Six facial surgeries later, local blogger says: I look gorgeous now
Blogger Hong Qiu Ting, better known as Qiu Qiu, has gone for at least six procedures in one year to improve her appearance.
For doing that, she has been accused of being plastic, insecure and addicted to cosmetic surgery.
But she dismisses the jibes and slams her critics.
The 26-year-old, who has 188,000 followers on Instagram, has blocked users for commenting that she used to look better.
She said: "These people are ***holes to say that after I spent so much effort on my face.
"I know I definitely look better now. I have no doubt about that."
Qiu Qiu's new look has caught the attention of local film-maker Jack Neo, who commented that she looks "totally different" and would consider casting her for his third Ah Boys To Men movie.
He said at the Ah Boys To Men 3: Frogmen press conference on Tuesday: "It is funny because I was looking for her in a photo and I could not recognise her at all. She looks like another person."
Qiu Qiu was last seen on the big screen in 2012 as Ken's girlfriend in the first Ah Boys To Men movie.
GORY PICTURES
Her latest transformation was posted last Friday on her blog bongqiuqiu.blogspot.sg, which included gory pictures of her recovery process.
The surgical procedures were sponsored by Regen Medical Group of Seoul, South Korea, which also paid for her previous nose job and full-face fat-grafting procedure which cost $15,000.
She was there for 11 days in May for four procedures, estimated to cost $17,000. (See infographics below.)
In a phone interview with The New Paper on Thursday, the bubbly woman insisted the surgery was "not painful".
But she admitted to scary moments. She was shocked at how swollen her lips looked after the four-hour surgery.
Two tubes were also inserted into her mouth to draw blood from the six wound openings in her mouth.
"I was quite depressed at first (because of the swelling) but it went away after a few days, and I even wore a mask to sightsee in Seoul," she said.
Qiu Qiu, who also models, said she had always felt self-conscious about her jawline and prominent cheekbones.
She used to edit her pictures to make her face look smaller but this was not possible for videos.
She stars in Clicknetwork's Budget Barbie, a videoclip series in which she looks for the best buys under $100.
She said with a shudder: "I looked so fierce and older in Ah Boys To Men."
Qiu Qiu insisted that she does not have an addiction to plastic surgery, and that she will not go for any more major procedures.
She said: "I have seen people who have gone overboard with plastic surgery, and they look all swollen and glossy. I have also heard of people who can't afford plastic surgery and got a loan from their parents.
"But I have always wanted to do this (surgery) since I was 16 or 17. I know what I want to improve and I have done them all.
"Some days, you will wake up feeling that you don't look good, but now I look at the mirror and say, 'I'm gorgeous'."
It is funny because I was looking for her in a photo and I could not recognise her at all. She looks like another person.
- Local film-maker Jack Neo
- TNP INFOGRAPHICS: FADZIL HAMZAH
More patients dislike 'new' look
While Singaporeans are heading to South Korea to go under the knife, others are seeking help from local surgeons.
Why? They regret altering too many parts of their faces.
Dr Chua Jun Jin of JJ Chua Rejuvenative Cosmetic and Laser Surgery said he is seeing more patients who dislike their "operated-on" look.
Explaining his patients' regrets, he said: "Singaporeans tend to be conservative. They like subtle results and want people to say they look natural.
"In Korea, they want to look completely different so they can 'wow' their friends."
He advises his patients to "just do what you want".
"I don't want patients to go from an A to B, but rather, an A to an A+," he added.
Similarly, Dr Andrew Khoo, a plastic surgeon at Aesthetic & Reconstructive Centre, tries to talk patients out of changing their faces entirely.
"We try to manage their expectations as there are limitations to what surgical procedures can do. It also depends on what they look like to start with," he explained.
Dr Khoo advises patients to "take one step at a time" if they ask for two facial features close to each other to be fixed in the same surgery.
For instance, the adjustment of the nose will affect how the cheek looks, he said.
Another concern is the healing process when too many procedures are done in the same area.
"When you heal, you need blood supply. So the other concern is whether the blood supply will be compromised when two things are done too close together," Dr Khoo said.
Dr Chua added that infections and bleeding are also possible complications.
While the recovery time depends on the size of the area operated on, Dr Khoo estimates a three to six month gap between surgery.
"The assumption is that when the wounds have healed, some blood supply, which you need for the wound to heal, would have already been established," he said.
Does going for numerous cosmetic procedures indicate the person is addicted to them or has low self-esteem?
Psychologist Daniel Koh of Insights Mind Centre does not think so.
In the case of blogger-model Qiu Qiu, it could simply be pressure to look a certain way for her job, he said.
"A person who is addicted to plastic surgery would be going for cosmetic procedures many times, with no valid reason, despite looking perfect," Mr Koh added.
Psychiatrist Adrian Wang, who practises at Gleneagles Medical Centre, said: "People go for plastic surgery for various reasons. It could be due to insecurity or to fix abnormalities in their bodies.
"But there is no magic number to show that someone is addicted to plastic surgery."
"We try to manage their expectations as there are limitations to what surgical procedures can do."
- Dr Andrew Khoo, a plastic surgeon at Aesthetic & Reconstructive Centre
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