Outer beauty comes with a shelf life. What was once young, supple, soft and radiant skin becomes wrinkled, pigmented, and blemished. Several studies have revealed that the facial treatment, beauty device and cellulite treatment market will grow by 7-17 percent in the next five years. According to a KPMG report, the size of India’s beauty and wellness market was expected to touch `80,370 crore by 2017-2018. And the market is booming in the country, with a tremendous potential for growth in 2018 too. In fact, it is said to be growing twice as fast as markets in the US and Europe.
According to Dr Rohit Batra, Dermatologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, technological advancements, small recovery time for minimally invasive and non-invasive procedures, good treatment results with less or no side-effects, increased awareness among patients and low cost of procedures make beauty and skin treatments popular not just among the mid-30s and 40s but also the millennials.
“While fillers like Juvederm and volumisers and botox are invasive, the non-invasive ones include the use of energy-based device procedures where we use a laser-like stuff to build extra collagen so that remodelling of the skin occurs. It is a radiofrequency rejuvenation. We also do laser resurfacing, or laser ablation for pigmentation,” says Dr G Ravichandran, Senior Consultant, Dermatologist, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai.
But he warns that these procedures should only be done by a qualified dermatologist or a plastic surgeon. The latest fashion trend is ‘glass skin’ complexion which means flawless, poreless, translucent skin. “Facial cleansers, deep moisturisers, detox masks and brightening serums will help achieve ‘glass skin’,” says Dr Raina Nahar, Dermatologist, Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital, Mumbai.
A chemical peel that removes the damaged outer layer of skin resulting in healthy, younger looking skin is another popular treatment, according to Dr Neha Mittal, Cosmetic Physician, Dermaworld Skin & Hair Clinic, Delhi. On the most sought-after treatment, she adds, “The Silhouette Soft Threads lift treatment is a new-age skin lifting treatment. It is a non-surgical procedure that uses disolvable sutures (threads) to redefine one’s jawline as well as improve skin. It gives instant facelift that lasts for more than a year.”
Dr Nahar explains that the non-surgical facelift and skin-tightening procedures such as HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound) and radio frequency stimulate collagen and elastin fibres in the dermis naturally which enhances the tenacity and elasticity of the skin. For three-dimensional facelift, the entire tissue above the muscles will be lifted enhancing face contouring. These are lunchtime procedures with visible results appearing by six weeks and last up to a year.