There’s a new fad in town. And it’s got pointy ears. That’s right; forget the big doe eyes, the double eyelids and the boob jobs. Today, self-respecting ladies in China are snapping up plastic surgery appointments like there’s no tomorrow for… elf ears.
The trend has begun to really take hold in the past couple of months. Many a young Chinese now think that larger ears makes their faces look slimmer and thus more attractive. And as ever, it’s an added bonus if they can also look like a movie star, only not Dobby from Harry Potter or Yoda from Star Wars.
According to YourChineseAstrology.com, “Big ears are auspicious while the small inauspicious. … Big ears belong to vigorous and active people; the small ears indicate poor health and a quiet personality in early youth”.
But it’s not that simple. Once a bigger ear becomes more protrudent, it’s a deformity that until now might have needed surgical treatment. Yesterday’s ugly is today’s beauty.
Demand for elf ears (精灵耳) is now beginning to soar to the extent that many aesthetic institutions across the country have launched elf or fairy ear surgery.
Elf ears are typically created by injecting the ears with hyaluronic acid, which is often used in dermal fillers. This will cause the ears to swell and thus protrude more. But as with any surgery, there are concerns for safety.
Liu Yufeng, Chief Physician of the plastic surgery division at the Second Hospital of Nanjing, spoke with Vice as to the risks associated with cosmetic procedures for elf ears.
“The first is infection around the ear after surgery, which is very tricky to treat; the second is embolism caused by injecting hyaluronic acid into blood vessels, which may be fatal,” Liu said.
With elf ear procedures now typically going for around ¥10,000, one doctor in Guangzhou claims he is now doing up to six every day.
Dr. Yu Wenlin from the Gaoshang Medical Cosmetic Centre told the South China Morning Post that he spotted the trend beginning slowly after he gave elf ears to an online celebrity last year.
