We wear mile high stilettos that do terrible things to our feet. We don chicken fillets that push our breasts into strange conformations. We defy the right of any hair to live on our body, with the exception of our scalp, by ripping, tweezing and yanking with metal instruments or burning wax – to name just a few.
Now, while I admit to dabbling in some of the above and do not claim to be a complete ‘natural beauty’, there are some procedures in this world where I will definitely draw the line. Here are a few I found:
Genital cosmetic surgery
Female genital cosmetic surgery is becoming a popular and demanding surgical field. Women are paying big bucks for procedures like Labiaplasty, which corrects imperfections of a woman’s labia. I say fair enough if it is for medical reasons – but increasingly the reasons are aesthetic, or as surgeons call it, beautification.
Foot facelift
Women with a love affair for shoes can now have cosmetic foot surgery to improve the appearance of their feet. “Toe Cleavage” is a buzz word in the cosmetic world and there are even rumours of women having their little toe removed so that they can wear very narrow shoes. Aagh.
Laxative addiction
An addiction to laxatives for weight loss is now being classified as another form of an eating disorder. Taking laxatives causes water loss, dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Women addicted to this can be susceptible to side effects like muscle pain, fainting spells, spasms and in extreme cases – death.
Inject-a-tans
This one’s a doozy. Women on the pursuit for tanned skin are injecting their stomach on a weekly basis with a drug called melanotan. The injection activates the melanocytes in the body’s epidermis which results in a darker tan. The drug however is illegal and has not been approved by authorities. Field experts suspect the procedure may lead to an increased chance of skin cancer.
While the vast majority of emerging beauty industry technologies are admirable, we must ask ourselves if they are creating an unhealthy obsession in women. Whilst I admit to spending a good chunk of my earnings on skincare products and the occasional spray tan and facial before a flashy night out, it seems an end to beauty solutions is never coming.
As long as the industry keeps delivering wacky solutions to apparent beauty flaws, many women will continue on their pursuit for perfection.
Candice Burrows
Red PR Intern
