Look No Further

This hankering for appearance boosters means it's boom time for those in the makeover industry. "What started as one clinic in Mumbai in December 2002 is now a chain of 30 clinics across four metros and smaller towns like Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Ludhiana," says dermatologist Aparna Santhanam of Kaya Skin Clinic, rubbishing the notion that the phenomenon is restricted to the major metros. Reaching further into middle India are VLCC's beauty and slimming clinics that have made inroads into Ambala, Bhatinda, Panipat, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Vizag. Her chain, says Vandana Luthra, chairperson, VLCC, owes its success to changes in lifestyle, increase in incomes and professionalism in urban India, with more and more people interested in looking good to "make a mark".

With services ranging from non-surgical face-lifts to body contouring, hair extensions to the removal of acne and pimple scars, these makeover factories combine a spa-like ambience with the expertise found in a doctor's clinic. With trained technicians evaluating beauty banes, there is a steady change in the client profile. Men who wouldn't be caught dead in such establishments a decade ago are now making appointments for nose jobs and "face-glow" sessions. In Chennai's upmarket Ipsahani Centre branch of Kaya, men troop in in equal numbers and sometimes make for over 50 per cent of the clientele.

Images of the traditional unkempt Indian man still bothering you? You'll be swept away when you hear image consultants Yatan and Jojo, who remember being besieged by mail after writing about eyebrow-shaping in their men's grooming column. "It's a misconception that men aren't vain. They just didn't have places to go to. But now I have to queue up for a facial," smiles Yatan.

With men and women streaming in, can corporate India be far behind? Realising the edge that groomed and attractive employees give, firms are hiring professionals to teach their staff the works. Personal hygiene, advice on perfumes, dressing, make-up, hair and style tips all form part of the package that Yatan and Jojo deliver to over 200 companies—ranging from advertising and PR firms to TV news channels like Zee News and Aaj Tak. "Most organisations see a remarkable boost in productivity levels because confidence levels do go up," remarks Yatan.

With the influx of big bucks, there's been a corresponding surge in the sheer availability of procedures, techniques and talent too. According to N.K. Pandey, executive director at Escorts Hospital & Research Centre in Faridabad near Delhi, a pool of plastic surgeons are returning to India after training in the latest techniques abroad. Much like Hollywood films, newer innovations are immediately transported to Indian shores. Glycolic and chemical peels that are just getting popular abroad is common parlance here already. From temporary facial fillers for saggy cheeks like restalyne and perlane, we have switched to Aquamid, a permanent filler that could last up to five years—available only in European markets and now in India. French Louis Paul Guitay (LPG) machines, which massage away fat and stretch marks and get celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Elle MacPherson and Claudia Schiffer to swear by them, are now available in exclusive spas like Spa Zeita in Delhi. Meanwhile, in Mumbai Asha Bachani runs a face gym that uses techniques borrowed from aerobics, resistance training and shiatsu.

But in the rush to transform exteriors, is our concept of beauty changing? "I think we are buying into the whole Paris Hilton-type sexuality and beauty," says Alka Pande, author of Indian Erotica, who fears the international waif-like look will usurp the classic idea of the voluptuous Indian beauty. She deplores all trends that sweep the Indian identity under the carpet, like the current craze for blonde tresses and the long-standing obsession with fair skin. A point that registers sharply when middle-class Jasmeet Walia flings back her now straightened hair, looks at the camera and demands she be called Jessica. But since we are still in the honeymoon stage, such warning bells register faintly in the background. For now, all roads lead to Makeoverville.