THE concept of beauty means different things to different persons, and with great strides in technology, these days it seems persons will stop at nothing to mould their bodies into perfectly beautiful models.
While some of the methods seem simply ridiculous and dangerous, the reality is that they are little deterrents to some women who are intent on reaching their own — or someone else's — version of ideal.
Women have found ways to alter their skin colour, nails, breasts, buttocks,what are the symptoms of Piles, and it seems many will stop at nothing to rid themselves of their 'flaws'.
"It does not matter what you say to deter women from doing these things they will still do it because they are women," explained skin specialist Dr Neil Persadsingh.
For many women money is not an obstacle and they go as far as to lie under a knife on a bed unconscious for hours so doctors can alter their appearance. And whether the goal is to look attractive to the opposite sex, boost their confidence or raise their popularity, millions are spent yearly in the beauty industry.
"I believe that women do not value the true meaning of beauty anymore. Gone are the days when the beauty was [important only on the] inside. Due to the rapid advancement in the information age, persons are more exposed to the superficial lifestyle portrayed by others, especially celebrities," said Laserene Daley, a student who claims to be a woman who embraces natural beauty.
But how far would you go for beauty? Would you risk death?
Fabiola DePaula's quest for beauty took her to a condominium basement in 2006, where authorities said she paid an unlicensed doctor US$3,300 for a nose job and liposuction performed on a massage table. But something went terribly wrong, according to an Associated Press (AP) report, and the 24-year-old Massachusetts nanny died, exposing what investigators said was an underground cosmetic surgery network used mainly by immigrants from Brazil.
In May this year, a Colombian couple faced murder charges stemming from a fatal back-office buttocks enhancement surgery that resulted in another woman's death. A grand jury indicted Ruben Dario Matallana-Galvas, 55, and Carmen OlfidiaTorres-Sanchez, 47, on charges including felony second-degree murder and robbery, and misdemeanour practising medicine without a license.
Authorities said the husband and wife were running a makeshift medical office in the back room of a tile business when they gave a Las Vegas woman who wanted a shapelier figure a fatal buttocks injection. Forty-two-year-old Elena Caro was found roaming the streets in agony hours after the injection, authorities said. She was taken to a hospital where she died.
Caro was married and had a teenage daughter. A week before her death, she had received facial botox injections from Matallana-Galvas. When no problems arose, she returned for the buttocks injection, AP reported.
And in November last year, Chinese authorities launched a probe into the death of an aspiring pop singer during plastic surgery, an incident that sparked concerns about the dangers of going under the knife.
Wang Bei, 24, died during "facial bone-grinding surgery", the Associated Free Press (AFP) reported.
Wang, whose beauty had made her a popular contestant on a television programme, died in an "anaesthetic accident" as she was having surgery. Her jaw suddenly started bleeding during the procedure, blocking her windpipe and causing her to suffocate, reports said. Wang's mother was having the same procedure at the clinic when her daughter died.
Her death fuelled concerns about the dangers of plastic surgery in a country where three million people go under the knife each year, according to figures published by state media.
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that botox can have serious side effects, including death. Yet that hasn't stopped millions of women worldwide from undergoing the procedure, where a neurotoxic protein is injected into the skin to erase wrinkles. Badly applied, it can create a look of permanent surprise or an eerie, frozen mask until it begins to wear off in three to six months.
Modifying one's body is not the only stretch for beauty. Five-inch and higher heels are generally used to give legs a long, slender look to attract and lure the opposite sex.
"High-heeled shoes cause lots of problems on the lower limbs and back. Because the heels are so high, the toes are scrunched up and you run the risk of developing bunions, corns, ingrown nails and hammertoes because of the pressure you are under to find a way to balance yourself," said podiatrist Eva Reid.
There is also a good chance that you will develop pains in the lower back, neck, knee and ankle later on. "These women do not realise that they are putting themselves out of alignment and further down in age they will start to develop problems because of the high heels," Reid said.
The Bible states that a woman's hair is her beauty but some women are not satisfied with the natural appearance of their hair and revert to plastering chemicals for straightness and wearing weaves.
But many of these straighteners have harmful chemicals that can result in short or long-term damage to the hair. Relaxers break the bonds that strengthen the hair, and regardless of how pretty relaxed hair may look, it is damaged hair. Over processing is common and easy to do with relaxers.
It was back in 2010 that pictures of popular supermodel Naomi Campbell were distributed over the Internet, showing her severely receding hairline. This loss of hair, bald spots and a receding hairline is called traction alopecia. Traction alopecia, is an all too common problem in black women who wear wigs, weaves and braids over an extended period.
"A lot of black women suffer from it and this is due to how they style their hair; they pull their hair back and it pulls on the root of the hair and the hair comes out," explained Dr Persadsingh.
"I have lots of patients over the years who had extensions who now have no hair on their head," he pointed out.
In addition to the constant pulling of the hair which occurs when braiding and putting in cornrows, traction alopecia can occur as a result of the over processing of the hair which weakens it. This makes the hair fall out much easier when brushing and combing.
"How the scalp in some black people tend to be, is that the fibres holding the hair root down in the dermis are not as strong as they should be, and therefore it is easy for those hairs to come out," said Dr Persadsingh.
Traction alopecia occurs over a period of time.is the 'solar panel revolution' upon us? In the beginning, patients usually notice small bumps on the scalp and a thinning of the hairline as a result of stress to the follicles. It is at this stage that the individual needs to act, by either removing the braids from their hair or loosening the tension that is being placed on it.
"In the early stages, we educate the patients and tell them not to use that hairstyle and it will recover," said Dr Persadsingh. "However,We specialize in providing third party merchant account. very often women style the hair very tight, especially the braids and the extensions, and that puts a lot of tension on the roots of the hair and because of that, the hair comes out and after a while they can't do anything about it."
And it's not just Jamaican or women of African descent who are affected by hair issues. Last month, Illinois regulators warned that hair smoothing products used by salons may produce harmful formaldehyde -- the product used to embalm dead bodies -- even if the ingredient isn't listed on labels.
Formaldehyde has been found in salons in other states that used Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Solution and Professional Brazilian Blowout Solution, the AP reported. Regulators said formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and nose, cause allergic reactions of the skin, and is linked to cancer of the nose and lung.
A woman will sit in a chair for hours and spend the day at the salon just to get beautiful nails. The long or short beautifully decorated nails are just that, but underneath that beauty is nail fungus developing if proper nail care is not adhered to.
"At least one patient a day comes in with nail fungus. When the artificial nails are fastened unto the real nails, water sometimes gets underneath them and causes fungus growth. Sometimes there are so many things growing underneath the nail but the person does not know," said Dr Persadsingh.
Fungi strive under moist and dark places and the loosening of artificial nails can create a pocket that may form between both nails, allowing water to get trapped. This provides a breeding ground for nail fungus to grow.
Nail fungus infections are very difficult to cure and may recur easily and can appear as thickened, discoloured, brittle or ragged at the ends of the nail. The new growth of nails can take up to months and this growth can be affected by the recurring of the fungus.
"My nails looked awful and I was afraid to wear slippers and even when I went to the doctor the medication did not work instantly. They were just so ugly and brittle," said Jowen Rowe, a woman who has suffered from nail fungus caused from artificial nails.
"Even when I thought it was going away it was still there, it started in one nail and then I found it in my other nail. It eventually went away after months of treatment."
Acrylic nails also pose the challenge of developing onychomycosis — a nail fungus that usually occurs in toenails, but can develop in fingernails when they are covered with the plastic. Prolonged infection may cause deformity of the shape of the nail with significant darkening of the nail plate.we supply all kinds of oil painting reproduction, If the infection remains untreated, the nail plate can detach from the nail bed.
Nail fungus is not the only thing a woman needs to worry about. Dermatitis of the surrounding skin may occur due to hypersensitivity to the nail adhesives or components.
"But they (women) prefer to undergo painful beauty treatments in order to please the public. I believe that women should value themselves more, they need to understand the side effects of all of these treatments. Also,How is TMJ pain treated? they need to realise that they are prone to cancers and other diseases. Women should love themselves," said Daley.
While some of the methods seem simply ridiculous and dangerous, the reality is that they are little deterrents to some women who are intent on reaching their own — or someone else's — version of ideal.
Women have found ways to alter their skin colour, nails, breasts, buttocks,what are the symptoms of Piles, and it seems many will stop at nothing to rid themselves of their 'flaws'.
"It does not matter what you say to deter women from doing these things they will still do it because they are women," explained skin specialist Dr Neil Persadsingh.
For many women money is not an obstacle and they go as far as to lie under a knife on a bed unconscious for hours so doctors can alter their appearance. And whether the goal is to look attractive to the opposite sex, boost their confidence or raise their popularity, millions are spent yearly in the beauty industry.
"I believe that women do not value the true meaning of beauty anymore. Gone are the days when the beauty was [important only on the] inside. Due to the rapid advancement in the information age, persons are more exposed to the superficial lifestyle portrayed by others, especially celebrities," said Laserene Daley, a student who claims to be a woman who embraces natural beauty.
But how far would you go for beauty? Would you risk death?
Fabiola DePaula's quest for beauty took her to a condominium basement in 2006, where authorities said she paid an unlicensed doctor US$3,300 for a nose job and liposuction performed on a massage table. But something went terribly wrong, according to an Associated Press (AP) report, and the 24-year-old Massachusetts nanny died, exposing what investigators said was an underground cosmetic surgery network used mainly by immigrants from Brazil.
In May this year, a Colombian couple faced murder charges stemming from a fatal back-office buttocks enhancement surgery that resulted in another woman's death. A grand jury indicted Ruben Dario Matallana-Galvas, 55, and Carmen OlfidiaTorres-Sanchez, 47, on charges including felony second-degree murder and robbery, and misdemeanour practising medicine without a license.
Authorities said the husband and wife were running a makeshift medical office in the back room of a tile business when they gave a Las Vegas woman who wanted a shapelier figure a fatal buttocks injection. Forty-two-year-old Elena Caro was found roaming the streets in agony hours after the injection, authorities said. She was taken to a hospital where she died.
Caro was married and had a teenage daughter. A week before her death, she had received facial botox injections from Matallana-Galvas. When no problems arose, she returned for the buttocks injection, AP reported.
And in November last year, Chinese authorities launched a probe into the death of an aspiring pop singer during plastic surgery, an incident that sparked concerns about the dangers of going under the knife.
Wang Bei, 24, died during "facial bone-grinding surgery", the Associated Free Press (AFP) reported.
Wang, whose beauty had made her a popular contestant on a television programme, died in an "anaesthetic accident" as she was having surgery. Her jaw suddenly started bleeding during the procedure, blocking her windpipe and causing her to suffocate, reports said. Wang's mother was having the same procedure at the clinic when her daughter died.
Her death fuelled concerns about the dangers of plastic surgery in a country where three million people go under the knife each year, according to figures published by state media.
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that botox can have serious side effects, including death. Yet that hasn't stopped millions of women worldwide from undergoing the procedure, where a neurotoxic protein is injected into the skin to erase wrinkles. Badly applied, it can create a look of permanent surprise or an eerie, frozen mask until it begins to wear off in three to six months.
Modifying one's body is not the only stretch for beauty. Five-inch and higher heels are generally used to give legs a long, slender look to attract and lure the opposite sex.
"High-heeled shoes cause lots of problems on the lower limbs and back. Because the heels are so high, the toes are scrunched up and you run the risk of developing bunions, corns, ingrown nails and hammertoes because of the pressure you are under to find a way to balance yourself," said podiatrist Eva Reid.
There is also a good chance that you will develop pains in the lower back, neck, knee and ankle later on. "These women do not realise that they are putting themselves out of alignment and further down in age they will start to develop problems because of the high heels," Reid said.
The Bible states that a woman's hair is her beauty but some women are not satisfied with the natural appearance of their hair and revert to plastering chemicals for straightness and wearing weaves.
But many of these straighteners have harmful chemicals that can result in short or long-term damage to the hair. Relaxers break the bonds that strengthen the hair, and regardless of how pretty relaxed hair may look, it is damaged hair. Over processing is common and easy to do with relaxers.
It was back in 2010 that pictures of popular supermodel Naomi Campbell were distributed over the Internet, showing her severely receding hairline. This loss of hair, bald spots and a receding hairline is called traction alopecia. Traction alopecia, is an all too common problem in black women who wear wigs, weaves and braids over an extended period.
"A lot of black women suffer from it and this is due to how they style their hair; they pull their hair back and it pulls on the root of the hair and the hair comes out," explained Dr Persadsingh.
"I have lots of patients over the years who had extensions who now have no hair on their head," he pointed out.
In addition to the constant pulling of the hair which occurs when braiding and putting in cornrows, traction alopecia can occur as a result of the over processing of the hair which weakens it. This makes the hair fall out much easier when brushing and combing.
"How the scalp in some black people tend to be, is that the fibres holding the hair root down in the dermis are not as strong as they should be, and therefore it is easy for those hairs to come out," said Dr Persadsingh.
Traction alopecia occurs over a period of time.is the 'solar panel revolution' upon us? In the beginning, patients usually notice small bumps on the scalp and a thinning of the hairline as a result of stress to the follicles. It is at this stage that the individual needs to act, by either removing the braids from their hair or loosening the tension that is being placed on it.
"In the early stages, we educate the patients and tell them not to use that hairstyle and it will recover," said Dr Persadsingh. "However,We specialize in providing third party merchant account. very often women style the hair very tight, especially the braids and the extensions, and that puts a lot of tension on the roots of the hair and because of that, the hair comes out and after a while they can't do anything about it."
And it's not just Jamaican or women of African descent who are affected by hair issues. Last month, Illinois regulators warned that hair smoothing products used by salons may produce harmful formaldehyde -- the product used to embalm dead bodies -- even if the ingredient isn't listed on labels.
Formaldehyde has been found in salons in other states that used Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Solution and Professional Brazilian Blowout Solution, the AP reported. Regulators said formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and nose, cause allergic reactions of the skin, and is linked to cancer of the nose and lung.
A woman will sit in a chair for hours and spend the day at the salon just to get beautiful nails. The long or short beautifully decorated nails are just that, but underneath that beauty is nail fungus developing if proper nail care is not adhered to.
"At least one patient a day comes in with nail fungus. When the artificial nails are fastened unto the real nails, water sometimes gets underneath them and causes fungus growth. Sometimes there are so many things growing underneath the nail but the person does not know," said Dr Persadsingh.
Fungi strive under moist and dark places and the loosening of artificial nails can create a pocket that may form between both nails, allowing water to get trapped. This provides a breeding ground for nail fungus to grow.
Nail fungus infections are very difficult to cure and may recur easily and can appear as thickened, discoloured, brittle or ragged at the ends of the nail. The new growth of nails can take up to months and this growth can be affected by the recurring of the fungus.
"My nails looked awful and I was afraid to wear slippers and even when I went to the doctor the medication did not work instantly. They were just so ugly and brittle," said Jowen Rowe, a woman who has suffered from nail fungus caused from artificial nails.
"Even when I thought it was going away it was still there, it started in one nail and then I found it in my other nail. It eventually went away after months of treatment."
Acrylic nails also pose the challenge of developing onychomycosis — a nail fungus that usually occurs in toenails, but can develop in fingernails when they are covered with the plastic. Prolonged infection may cause deformity of the shape of the nail with significant darkening of the nail plate.we supply all kinds of oil painting reproduction, If the infection remains untreated, the nail plate can detach from the nail bed.
Nail fungus is not the only thing a woman needs to worry about. Dermatitis of the surrounding skin may occur due to hypersensitivity to the nail adhesives or components.
"But they (women) prefer to undergo painful beauty treatments in order to please the public. I believe that women should value themselves more, they need to understand the side effects of all of these treatments. Also,How is TMJ pain treated? they need to realise that they are prone to cancers and other diseases. Women should love themselves," said Daley.
