美麗受罪

There’s no mistaking who runs this plastic surgery clinic in Beijing， there’s her 1)lifelike 2)mannequin in the 3)foyer， her oversized photo on the wall， oh， and there she is， Shi Sanba， 56 years old， divorced and a walking billboard for almost every cosmetic procedure.

“I’m [an] example for all Chinese women who pursue beauty，” she told me. “Most of them are my fans.”

Sanba has had her wrinkles smoothed， chin shaped， nose raised， breasts firmed， stomach flattened and more. So many operations， she says she has lost count. All of this has turned her into a mini celebrity here and that keeps the customers coming in.

This year， she says， about 3000 people had some kind of cosmetic procedure performed， by one of the dozens of surgeons who work for her. And while China’s economy has dramatically slowed， she does not expect any major impact on her business.

“The desire for beauty is getting stronger and stronger，” she says. “The old want to be young; the ugly want to be pretty.”

Twenty-three-year-old Fen Xue wants her cheekbones， jaw， chin， lips and nose reshaped. “I work in international finance，” she says. “I have to meet many different people， and I think a good appearance will help me make a better connection.”

Each year， the Chinese spend more than US$2 billion on some kind of cosmetic procedure. Many undergoing the knife are students， often paid for by their parents， who believe a better look will lead to a better job.

Sanba says business 4)picks up during June and July when school finishes. It’s all about trying to 5)stand out in the crowd. Not easy， when you are in a crowd of more than a billion people.

It seems fewer and fewer of us are happy with our looks， and the situation is no different in the UK. Plastic surgery operations were up a third last year. The most common kind of operation in the UK is breast enlargement surgery. Plastic surgeon， Patrick Mallucci expresses his ideas at the annual conference run by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons， or BAAPS: “A perfect breast is a breast that suits an individual， and suits a body， it’s harmonious， it’s in proportion.”

Nowadays， operations are sped up by the 6)Quickie—a man who can give you a breast enlargement in your lunch hour， encouraging you to go out to show your new bra size the very same evening. Plastic surgeon， Dr John Tebbts says “patients are usually home within an hour to an hour and a half after the surgery， they take a 2-hour nap， they get up， they take a shower， they do arm stretch exercises and they go to the mall.”

But the conference isn’t only about breasts; there are a huge number of new products on show there， technologically advanced， but somewhat frightening. One exhibitor explains what a 7)contour thread is for. “The device is then placed down through that 8)incision with the 9)tines on it. And facing down into the muscle， those hook in. And this is then just pulled backwards and 10)sutured to the 11)mastoid 12)fascia.”

Behind the silicon stands， the matter of unregulated cosmetic products is a worry， with fears that UK patients are being used as 13)guinea pigs for treatments banned in the US. “Our concern is that products which are not examined properly were released on the market in the UK; they haven’t been tested; they may， at best， be inefficient and ineffective， at worst， they may actually be dangerous，” a member of BAAPS， Adam Searle says.

The potential physical damage to women is not the only concern. Philippa Roberts who works for a marketing consultancy that targets women， believes the cosmetic industry makes money by playing on women’s insecurities. “I think that definitely what would be true to say is that there is， within the beauty industry， a 14)strand of activity that preys on female under-confidence. You know， all the physical signs of aging， 15)cellulite， 16)orange skin thighs， all that kind of language is designed to make women feel that they are not great. And that they are not at their best without x， y or z product.” But while it’s becoming easier and more acceptable to go under the 17)scalpel， there does seem to be a 18)backlash from cosmetic companies who praise our natural assets. The future is not all plastic.

經(jīng)營北京這家整容診所的是誰呢？你一定不會弄錯(cuò)答案。在大廳，放著逼真得如她本人的模型，墻上掛著她的大型照片，哦，這就是她了，史三八，56歲、離異，堪稱是幾乎所有整形手術(shù)的活招牌。

“對所有追求美的中國女性來說，我是她們的典范，”她告訴我說，“她們當(dāng)中多數(shù)人都是我的‘粉絲’?！?/p>

三八曾經(jīng)做過除皺、削下巴、隆鼻、豐胸、腹部抽脂等手術(shù)。所做手術(shù)之多，她說自己都不太數(shù)得清了。這些讓她搖身成為當(dāng)?shù)匾粋€(gè)小有名氣的人物，正是這股名氣使得顧客紛至沓來。

她說，今年大概有3000人在這做過各種整形手術(shù)，由她所聘請的數(shù)十名整形醫(yī)師分別操刀。雖然中國經(jīng)濟(jì)增長已急速減緩，但她預(yù)計(jì)自己的生意不會受到很大的沖擊。

“愛美的欲望是越來越強(qiáng)烈了，”她說，“老的想要變年輕，丑的想要變漂亮?！?/p>

23歲的分雪（音譯）想要把顴骨、頜骨、下巴、嘴唇和鼻子都重新塑形?！拔易鰢H金融這一行，”她說，“需要和不同的人接觸，我覺得良好的外形能幫我建立更好的人際關(guān)系。”

每年，中國人在各種各樣的整形手術(shù)的花費(fèi)超過20億美元。挨刀子的其中很多是學(xué)生，費(fèi)用通常是由他們的父母支付。他們相信，外形越是好看，找到的工作就越好。

三八說學(xué)期結(jié)束，即六七月的時(shí)候，生意就會紅火起來。為的就是要出類拔萃。這并不容易，畢竟是要在超過10億人當(dāng)中突圍而出。

似乎對自己外形滿意的人是越來越少了，英國的情況亦如出一轍。去年，英國的整形手術(shù)總數(shù)較之前增長了三分之一?！?br>