Zuri, an influencer on TikTok, finally got her lifelong dream nose—a Barbie nose—to fit her face. But soon after, she became the target of several jokes from internet users.
Because the operation would have been too costly in the United States, the 29-year-old told People she considered going to Mexico or the Philippines.
In the end, Zuri decided on Mexico because of their approach. In addition, she got a “Spring Break deal” on her operation in April of this year. She paid $4,900, which was $200 less than the typical $5,100 charge. (Recent data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons shows that the average cost of rhinoplasty in the United States is $7,637).
After researching a local cosmetic surgery clinic, Zuri fit her operation into her already scheduled trip, so it worked out for her.
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She told People that as a person of color, finding the proper doctor required a lot of research. She added 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.
The Mexican doctor she ultimately chose used cartilage from her rib to create a Barbie-style nose for her. She ended up with a slightly tilted tip and a thinner bridge than before.
Zuri was shocked by the shape of her nose when she first saw it since it was “giving pig” with its tip pointing 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 shared.
However, things went south when she made the choice to post about her experience online.
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. While many people admired Zuri on her new nose, many more shared Zuri’s initial concerns about the upturned tip.
Because of her narrow, pointed nose, many fans likened her to the late pop artist Michael Jackson. Zuri acknowledged that the jokes initially got to her and made her second-guess her decision, but she eventually leaned into it.
“I’m not even going to lie. It made me think,” she said. “I was like, ‘Okay, maybe I am botched. Why did I do this to myself?’ But then I thought, ‘No, the internet is not real. I don’t know these people. These people are strangers, and it’s my life.’ So, I’m a big person that’s into affirmations, and you self-concept. I just tried to reassure myself. But I’m not going to lie, in the beginning it was a lot. I didn’t cry. It didn’t get to that point, but it just made me second-guess what I did.”
“I love MJ. Okay?” she added. “Michael Jackson is a legend. To be compared to an icon, I’ll take it as a compliment.”
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In an attempt to silence the critics, she continued to make videos that made reference to Jackson and even temporarily changed her social media profile image to one of the King of Pop.
Zuri said she has welcomed the nose seven weeks after the operation, especially now that the tip has come down a little more.
Now that she has her ideal Barbie nose, she has chosen to block out the hate. The content producer continues to share her journey with the entire world through her YouTube account.
Reflecting on how everything transpired on TikTok, she advises anyone thinking about getting plastic surgery to realize that “people aren’t going to like anything that you do, and you can’t make everybody happy.”
She added, “I think you should just focus on yourself. If you feel strong about [getting plastic surgery], and that’s something that you really want to do, and you’ve done your research and crossed your T’s and dotted your I’s, you shouldn’t care. Just do it for you. You’re not living for other people. You’re living for yourself. I guess I would say that. Just be strong in what you want to do, and F the haters.”
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