How ‘MomTok’ and Reality TV Are Making Young Utahns More Aware of Cosmetic Procedures
Eight women — thin or pregnant, in their 20s or early 30s, and sporting waist-length curls and long eyelashes — dance around a beige hotel room in matching black sweats to Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” and blow kisses with full lips playfully at the camera.
It’s a common scene among the hundreds of videos posted by the social media influencers behind “MomTok,” which started to go viral in 2020 and has drawn international fascination, fueled by some of the women starring on Hulu’s reality show “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”
Other Utah-based reality TV shows, such as Bravo’s Salt Lake City edition of the “Real Housewives” franchise, frequently spotlight medical spas, with its stars checking in for treatments. From Botox parties featured on the shows to “Real Housewives” cast member Heather Gay’s two Beauty Lab + Laser locations in Murray and Riverton, these procedures are often prominently promoted on-air.
For Brookelyn McAllister, 23, seeing these nonsurgical cosmetic procedures on television helps normalize the trend, she said.
“When you know someone who’s done it, it makes it less daunting,” said McAllister, who graduated from Utah Valley University in 2023.
Utah reality TV stars and social influencers, many boasting followers in the hundreds of thousands on their social media accounts, frequently promote their procedures, blending on-screen appearances with online endorsements.
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