For many university students, the summer holidays are a time to go under the knife for microsurgery. Girls who have been refused sales jobs for having a “square face” spend in excess of NT$10,000 for botulinum toxin, or botox, treatment to get a more pointed, V-shaped face. Others want a job as a show girl, so they get botox to get skinnier legs.
It is normal for university students to get summer jobs, but Chou Chun-hsu, a cosmetic surgeon, has discovered that in July alone, almost 10 percent of patients getting cosmetic microsurgery at his clinic were university students. That is more than usual, and while many people use the long holiday to improve on their looks, some do it to improve their chances at getting a job. Chou says one female 18-year-old university student’s “square face” was giving her sleepless nights and had prevented her from getting a summer job as a wine salesperson. The employer said her face was too big but he might reconsider if she had cosmetic surgery. To his surprise, the girl got cosmetic microsurgery in the hope that it would change her face from square to a V-shape. After getting botox treatment, she was delighted to get the job selling wine.
A female university student who wanted to be a showgirl asked Chou to think of a way to help. Chou says that although the girl’s calves were a bit thicker than other parts, her legs were prettier than many other people’s legs. The girl insisted that she wanted them to be “a bit skinnier” and although she was told that the cost of the botox treatment would be between NT$30,000 and NT$40,000, she still chose to get the treatment.
Chou says other requests for cosmetic microsurgery by female university students include getting rid of plump cheeks and laugh wrinkles. Although the cost varies from several thousand to tens of thousands of NT dollars, many come bringing the money with them, ready to “invest in themselves.”
Chou stresses that prices for hyaluronic acid or botox vary vastly between cosmetic surgery clinics, and he urges consumers to not only compare prices as they choose, but to also ask detailed questions about how big each shot is and the rate of dilution, because these things will affect the result. Before getting treatment, customers should also check the label for legally imported products and whether or not they have been opened and used before to guarantee safe use.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY PERRY SVENSSON)
暑假期間到美容診所接受微整形的大學生愈來愈多，有大學生為了應徵推銷酒品小姐，因國字臉被拒，投資一萬多元打肉毒桿菌變成V字臉，還有人為搶當showgirl，也要求打肉毒桿菌讓小腿再瘦一點。
大學生在暑假打工情況普遍，但美容科醫師周俊旭卻發現，光是七月份做微整形的大學生約佔門診量的一成，比平時增加，雖有不少人藉長假替自己的外貌加分，但也有人是為了順利求得打工機會而做。 周俊旭說，其中一名十八歲的女大學生，有國字臉的困擾，原本希望利用暑假時間打工，應徵推銷酒品小姐時，卻遭業者嫌她「臉太大」，要她整形後再說，沒想到女大學生真的跑來整形，要求希望將「國字」變「V字」；施打肉毒桿菌後，一段時日女大學生便開心地說，她已是酒品推銷小姐。
另一名女大學生表示為爭取當showgirl，希望他幫忙想辦法；周俊旭說，該名女大學生的小腿雖比起其他部位明顯較粗，但已比一般人線條優美，但女大學生還是要求「再細一點」，雖然告知施打肉毒桿菌要價約三到四萬元，但女大學生仍豪氣十足地選擇打下去。
周俊旭說，其餘女大學生要求的微整形還有豐頰、除笑紋等，雖然價格數千到數萬元不等，但多數人幾乎均是「有備而來」，早已把預算準備好，大方地投資自己。
周俊旭強調，坊間美容醫療單位針對玻尿酸或肉毒桿菌施打的標價混亂，提醒消費者在選擇時，不能只比較價格，一定要細問針劑內的玻尿酸及肉毒桿菌的劑量或稀釋量，因為劑量不同會影響效果；施打前也要確認是否有合法進口的雷射標籤及是否曾被打開使用過，確保使用安全。
（自由時報記者蘇孟娟）
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