Dr Raj Kanodia is seen as an artist in the plastic surgery world, rejecting hundreds of people each year who email and call in for appointments. He sees beauty in everything, something that becomes more apparent the more time you spend in his presence.
I arrive at his Beverly Hills office and am greeted by Dr Raj, clad in a suit and neon Nike trainers - his signature look. He invites me into his opulent office and we talk for an hour before filming about skincare. He’s developed a range called Ayur Medic, taking his holistic principles and combining them with state of the art clinical research. He makes everything from cleansers and serums to sun cream.
He’s passionate about taking care of the skin and general wellbeing. Raj himself is very calm and balanced; exactly the type of bedside manner you would wish for from a surgeon.
He’s famous for being the industry’s ‘nose man’. He fixed Cameron Diaz’s nose after her surfing accident and became a household name when Ashlee Simpson went under his knife for hers.
The list is endless of who he ‘does’, from movie stars to rock stars to members of the Saudi Royal family and high society girls around the world that you would never guess weren’t born with those perfect little noses. Cindy Crawford even entrusts him with removing unwanted moles.
After filming with Raj, we went to have dinner at Matsuhisa in LA, one of my favorite sushi restaurants. There was a table next to us of very beautiful Middle Eastern ladies in their early twenties. Two of the girls looked like a cross between Megan Fox and Queen Rania - totally gorgeous.
They were staring at our table. Raj is polite and smiled back. The girl then says: “You don’t remember me?” Then Dr Raj takes a minute, smiles, and says “I remember your nose,” and they both laugh. On the way out they popped over to say goodbye and a friend got his number to make an appointment while she’s in town. Only as I left did I clock the royal bodyguards escorting them out to their car...