‘There’s a skin care/hair care clinic at every street’

Thanks to the rise in disposable income and improved lifestyle, the beauty industry in the country is growing at a never-before pace.
‘There’s a skin care/hair care clinic at every street’

Thanks to the rise in disposable income and improved lifestyle, the beauty industry in the country is growing at a never-before pace. More and more people are ever-so-willing to go under the knife for a nip here and a tuck there. No wonder cosmetology has become one of the most sought-after specialisations in the field of medicine. We speak to Ajay Rana, Founder and Director, Institute of Laser and Aesthetic Medicine, Greater Kailash, New Delhi, on the scope and reach of aesthetic medicine. Excerpts from an interview:

How much figure/ feature correction can be done with the surgical procedures?
Beauty is not just superficial but skin deep. So the trend of using cosmetology and aesthetic medicine for self-grooming is escalating. Cosmetology is about skin care, cosmetics, hairstyling, hair replacement, hair removal, manicures or pedicures while aesthetic medicine deals with deeper and broader issues like scars, open pores, wrinkles, anti-ageing, hyper pigmentation, moles, freckles, dark spots, excess fat, unwanted hair, skin laxity ad skin discolouration. Since these cosmetic procedures are non-invasive or minimally invasive, one can safely rely on them. But the procedures have to be done by trained and skilled experts.

What has been the growth in demand for cosmetology and aesthetic medicine in India in the last five years?
An innate desire to look good drives a person to seek such procedures. In our country, the beauty industry is growing at an amazing pace. With the rising incomes, the lifestyle of the people has tremendously improved. The mindset of people to stay young or be more beautiful or handsome has reached a record high. As a result, the demand for cosmetology and aesthetic medicine has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years. Today, there’s a skin care/hair care clinic at almost every street, particularly in major cities.

Which gender, age group and social strata is opting for these treatments?
While both men and women are interested in beauty treatments, women go in more for these treatments. Usually people in the age group of 25-55, having high disposable income undergo beauty treatments. Beauty treatment is costly and not everyone can afford it.

Don’t these surgeries affect the body in the long run?
Beauty treatment involves many processes and procedures which depends on the type of issue to be tackled. Treatment of conditions like wrinkles or anti-ageing involves injection of botox and fillers. There are also conditions which involve surgery on certain areas or parts of the body to make people look younger or more beautiful. Except for stray cases, such treatments don’t have any side effects or don’t affect the body. Had there been any known harmful side effect, the demand wouldn’t have been high.

Which is the most common treatment demanded by men and women?
Laser hair reduction and anti-ageing treatments are most common, irrespective of the gender. However, non-surgical nose job, lip augmentation, hair transplant, brow lift, face lift, buttock and breast augmentation, liposuction, abdominoplasty are quite popular too.

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