Beauty junkies rush to get a fix
Sunday November 19 2006
Or perhaps you feel that the better-looking people at work are getting ahead faster? It could be that there is some justification for your suspicions. One US study found that better-looking people earned more money after five years working than their less attractive, but equally experienced, colleagues.
Those rated below average or homely were paid up to 9 per cent less than average lookers. According to Alex Kuczynski, a New York Times shopping editor, who has written a book on cosmetic surgery called Beauty Junkies, we live in a visual age where looks and youthfulness matter more than anything else. Of course Irish employers would never be so shallow - no matter what Eddie Hobbs suggests.
Even so, surgery is enjoying a huge surge in popularity in Ireland, with thousands expected to spend at least part of their SSIA augmenting breasts, filling out wrinkles or eliminating fat from their knees.
Ireland's cosmetic surgeons say they don't know how much of their newfound business is coming courtesy of SSIAs, but most guess quite a lot. According to one survey, about 4 per cent of people are planning to spend some of their SSIA on cosmetic enhancements - or at least that's how many who will admit to it. Business is up around 30 per cent at many of the big clinics, including Advanced Cosmetic Surgery.
Over the past two months, as more and more SSIAs have matured, the waiting lists have grown. Pauline Cullen, who is in charge of the Beacon Dermatology Clinic in Sandyford, says business has really picked up since August, especially for the new laser treatments. These non-invasive procedures are increasingly popular, both here and inthe US.
Dr Patrick Treacy of the Ailesbury Clinic says the fashion is now for "minimally invasive procedures that are less invasive, reproducible, safer and those that can be performed during a coffee break".
The five most popular non-invasive procedures in Ireland, the UK and the US still include wrinkle injections, dermal fillers, chemical peels, laser hair removal and microdermabrasion, he says.
But remember that some of the stuff you can get injected into your face here is still banned in the US.
The problems are not always immediately apparent. After all, just a few years ago cosmetics used to contain dangerous heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and lead. And years before that, poisons such as belladonna were used to beautify eyes. Some dermal fillers that were, until recently, quite popular are now known to cause tissue granulomas. But that's the forward march of science.
One result of the forward march is that more people are steering away from injecting poison and fillers. Instead, according to Ms Cullen, the trend is towards preventative and longer term treatments.
"Most people are no longer looking for instant gratification, they are going for the longer term.Laser rejuvenation and radio frequency are now taking over from Botox as people shy away from the frozen look."
But for those looking for instant results it is a long process. Both treatments encourage the body to make more collagen itself, and that can take six months. Mind you, seeing as most other collagen often comes from either cattle hoofs or rooster's combs, and with BSE and Avian flu about, it is not hard to see the attractions of generating your own.
Over at Advanced Cosmetic Surgery, Halina Ashdown-Sheils says it has been a bumper year for cosmetic surgery. She says their most popular procedures have been breast enhancement, liposculpture and gastric banding (made famous by Sharon Osbourne).
Halina, who has lost over four stone from gastric banding (dropping in the process from a size 18 to a size 10), will be featured on TV3's Inside & Out make-over show.
But it is not just women who are planning on giving that surgeon some of their SSIA monies. The number of men opting for both surgical and non-surgical procedures is increasing hugely. Almost 10 per cent of all patients at the Ailesbury Clinic are men.
But how much of your SSIA will you need to earmark for some of this?
Injectable products can cost anything from ?300 to ?4,500. But many still consider this a snip compared with a traditional facelift, which would cost as much as ?9,000. Breast augmentation will set you back over ?5,000 while gastric banding will cost a whopping ?10,000.
There are also problems, of course. Ms Kuczynski's book has more horror stories than the average Stephen King novel - including the tale of the first lady of Nigeria, who died while having liposuction.
Nobody here has died - yet - but some say it must only be a matter of time. As one London columnist said recently, cosmetic surgery may well be God's way of telling you you've got too much money.
- Jane Suiter
