When Zuri, the creator of TikTok, decided she needed a rhinoplasty, she didn’t look at local physicians because she is well aware of how costly plastic surgery can be in the United States.
Zuri, 29, was aware that it would cost thousands of dollars in her home city of New York City, and that simply getting to another American metropolis was expensive. She then reasoned that because she was already planning a trip, why not just go abroad to a desirable destination instead of doing the home portion?
Zuri then chose Mexico. In April of this year, she also got a “Spring Break deal” on her operation. She paid $4,900, $200 less than the normal charge of $5,100. The most recent data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons shows that the average cost of rhinoplasty in the United States is $7,637, as reported by People.
After researching a cosmetic surgery clinic in Mexico, Zuri was able to fit her operation into her already scheduled trip, so it was actually a little kismet for her. She tells PEOPLE that she had “always” wanted to adjust her nose since she was a child, so it felt like everything was coming together when she finally had the time and money to do it and felt “brave” enough to follow through.
According to Zuri, as a person of color, she thought that in order to get the shape of her nose just right, she needed to conduct more study to find the appropriate doctor and the right facility. Zuri claims that because Black women’s face structures differ from those of other women, she had previously been afraid to commit to just any doctor for fear that the outcome might not be what she had hoped for.
Although she acknowledges that she desired a “Barbie nose,” she insisted that it fit her features. She claims that at first, she thought about traveling to the Philippines because she thought Filipino and Black facial features may blend well. The reason she chose not to travel to the Philippines is that “[in the Philippines,] they take implants, and they use it to build a bridge, but I wanted it to be more natural and take my rib cartilage and use it instead,” she explains.
She therefore chose her Mexican doctor, who used cartilage from her ribs to create a Barbie-style nose for her. The end effect was a narrower bridge than she had begun with and a slightly tilted tip. Zuri claims that she was a little taken aback by the form of her nose at first because it was “giving pig” in the way that the tip pointed upward.
“The more I researched, I saw it’s normal for people to place the tip to be high because it’s going to drop over time,” she explains.
Non-Surgical “Nose Job” by Dr. Simon Ourian#nosejob #nosugery #nonsurgical #noselift #plasticsurgery #juvederm #voluma #perlane #injection #fillers #botchednose #simonourian #epione #beautydoctor pic.twitter.com/lnfU6Dv0Bj
— Dr. Simon Ourian – Epione (@simonourianmd) March 7, 2023
However, when she began sharing her experience with plastic surgery with her fans on social media, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Five weeks after the procedure, Zuri uploaded a video to TikTok, and people rushed to the comments area to express their thoughts about the work she had done. Zuri’s new nose was praised by a few, but many others shared Zuri’s initial impression that the tip was upside down.
And they made a big deal out of it. There were quick and frequent comparisons to the late pop singer Michael Jackson, who was renowned for having a small, pointed nose.
Zuri leaned into it rather than take offense. She continued to make Jackson-related videos and even momentarily switched her social media profile photo to one of the King of Pop. “I love MJ. Okay?” she tells PEOPLE. “Michael Jackson is a legend. To be compared to an icon, I’ll take it as a compliment.”
