Facelift vacation: new way of splurging on aesthetical practice during annual break

At 36, Aditi Rao had spent most of her last decade working day in and day out, with hardly any major vacation, other than a few casual leaves spent with family. She was travelling so much for work that travelling for leisure seemed a bad idea to her. She felt a desperate need of a break and decided to take 15 days off in a much planned manner. Among the things planned for the fortnight was a few hours with an aesthetic physician to help her treat her facial aesthetic concerns and regain the fading glow.
After a procedure with Botox and Juvederm fillers to erase fine lines and wrinkles, and fill up her under eye hollows, Rao flew to Istanbul, a city she wanted to visit for a long time. Not only is she rejuvenated in mind, she can’t take off her eyes from the mirror. Now, she is raring to return to work.

Termed as ‘Facelift vacation’, the idea of rejuvenating appearance with a lavish cosmetic procedure is the new dimension of annual break. It also provides enough time to seek an aesthetic physician’s advice and decide on what procedure an aged face needs. Nevertheless, it gives the crucial downtime needed for a certain procedure to settle down.

Greater exposure to the entertainment industry, greater connectivity and free flow of information of developments across the world, and increase in purchasing power are some factors that have made Indians more amenable to the medical aesthetics. Over the past decade, there has been a considerable increase in the number of people opening up to medical aesthetics and cosmetic procedures to get better facial features, and a younger looking skin.

However, unlike the Western Countries where plastic surgery is more acceptable and widely practiced, most Indians are still apprehensive about going under the knife. This is why non-invasive cosmetic procedures and injectables are the most popular in India.

Procedures in-demand among women and men:

Botox: It remains one of the most popular cosmetic procedures in India, and arguably the most popular among men. As we reach our mid 30s, the bunch of lines and wrinkles that appear around the eyes while smiling, start becoming permanent. So do the stress lines on the forehead. A Botox shot can prevent the crow’s feet and forehead lines by relaxing the muscles responsible for them. A quick procedure makes the appearance look wrinkle free, more relaxed and young. Older women also take recourse to Botox to treat the wrinkles and sagging appearance of the neck. It is also very effective in achieving an eye brow lift, or a beautifully arched appearance of the brow.

Lip Augmentation: This is yet another popular procedure that is sought by women of all ages. The younger ones come influenced by the in-vogue pouty appearance with a perfectly created Cupid’s bow that looks luscious and attractive. As we age, the facial features including the cheeks and lips experience a loss of volume. This is accompanied by appearance of the fine lines around the mouth that do not look attractive. A session with hyaluronic acid fillers such as Juvederm can turn around your appearance, giving you more pronounced lips and smooth skin around the mouth.

Skin rejuvenation: There is nothing more discouraging than a dull, dry and lackluster looking skin. The environment around us with high degree of pollution and stress, along with unhealthy eating and drinking habits puts a lot of stress on our skin, leaving it dull, pigmented, dry and sheen less. A lot of people seek aesthetic solutions for skin rejuvenation. Procedures such as chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and laser skin resurfacing help in exfoliating the damaged outer layer of the skin, reducing scars, pigmentation and dead cells. A quick procedure with ‘Juvederm Refine’ help skin retrieves its lost glow.

Correcting under eye hollows: Dark circles and under eye hollows are common in young men and women today. With greater exposure to digital screens, faulty lifestyles and lack of nutrition, this problem aggravates. Even as we advice patients to correct their sleeping patterns and eat a healthy diet, we offer quick solutions to improve the appearance of the eyes. When administered intelligently under the eyes, hyaluronic acide fillers can reduce the hollow appearance and give the eyes a healthier look. Laser resurfacing can help reduce the appearance of dark circles.

How a vacation helps:
Some of these procedures need over one session and also require time to settle down completely. This is what makes a vacation visit to an aesthetician even more helpful. The new age vacationers travel, meet new people, spend time relaxing and eating, and add to their leisure a visit to an aesthetic physician that helps them return with a new rejuvenated self post their breaks.

Tips to aesthetics start-ups
Those who are planning to establish or are the new players among in aesthetics practice may take adequate advantage out of the Facelift Vacation. Here are some impactful tips:

- Seek tie-up with vacation resorts, hotel chains etc,. and offer designed package in the itinerary shared by the hotel/resort team, to attract consumers.
- Suggest Facelift vacation to the consumers seeking consultancy before going under the knife, to help them get settled with the procedure
- Organise corporate aesthetical practice session to create awareness among employees to clarify their doubts related with surgical procedures and encourage them to take up Facelift Vacation.
- Promote facelift vacation online and with local lifestyle media.

This article is written by Dr. Reema Arora, Cosmetic Physician, Reva Clinic, New Delhi & WI Bureau as per their personal views and research.