Face value

Source:Global Times Published: 2015-7-5 19:48:01

After a cosmetic surgery, Yu Meng stayed in hospital for four days to recover. Photo: CFP



 

Yu had her first surgery on May 9, 2015. She broke down in tears due to the pain she felt during the operation.Photo: CFP



 

Yu sits in the hospital's waiting room imagining her new face after surgery. Photo: CFP



 

Yu had her second surgery on May 18. Photo: CFP

After her recovery, Yu gazes at her new look in a mirror on June 15. Photo: CFP



 Over a two-week period, Yu Meng, a student in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, had cosmetic surgeries on her face twice. She had a nose job, cheek enhancement and chin augmentation.

As soon as she could, she took out her mobile phone and looked at her face, "look, my chin is much thinner," she exclaimed and sent her photo to her friends via Wechat.

Yu said that she has been always worried about her appearance, insecure about what she sees as her big face, small eyes and thick arms. When she worked part-time at a beauty salon, her customers mocked her saying "your skin is so bad, how can you sell skincare products?"

Though she is a diligent student, Yu lacks confidence. "In this society, appearances are so important. It is an age of face value," she said.

A nose job costs around 9,000 yuan ($1,450), a chin augmentation is priced at around 20,000 yuan and a cheek enhancement procedure can cost up to 30,000 yuan. Some students save up for the operations with part-time jobs but often parents fork out the cash for the procedures.

In July, students start their summer holidays. According to the Changsha Daily, a newspaper based in Hunan Province, four times more students are seeking cosmetic surgery now compared with the year's previous months. More than 50 percent of patients seeking cosmetic surgery are college students.

"After the summer vacation, many college graduates will start work. The vacation is a good time for them to get a 'fresh appearance,'" said a cosmetic surgeon working in Changsha, Hunan.

However, the surgeon warns college students that cosmetic surgeries have certain health risks and people should only go to major hospitals for these operations. Meanwhile, the surgeon tell college graduates that success depends on one's abilities rather than one's beauty. 

After the US and Brazil, China has become the largest market for cosmetic surgery in the world. As of 2013, 5.4 million Chinese have paid to have their looks altered surgically. This number is expected to increase to 7.4 million in 2015 and 11.1 million in 2018.

Global Times

Posted in: In-Depth

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