“Terrifying Results”: Jenke on the beauty experiment

• Jenke von Wilmsdorff is known for her relentless experiments.
• Her beauty experiment can be seen on Monday in her new show at ProSieben.
• In the interview, the 55-year-old reveals what awaited him there and what the public should take away from his experiments.

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Mr. von Wilmsdorff, what particularly impressed you in your beauty experiment, what impressed you?

Jenke von Wilmsdorff: The peculiarity of this beauty experiment is that I divided my face to be able to compare the possibilities of cosmetics and cosmetic surgery at the same time into one, that is my face. I only used the cosmetic products on the left to see how much I can rejuvenate and reserved the right half of my face for the plastic surgeon.

It will be a competition and a confrontation with the exciting question of what can rejuvenate me by how many years and how far I go. The exciting thing about the experiment is: when does the addiction take effect? When will botox and hyaluronic acid become so natural that I always want more? But when will I stop looking like myself? This journey leads to terrifying accomplishments.

How do you come up with the topics for your experiments?

We, my closest team and I have ideas for the topic. We meet regularly to brainstorm and discuss the social issues of our time and then collect ideas for other formats as well.

How much work is there in a documentary before it appears on television?

That is different. The shooting of the beauty experiment lasted three months. The search for a topic starts four to six weeks earlier. With research, an experiment usually lasts four and a half months, but it’s not possible. Post-production then takes another four to six weeks for a two-hour documentary before the work can be seen on television, but it parallels shooting.

Have there been any arguments for experiments in the past that you turned down?

There are several reasons for rejecting something. Of course, if it’s impossible or doesn’t make sense as an experiment, we all decide not to. An experiment must meet different requirements. It must be a socially relevant topic, the experiment must allow an internal vision.

Once upon a time there was an experiment on the subject of death that I had struggled with for two years. My fear of contact was too great. After all, I moved into a hospice for two weeks and lived next to people who didn’t have much life left. I talked to them a lot and cried. It became my most exciting experiment.

Many of your experiments have been very extreme: how do you deal with these experiences?

All the experiments were extreme. Each one. Some experiments challenge my body more, others my psyche. I’ve been telling extreme stories on television for 20 years, long before the experiments, and I’ve learned how to deal with them. After an experiment, I first take a three to four week break to clear my head and do a lot of good for my body.

Have you ever sought professional help?

Until now it was not necessary to see a psychologist because I could not work out something on my own. But I’m a huge fan of psychology and speech therapy and I find people do it too infrequently and too late. Just like body hygiene, there is also soul hygiene. I am very interested in this area and recognize signs in myself that other people may not be able to directly assign.

How have your experiments affected your personal life? Have you drawn any conclusions from your experience?

Each experiment naturally leaves its mark on me. After the meat experiment, I stopped eating meat and continue to do so today. After the experiment with plastic, I avoided a lot of plastic. So I disposed of a lot of plastic from my kitchen and bought glass containers. Unfortunately, due to the crown, the focus on our plastic waste has been somewhat lost. There are insane amounts of plastic waste again.

In the end, I took something from all 21 experiments so far. A change of conscience, a different vision of society and also of my responsibility in this society. I’ve always changed a little, in fact I’ve improved.

What experiments or self-experiments would you like to do?

There are still so many topics I would like to do, even other formats and programs. And that’s exactly what we intend to do. This was one of the reasons I switched to ProSieben. We will do a lot of new programs together in the next few years. From now on there is also my new experiment podcast – “Jenke. The Podcast” on FYEO.

There are still so many things that I find exciting that I don’t worry that at some point I’ll run out of topics. The right topic for an experiment always knocks to some degree on my reporter’s door. Ten years ago it was unimaginable to do an experiment on the subject of beauty, but now cosmetic surgery has become a big topic even among young people and we find big lips and small noses on many Christmas wish lists.

Have you ever thought about how long you want to keep experimenting?

I’ll still be experimenting when I’m 80 or 90. But then maybe no longer for television. And when I do, I will no longer jump out of a burning helicopter. But wait a minute, why not? For me it is not a job, it is a passion. And it is very fortunate that I was allowed to do this job. That I always know new stories, topics and people. You think differently than someone who retires at the age of 67 and is happy to finally be able to take care of other things. I take care of new and different things every day.

What do you want to achieve with your experiments with the public?

I want people to open up to a topic they think they already know everything about. When it comes to cosmetic surgery, everyone thinks they know everything if you ask people on the street. But I am of the opinion that we do not know everything yet. So I ask myself: how can I provide more information? How can I dispel prejudices?

For me, this works best in the way I design my documentaries. In addition to the classic relationship, I also go into an experiment and provide an insight: how does it feel to drink, to be in jail or to go to the cosmetic surgeon? This additional information then opens the viewer again to a topic they believe they have known all about. My goal is for people to think a little longer and be better informed before forming an opinion. In times like these, in particular, we need to obtain detailed and complex information. And the experiment is a wonderful way to do it.

Interview Partner Information: Jenke von Wilmsdorff is known for her self-experiments, which she initially performed as part of the RTL magazine “Extra” and later in her documentaries. The 55-year-old now works for ProSieben, where he dedicates his first experiment to beauty (Monday, November 30, 8.15pm).