She's Got the Look

There is enormous pressure on women to look flawless and young. But at what cost?

- Rakhi Bose & Vineetha Mokkil

FOR thrity-year-old Anindya Avvayyam Rattan, attending family weddings always entailed questions and jibes about her "dull skin", recommendations for homemade "fairness" packs and general tips and tricks to procure a husband "before you get too old". So, when her big day finally came in December last year, Anindya was expectedly overwhelmed. "I didn't want to look 'dull' or 'old' on my wedding. I went down a spiral of self-hate with crash diets and beauty treatments," she recalls. "It was actually my mother and aunts who insisted that I get some skin treatments done." After nearly a year of consultations with dermatologists, aestheticians, dieticians and beauty experts, Anindya decided to get glutathione IV drip treatment, one of the many new 'wonder treatments. "They told me it would give my skin a glow from within and repair cell damage," Anindya says. After just one session, however, she realised it was a "glorified skin whitening treatment". "My life had turned into an episode from the fictional OTT drama Made in Heaven. I instantly opted out," Anindya laughs.

The pressure on women to look beautiful and young is tremendous. Billboards everywhere ask women to "Reduce signs of ageing" and "Regain your youth". Advertisements for myriad skin clinics, plastic surgery, aesthetic and wellness centres promise to turn back time. Cosmetics guarantee youth and 'flawlessness'. Almost all such ads feature and target women.

The message is loud and clear: ageing is a disaster that affects women far more than men. Wake up and panic, ladies. Or else, fade away into old age and oblivion.

Halting Time's March