
Sher’s recent testimony came weeks after she had a miscarriage. She shared that she was five months into her pregnancy when tragedy struck, leaving her with a loss so great it almost sent her into depression.
The proliferation of popular national figures getting cosmetic surgery paired with the musical support from artistes such as Vybz Kartel’s Luxury Doll, have changed the dancehall aesthetic to that of curvy, voluptuous, and by all means, plastic.
Female acts today see conforming to the current beauty ideal as climbing the social ladder. Shauna Controlla, for instance, stated she “Just didn’t look like an artiste” and thus wanted to “Fix myself… my tooth first and then I did my body.”
For those who want to do cosmetic enhancement, ensure you do your research and educate yourself on the various procedures and effects. However, no matter how much work you do to your body, the body remains alive, organic, and unpredictable. Gravity and time will have their way with an aging BBL as they do with everything else. Even the perfect bottom will sag; even the perfect body will die.
