No Kidding ; From Manicures to Hair Styling, Laser Surgery and Even Breast Implants, Today's Adolescents, Encouraged by Parents, Are Obsessed with Looking Good. That Is a Dangerous Trend, Making Them Adults Long Before Their Time.

Summary

---

Dating her classmate was fun for Priyanka Sood, but keeping up with his demands was not. After a year, he began pressurising her to improve her vital statistics because she didn't look "hot" enough in her halters and tube tops. So, at 16, she went under the surgeon's scalpel to enhance her bust because she could not deal with the rejection. While admitting that she underwent a serious surgery at such a raw age, this teenager has absolutely no regrets. Now 18, Sood believes she is more confident than she was at 16 and besides, "I look great in my swim suit," she says.

The desire to look and feel good is so strong that the brat pack is not willing to let time run its own course. The ageing aunties, in the grip of a mid-life crisis, are fast being elbowed out of beauty clinics by clients in their pre-teens and early teens. Over 20 per cent of client turnover in cosmetic surgery and beauty clinics is the age group between 12 and 16 years. Says Dr Jamuna Pai, who runs a chain of beauty and skincare clinics called Blush: "This phenomenon has picked up over the last two years as children are now looking at a career in modelling or television, so they come for various surgeries and skin procedures." To top it all, the showbiz world's obsession with younger and younger models has not helped matters. Prasad Bidappa, fashion consultant and grooming expert, says he routinely gets 12-year-olds who are aspiring to be models. "Sometimes they come alone straight from school and sometimes they are brought to us by their parents. We ask them to concentrate on school and come back in a couple of years." Adds socialite Queenie Dhody, "I started modelling at 19, which was young then but today that's considered very old."

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

No Kidding ; From Manicures to Hair Styling, Laser Surgery and Even Breast Implants, Today's Adolescents, Encouraged by Parents, Are Obsessed with Looking Good. That Is a Dangerous Trend, Making Them Adults Long Before Their Time.

It's not just the cosmetic surgery shops that are riding the wave of young India. One would imagine that spas and salons are for the overstressed working professional of today, but most spas claim that 15-20 per cent of their clients are pre-teens and teenagers. The Vedic Village's medical spa in Kolkata, Sanjeeva, has an ayurvedic package called the Dinacharya course that they especially recommend to teens. It is a residential package that costs Rs 3,000 a day, which combines medical solutions, yoga and naturopathy. Others, like Rudra Spa in Mumbai, are blatant about targeting teens. Says Dhharram Pratap, CEO of Rudra Spa: "We are trying to build loyalty with the children from now, so we give free vouchers to the parents initially and then they start to come on their own." Adds Arpita Mehta, manager of Franck Provost Spa in Mumbai: "Once we noticed that lots of children were stre...

See the full content of this document

---