America Ferrera Had the Best Behind-the-Scenes Selfie Game at the Golden Globes

Nowadays, selfies are everywhere — from Apple’s latest ad campaign to profile photos to the full “selfies” folder on your iPhone, close-up photos of our faces reign supreme. A recent study published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgerydisclosed that even a few years ago, back in 2014, people were snapping 93 billion pictures of themselves on Android phones each day; it’s mindboggling to guess how many selfies we’ve taken over the last half-decade. While selfies can be glamorous, funny, memorable, and even used as your password, researchers have also proven that they can cause unhealthy dysmorphia.

Do you like your facial features when you look in the mirror but feel like they look a little funky or not as attractive to you on your phone screen? If so, you might be observing something the researchers coined the “Selfie Effect,” which primarily causes noticeable distortion to the nose. The effect can be so dramatic that it can make your nose look 30 percent bigger than it actually is. Dr. Anthony Youn, a leading holistic plastic surgeon, explains this modern phenomenon in more detail. “Selfie dysmorphia is a term that describes an unrealistic obsession that many people have with taking selfies, getting rid of their perceived flaws with filters, and then having plastic surgery to try to look like their filtered selfies,” he schools us. “Patients actually bring their filtered and edited selfies to plastic surgeons’ offices and ask them to change their appearance to look like their altered photos.” Boris Pashkover, an assistant professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s Department of Otolaryngology and co-author of the study, cites patients coming in with selfies and asking specifically to make their noses smaller. Find this to be sad and unfortunate? Dr. Youn agrees and expresses his concern. “This is unsettling for me (as a board-certified plastic surgeon) because most millennials don’t really ‘need’ anything done.”

“People, especially millennials, need to understand that selfies are not accurate representations of how they look,” he continues. “To be honest, selfies are more like a carnival funhouse version of yourself than an accurate representation — and it all has to do with the distance between your face and the camera.” According to Dr. Youn and the study, the closer you position your face to the camera, the more you might perceive your appearance as altered. “Portrait photos are typically taken from a distance, unlike selfies, which can be captured as little as 12 inches from your face. Portrait photographers have known this for years and take their photos accordingly,” he says. “Selfies aren’t a totally accurate depiction of what a person’s face looks like, and they shouldn’t influence the decision to undergo plastic surgery,” he reiterates.

Good news, though: If you’re not thrilled with how your face or nose look in close-up pictures, moving the camera farther away will definitely help — whether you set it up somewhere and use a timer, or get yourself a selfie stick. And there’s always the option of having someone take a photo for you; the extra distance will give you a better picture that accurately depicts how flawless you really are.

What do you think about the “selfie effect”? Sound off on Twitter @BritandCo.

Stassi Schroeder may look picture-perfect when appearing on her reality series Vanderpump Rules, but beneath that seemingly flawless complexion, she wants us to know that she’s every bit as human as the rest of us.

The Straight Up With Stassi podcast host took to Instagram stories over the weekend sans cosmetics to let fans in on a little secret: She actually suffers from psoriasis. “The psoriasis situation is not on fleek,” she said in the accompanying post video. “If anybody else suffers from this and gets it on their face, I’m with you.”

She reiterated her statements with her caption, saying, “If you suffer from Psoriaris, you ain’t alone. Sh*t sucks.”

It’s not the first time she’s opened up about the topic: Back in 2015, she shared a similar selfie while letting fans in on her big beauty secret: Ultra HD Make Up Forever Foundation ($43).

“So many of you ask what makeup I use because It “looks” like I have flawless skin,” she wrote at the time. “I don’t. And these patches are an f-ing b*tch to cover up and make me feel ugly all the time… Feel beautiful today, girls. We all have our issues.”

View this post on Instagram

Having one of those days where Psoriasis is taking over my life. So many of you ask what makeup I use because it "looks" like I have flawless skin. I don't. And these patches are an effing bitch to cover up and make me feel ugly all the time. So here ya go, a no make up selfie. Feel beautiful today, girls. We all have our issues. PS. I use HD make up forever foundation ;)

A post shared by Stassi Schroeder (@stassischroeder) on Nov 5, 2015 at 11:11am PST

As she told Bravo in a subsequent interview, it’s important for her to be open with her viewers about her looks. “Because I know if I go on another girl’s blog or if I’m looking at her Instagram — I stalk tons of female celebrities too — I don’t like feeling bad about myself,” she shared. “I don’t like when people pretend everything’s perfect, it’s not… And I don’t like when women feel insecure, and I don’t want them to ever look at me and feel that way so that’s why if I need to talk about my psoriasis or the fact that I’m wearing pairs of Spanx, fine.”

Her sentiments echo that of Lorde’s, who shared her own struggles with acne just last week. Kudos to both ladies for showing us all that even with our perceived “flaws,” we’re still beautiful in every way!

What do you think of Stassi’s makeup-free selfie? Share over @BritandCo.

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(Photo via @stassischroeder + Dia Dipasupil/Getty)

What is it about family sagas that seem to make book clubs more interesting? Maybe it's because we know interpersonal relationships can be a little dysfunctional. It could be that we still don't know how to communicate with the people we love the most. Even if we love our parents and siblings, reading about other families' fictional twists and turns gives us a rush of adrenaline.

So it's no wonder Jenna Bush Hager's January book club pick feels like something we can read without putting down. It's full of complicated relationship dynamics, love, and reconciling one's identity with their past. You can say it's the perfect read to kick off your 2025 reading goals!

Amazon

The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight

Penn should be excited about advancing her education at the University of Edinburgh, but she can't stop thinking about the secret her parents have been keeping from her. For some reason, she believes she'll uncover it while she's in Scotland because Lord Lennox — her father's friend — is in the area.

Her hunger for the truth leads her to Lord Lennox's estate where she she starts mingling with his family and even discovers love in this moving novel.

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Jenna Bush Hager's Thoughts About The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus

Jenna Bush Hager thinks readers will love The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus because "it's a rich novel" with themes of "friendship and motherhood" (via Instagram). It's so good, she's sure "it will sweep you off your feet (via Instagram).

We hope you enjoy reading about Penn's journey in The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus and encourage you to check out Reese Witherspoon's January book club pick next!