Laser, Botox new Navratri rage

Cosmetic surgeons in the city have done good business in the last one month as many men and women turned to arcane procedures to give themselves a new, more attractive look for Navratri. Liposuction, treatment by radio frequency or laser to remove scars, eyebrow lift correction, surgery for sharp noses, fat filler and Botox treatment were some of the procedures that helped garba enthusiasts keen to look good this garba season.

The result is there for all to see at garba venues. You will find not only the young but also people in their thirties and forties looking slim and youthful with no double chins or bags under the eyes.
Some revellers said that they had undergone cosmetic surgery nearly a month before Navratri. A majority are in the 22-35 age group. The cost of such surgery varies from Rs20,000 to 50,000, depending upon the part of the body involved. Strangely, this willingness to go under the knife for a new Navratri look is no more confined to the elite. It has become common even in the middle class and small town people.

“I had liposuction [removal of excess fatty tissue from under the skin] done around the waistline to become slim. I go to the gym every day but I knew I won’t be able to get rid of the excess fat before Navratri,” said a young man at a garba venue.

A 34-year-old mother of two wanted to look younger. “I went in for a thread lift to tuck in the double chin and remove a few lines from beneath the lower eyelids,” she said.  Dr Chintan Patel, a city-based cosmetic surgeon, said that people come for procedures 15 days to a month before Navratri.  “The procedure most in demand among women clients is lipo-sculpture of inner arms, hips, abdomen and thighs. As for men, most of them want lipo-sculpture of the chest,” said Patel.  l Turn to p8