The Chinese go for plastic

There is a fast-growing industry in China, the fourth most popular area of spending behind housing, cars and travel. It’s plastic surgery. More than 2 million operations take place each year in China, only third in the world behind the US and Brazil. This number is doubling annually. Chinese women with money want facelifts and wrinkle removal, like everyone else. But the number one operation is making the eyes look bigger by adding a crease in the eyelid to create a “double eyelid”. The second most popular is raising the bridge of the nose to make it more prominent. The third is reshaping the jaw to make it narrower and longer.

It’s disturbing, but 40% of customers of Evercare, a chain of cosmetic surgery hospitals, are only in their 20s. These are not women looking to stave off the effects of middle age. No wonder it’s a booming industry, already worth about $US2.3 billion. But more regulation is needed in China - many people claiming to do these operations are not properly trained and there are frequent accidents.

It sounds as if Chinese women are trying to make their faces more Western in appearance. Unfortunately, it is always the women who provide such handsome profits to companies claiming to make them more beautiful. They will continue to be the guinea pigs for such procedures until plastic surgery is properly regulated in China. This is the price of beauty, in any language.