A woman has gone viral on TikTok sharing shocking before and after pictures of her face heavily filtered in a bid to prove social media is “fake”.
Katy Derewakin, 21, an economics student from Rostock, Germany showed her 21,900 followers how she completely transformed her appearance – and they don’t believe it can be the same person in the before and after shots.
In her video, which has been viewed over 5.5 million times and gained 863,900 likes, Katy shares before and after shots of her face that have been entirely edited on a photoshop app.
The student demonstrates the dramatic difference between the images which see her make-up less, frowning face transform into a smiling, glamorous shot – complete with fake teeth.
She even changes the colour of her hair in one transition, going from a dark brunette to a golden blonde.
“I wanted to remind people to not believe everything they see on social media and to question more of what they consume on a daily basis,” Katy told NeedToKnow.online.
“Social media often creates a distorted view on how reality really looks.
“We love to share just the perfect moments of our lives just like a delicious dinner, a nice outfit, or a fun night out.
“I think it’s awesome to share all these beautiful things but on the other hand it creates a base for a constant inner pressure – a pressure to live, look and be a certain way.”
Katy’s viral video has resonated with many, with one user commenting: “Sad thing is I would believe the photo to be real if it weren’t for you showing me otherwise.”
“Remember that you are beautiful just the way you are,” said another user.
Another user wrote: “And sadly we must fulfil these standards in order to be at least attractive to somebody.”
“But you look so good naturally,” said another user.
“It’s crazy how social media brainwashes us to believe everyone except us is flawless and corresponds 100% to beauty standard,” added someone else.
Another person said: “Those are completely different people – This is too much!”
To achieve the effects, Katy uses a free app as well as filters.
She added: “I used an app called Face App. It has all the tools to change your features in a really realistic way.
“Your hair, hair colour, skin, makeup, eyes, eyebrows, nose, lips, cheekbones can be changed and you can even add a smile with teeth to a photo where your mouth is fully closed – it’s insane!”
Since she was 13, Katy has struggled with the concept of beauty standards and even considered surgery to fit in.
She said: “When I was 13, Instagram was the app everyone used, so all the years of puberty where we grow and change were accompanied by social media.
“I spent way too much money on expensive makeup that influencers promoted to cover my acne to reach a point where I would finally feel confident, but I never got there.
“I saw that creators who ‘inspired’ me at the time got so much validation for their looks so my mind got programmed into thinking that my worth only comes from my outer appearance.
“There was a point where I constantly thought about getting breast implants, lip fillers and a nose job.
“I wanted to show young girls that there is no need to fit in the beauty standard because our uniqueness, the fact that everyone on this planet has their own unique features and that makes us so beautiful.”
