A ‘Wonder Boy’ is born!

The guy seated across the table from me at the Via Mare restaurant yesterday looked handsome. His hair was neatly-combed, his nose well-shaped, his lips full, and his face, although with very few almost invisible rough spots, is generally smooth. When he smiled, he revealed a set of polished teeth. He didn’t have any makeup on but he seems to have some in his pictures that have flooded the social media after he appeared on Korina Sanchez’s ABS-CBN show Rated K last Sunday (Oct. 1).

Asked how he felt when he woke up this morning and saw the “stranger” in the mirror, Xander confessed, “Hindi ko pa lubos na nakikilala ang sarili ko. Sinasanay ko pa ang sarili ko.”

He has not only a new face but a new name, Xander Ford, the first given to him by his manager and the second by Karla Estrada who got it from her son’s full name, Daniel John Ford Padilla. You guessed it: Xander Ford is a cosmetic-surgery wonder, transformed from Marlou Arizala who was, well, admittedly an ugly duckling made fun of by people and bashed on social media when he and his friends were in a boy band called Hash5 that attracted more jeers than cheers from netizens. Marlou with the pockmarked face was, to rework Pia Wurtzbach’s favorite phrase, “confidently un-beautiful with a heart,” shrugging off the bashing.

So how did Marlou Arizala, 20, become Xander Ford?

There’s a Frog Prince/Beauty & The Beast element to the transformation, thanks to Dr. Eric “Yappy” Yanjuangco (of The Icon Clinic) whose “magic wand” did the trick.

“I was tired of my old face,“ Xander admitted, speaking in the vernacular. “I have friends who had their nose fixed at matatangos na ang mga ilong nila. I wanted to have a nose like theirs. I asked for Dr. Yappy’s calling card and I texted him last March. He had many patients so he texted me back only in June. When we met, I told him, ‘Doc, ako si Marlou Arizala, ‘yung parating bina-bash. Gusto ko gumuapo; gusto ko magpatangos ng ilong, katulad ng friends ko.’’’

Did he have to save for the procedure?

“Oo,” smiled Marlou, “pinag-ipunan ko ng lakas ng loob.”

The whole thing would have cost P170,000 but Dr. Yappy listed Xander as a charity patient.

“Before the surgery,” related Dr. Yappy, “we interviewed him to check if he was mentally fit and did operative diagnostics such as ECG (Electrocardiogram), blood count, etc. A cardiologist also examined him.”

Done on Sept. 4, the surgery took five hours, three on the nose and two on the chin.

“We could not do just rhinoplasty (noselifting) because it wouldn’t be balanced,“ continued Dr. Yappy, “so we had to do chin augmentation, and factional laser and revlight (non-invasive) on the face.”

Under general anesthesia, Marlou slept through the surgery and woke up with his face bandaged. One week later, the sutures were removed. Gradually, day by day, Marlou watched his old face disappearing and a new one emerging. 

And, voila, a “wonder boy” was born!

“I didn’t recognize myself when I saw it in the mirror,” said Xander.

With Dr. Eric ‘Yappy’ Yapjuangco (of The Icon Clinic) who transformed Marlou Arizala (inset photos, top) to Xander Ford (right)

“In one month, there were dramatic changes already,“ added Dr. Yappy. “But the best results will be visible in six months to one year. Paganda nang paganda ‘yan. For life na ‘yan.”

When Merly Arizala saw her son, she almost didn’t recognize him. Xander and his two siblings were born to a poor family. His parents are from Masbate and all the children were born in Cavite where Xander studied until only fourth year high school.

“I was bashed from grade school to high school, kaya nasanay na ako,” admitted Xander. “But I was also hurt. I just kept quiet. I had few friends.”

The new face opened a new world for Xander who, as Marlou, was a mall rat unmindful of the funny way people looked at him. Now he can stroll around with his chin (and nose) up. He looks at life differently now and faces the world with confidence.

Did he have a love life?

“I used to have a girlfriend but we broke up already,” said Xander. “Masyado kasing naging complicated. I want to focus on my career.” (He has quit Hash5, gone solo for a while and is now a member of a new group called Teen Trends.)

Last year, as his old self, Xander appeared in the Kapamilya sitcom Home Sweetie Home as the suitor of Miles Ocampo who promptly spurned him. Now under contract with Star Image Artist Management (SIAM), will Xander be invited back to Home Sweetie Home and resume courting Miles? (There’s a report that they might star in a movie together.)

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)