I feel like I’ve been photo editing for days, completely zoned out – increase contrast, fiddle with the gamma setting.... and on and on.
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'
In my jolt back to reality, I opened the door to find a pretty little thing who with the precise quality of a pop star who’d sung who concerts 1,000 times before and was to repeat them another 1,000 – began to squeal excitedly about the promotion her beauty clinic was doing:
“That’s over $1500 practically for free!”
Dreamily I handed over my credit card for the release of $129 (“for over $1500 worth of state of the art beauty therapy!”), visualising soft lit rooms playing enya and pre-20s ‘specialists’ with breath smelling of vanilla.
However, once back at my computer I began to brows over the pamphlet explaining my ‘free’ treatments:
Anti-aging medi facial – Fair enough
Eye Masque Treatment – hmmm probably my first
45min Massage – Might ask BF if he’d like that
Wrinkle Injection Treatment – wait... what?
Botox Smile Lift - Huh??
Lip Enhancement Treatment – Oh, GOD!
A quick website viewing confirmed it:
I had just bought cosmetic surgery... from a woman standing on my threshold. This was scary stuff.
The website (which I won’t disclose) quotes:
"[Name Removed] Beauty helps you release your true natural beauty. We offer a comprehensive range of cosmetic medicine, dermal therapy, skin care and well-being treatments for men and women.
We believe in the new era of minimally invasive rejuvenation and only offer you the safest and most advanced cosmetic medicine options from our team of cosmetic physicians, cosmetic nurses, and dermal therapists."
Where has this come from?
March 2008, Dr. Mary Dingley president of the Cosmetic Physicians Society of Australia approximated that Australians spend $300 million on various cosmetic procedures. According to CPSA: “Australians per capita expenditure for cosmetic surgery is ahead of that for North America.” Link.
Prof. Bob Montgomery of the Australian Psychological Society was by the amount of money Australians are spending on cosmetic procedures:
"A very large number of the people who set out to change what they think is some ugly feature in them are actually suffering from a psychological disorder," he said. "The medical treatments not only don't help - the most likely outcome is they actually wind up more distressed, and that particular psychological problem, called body dysmorphic disorder, has a high risk of suicide."
He’s not wrong either, between 2005 and 2009 several studies came out with exactly results:
Women who received cosmetic breast implants are approximately twice as likely to suicide.
Phillips KA, Menard W (2006) Suicidality in body dysmorphic disorder: a prospective study. Am J Psychiatry, 163:
Women who have undergone implant surgery with BDD:
Annual suicidal ideation: 57.8%,
Annual suicide attempt: 2.6%
Unfortunately, it isn’t only implant surgery that has these types of statistics. Many other procedures are showing similar results, however due to the booming popularity of such practices the immediate statistics aren’t available.
As for me and my recent purchase? I’ll take the massage thanks, come anywhere near me with that hypodermic and you’ll pay!
- Hanna
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