Cosmetic Addiction - VnExpress Health

Hanoi Feeling self-conscious about his appearance, Ha Nhuan Nam, 35 years old, has had about 20 cosmetic surgeries, including 13 nose jobs.

"I grew up with a skinny body, dark skin, and was very self-conscious," Nam said, adding that the dream of "smashing and rebuilding" his face had been with him for many years.

13 years ago, when he had just graduated, he applied to many agencies but was rejected because of his unsuitable appearance. When he was bored, Nam often went online, "learning about famous people, whenever he saw someone beautiful, he admired them and wanted to collect the beauty of each person to perfect himself".

In 2013, Nam borrowed 40 million VND to fix his crooked, discolored teeth by using porcelain crowns. Since then, he has had his nose fixed, his eyelids done, his lower eye bags removed, his lips shaped like hearts, his chin, and his eyebrows shaped. Of these, the forehead shortening surgery was the most haunting. Before that, he was self-conscious about his high, prominent forehead, and always had to wear a hat or scarf to cover it. It took him two years to convince the doctor to perform the surgery, learn about the risks, and accept a reduced lifespan to have the appearance he desired.

"The doctor cut along the hairline of the forehead from one side to the other, then took the skin from the top of the head from the forehead and pulled it back," Nam recalled. When the anesthesia wore off, sharp pains came. He lost feeling in his head, feared nerve paralysis, limited going out, and was not allowed to wash his hair for a month to avoid infection of the wound.

The nose is the part that Nam has intervened the most, about 13 times. Once, he had a hemorrhage and had to breathe through his mouth for a week because his nostrils were swollen and blocked, like a "dead fish". In his chin, he injected filler to create a V-line shape. A few months later, the filler dissolved, and he had cartilage implanted again. After the implant, Nam was criticized for having a "witch's nose", so he went under the knife to have the implant removed.

Nhuan Nam before and after cosmetic surgery. Photo: Character provided

Also dissatisfied with her appearance, Thu Ngoc, 29, has visited a plastic surgeon many times. She is 1.65 m tall, and has fat around her stomach, arms, and thighs. Since puberty, she has not dared to wear short clothes, and has weighed herself every day, measured her waist, and observed every small change in her body.

She went to the hospital for liposuction, the doctor confirmed that her body was balanced, "not enough fat to be sucked". Ngoc spent 200 million VND to inject filler to slim her face, create heart-shaped lips, and lift her breasts. However, the girl was not satisfied, saying "must be beautiful until the last breath".

Nam and Ngoc are two of many cases of "cosmetic addiction" due to obsession with beauty or past trauma. Many other cases like to beautify themselves because of passion and economic conditions.

There are currently no statistics on the number of people who have undergone cosmetic surgery in Vietnam, but the world has recorded many people who are "addicted to cosmetic surgery". For example, the King of Pop Michael Jackson had about 100 surgeries such as skin peeling, lip injections, cheek implants, and botox injections in 30 years. In 2002, he had to put a bandage on his nose when singing to prevent mucus from running down his mouth. Or Herbert Chavez, a Filipino, spent thousands of pounds to transform himself into a superhero. In 18 years and 23 cosmetic surgeries, he had a nose job, lip injections, teeth whitening, chin and jaw implants, and wore blue contact lenses to cover his natural brown eyes.

Talking about the trend of cosmetic addiction, Dr. Hoang Manh Ninh, Head of the Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, Post Office Hospital, said that human appearance always has defects for many reasons such as accidents, birth defects, aging, so they want to intervene to look better. In addition, beauty standards change over time. In the past, Vietnamese people considered beauty to be "virtue, beauty, speech, and conduct" or "beauty is the result of character". Older women like a kind face, plump body, white skin, long hair, while young women like a tall, thin figure, and a slim face. Therefore, beauty is a natural and legitimate need.

"However, cosmetic addiction can be due to psychological illness or body image complexes, so they always try to find defects to intervene," the doctor said. Even when many parts of the body have been surgically corrected, they still do not feel satisfied. Not to mention, not everyone who has surgery has the desired appearance. This group is often found in people with financial conditions, middle age, more women than men.

Like a 58-year-old woman who had breast augmentation, nose job, jaw reduction, and filler injections but still wanted to continue with plastic surgery. She went to the Post Office Hospital to see a doctor to express her dissatisfaction with her body and requested to "destroy and rebuild". However, the doctor refused to treat her because the patient was old and the surgery was ineffective.

"Any surgical intervention has a rate of complications such as infection, necrosis, hemorrhage, hematoma, and effusion," the doctor said, adding that too much cosmetic surgery also affects general health due to the side effects of the medication.

Doctor Ninh is handling a post-cosmetic surgery complication case at the Post Office Hospital. Photo: Doctor provided

Sharing the same opinion, psychologist Nguyen Thi Tam, Center for Training and Application of Psychology Science Hon Viet, said that when entering the beauty path, it is necessary to follow it for a long time to "maintain". For example, after 10 years of nose correction, it is necessary to lift it again to make it higher and slimmer. Or chin shaving, filler injection also need to be monitored to avoid sagging and clumping. In addition, the human body always has defects, wanting to improve is inevitable.

"Continuous cosmetic abuse in a short period of time is harmful to all aspects, from health to spirit and money," said Ms. Tam.

The common characteristic of this group of cosmetic addicts is that they are always dissatisfied with their appearance and want to fix everything on their body, said Dr. Le Thi Thuy Hang, Central Psychiatric Hospital I. The main cause comes from psychological factors such as being bullied, teased or being too self-conscious in the past. When they are overly obsessed, they can fall into a state of secondary depression, causing boredom, sadness leading to fatigue and stress. They are very strict with themselves, easily stressed when hearing other people's judgments and often compare themselves with others, especially often worrying too much about physical defects leading to pessimism. This group often does not think or does not know that they are sick, "just want to beautify themselves to relieve and satisfy themselves".

In these cases, psychological treatment is the most effective measure. However, patients or their relatives need to recognize the signs early so that they can seek timely intervention from experts.

In addition, doctors recommend that people choose reputable facilities and carefully research the methods, materials, and risks involved. For example, cosmetic surgery clinics are only allowed to perform minor surgeries. Major surgeries such as breast augmentation, liposuction, and buttock augmentation must be performed at a hospital. Do not be tempted by cheap cosmetic surgery and risk your life on an unreliable facility or an unskilled doctor.

Thuy An

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