mid day editorial: Let's not pay a high price for beauty

It goes without saying that the pressure on women to be physically attractive is tremendous. But, then again, the 21st century is the age of vanity, where everyone wants to be visually appealing, thankfully with some opting for the safety of photograph filters on mobile phones.

It is when vanity assumes dangerous proportions that the situation becomes worrying. Take for instance yesterday's report in this paper, of a 57-year-old woman who has taken a beauty company to the cleaners over a botched botox procedure. The cosmetic clinic chain's bungled treatment forced the woman to hide inside her house for six months.

It is perfectly all right to want to be visually appealing to others. What isn't is opting for risky procedures for this. There have been innumerable cases of popular treatments ending with people losing their lives; liposuction, botox, dermembrasion, skin peelers, the list is endless. And, most people have such a burning desire to be beautiful that despite knowing the great risks involved, will still go ahead with the treatments.

Signatures requested on consent forms should be the first red flag pointing to trouble head. Putting ones signature to forms like these means you should have been thoroughly convinced that you are willing to accept the risks involved. While desiring to remain beautiful, one must also remember to ensure that those offering such treatments are licensed to provide it. One has every right to demand to see the credentials of those providing the treatment. It is up to us to go into the minutest detail of the procedure involved, such as material used, duration, recovery time and most importantly, an allergy test if there is a chemical that is used. Taking the legal course is useless as such matters take years to see any result. Like the oldest cliché in the world goes, it is far better to be safe than sorry.

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