Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor has explained why she has not undergone cosmetic surgery to look younger.
During a recent interview, Kareena Kapoor said, “From the beginning, I had faith in my talent and ability, and I knew I would get work based on that. I took care of myself and kept myself fit.”
She added, “I spend the best time with my children and husband, cook good food for them, and I also enjoy working out.”
She further stated, “Age is a part of beauty. It doesn’t mean that a person must always look young or that beauty is only about looking young. You should embrace and enjoy your age.”
She added, “I am 44 years old, and I don’t think I need any Botox or surgery. My husband finds me just as good and beautiful as I am.”
She also shared, “Friends tell me that I look beautiful, and I am still getting film offers. I choose films that are appropriate for my age, and I appreciate that.”
A new trend known as ‘Barbie Botox’ has been unleashed on TikTok. Women are getting Trapezius Botox in order to elongate the neck and shrink the shoulders, so it makes the person resemble a Barbie doll. The hashtag #barbiebotox has over 9.4 million views on TikTok according to Forbes, while #traptox has over 22.5 million views, with clips of popular influencers and reality tv who have gotten the procedure.
TikTok influencer Malibutoast who has over 195 K followers, shared clips of herself after having the procedure done, with users worried in her comments about whether the trend would encourage more insecurities among women on social media.
‘Wake up guys new insecurity just dropped,” wrote one user.
“Damn now I have to add… trapezius to the list of things I need to fix about myself ” another wrote.
Isabelle Lux, another TikTok influencer who credits herself with coining the phrase ‘Botox Barbie’ detailed her own experience of getting the treatment with CNN:
“It came from the idea that you would look more like a Barbie when you get it done, which I don’t think is a bad thing. It elongates the neck, slims the shoulders and creates a very delicate physique when it’s done properly.”
Speaking to the news organisation about the growing backlash she was getting on the internet, including being called an ‘anti-feminist’, Lux defended her choice by pointing out that women shouldn’t be belittled for wanting to look a certain way.
“The desire to look a certain way has for centuries been seen as silly, a waste of time, waste of money and pointless, especially for women,” she told CNN. “But when a man wants to look a certain way, it’s scientific, it’s cool. I think that we need to stop belittling women for things that they’re interested in, including looking a certain way if they want to. It’s not silly. Like, it’s real.”
But many plastic surgeons are condemning the trend, explaining that the procedure was coined in order to help those with excessive neck pain, with a side effect of creating the illusion of a longer and slimmer neck. Speaking to PEOPLE magazine, New York City dermatologist Dr Amy Wechsler pointed out that Barbie’s features are unrealistic and these cosmetic procedures won’t make a noticeable effect on women.
“Someone years ago explained that if you take a Barbie doll and make it into an adult woman, the measurements are not really realistic. So I don’t love jumping on social media trends because they often don’t have any basis in science,” she explains. “I think that’s human nature to try to wanna copy a trend, but usually what happens — which is good — is that the trend will fizzle out if it’s not a good idea or if it’s not healthy.”
“The #BarbieBotox trend is more about slimming,” Wechsler adds. “If you relax those muscles it can make a big improvement in the feel and the look. But if someone doesn’t overuse that muscle, I don’t think it does that much.”
Speaking to CNN, Dr Parisha Acharya warned that incorrect administration of Botox could weaken the muscle completely, and then effect your ability to hold up your neck properly. She expressed concerns about the trend going viral on social media, especially when younger audiences are watching:
“I think a medical procedure should be treated as a medical procedure. And in the UK, (the aesthetics industry) is unregulated. So shockingly anyone can administer botulinum toxin injections. That could be a beautician or hairdresser with no clinical experience, no anatomy knowledge. It really does worry me.”
Dr Acharya also pointed out that the trend took the wrong message from the movie ‘Barbie’ which advocated for women to stop trying to mould themselves to appease the patriarchy, and start accepting their bodies as the way they are:
“It was very pro-feminism, and (women) were moving away from sexualizing our bodies and thinking of them as just objects,” she stressed. “I don’t like the fact that this trend is using Barbie to say we should have slim necks. We should embrace ourselves for who we are.”
Veteran actress Shagufta Ejaz wants more women- especially those who aren’t young- to break down the misconceptions and stigma surrounding cosmetic surgery.
The actress recently uploaded a vlog where she opened up about getting Botox surgery and provided a breakdown of what the procedure entails. The actor said her intention was to reduce the wrinkles on her forehead and eyes, adding that this was the fourth time she was getting Botox.
“So, I didn’t want a frozen expression. I wanted to frown and lift my eyebrows and go sad and all. So, this is why I told [the doctor] that I wanted a 40% erase, and 60% expressions.”
The actress showed her fans how the procedure progressed, showcasing the bruises around her eyes and the wrinkles on her forehead fading.
Shagufta also talked in her vlog about the stigma surrounding Botox.
“I believe that one should be honest about whatever you do,” pointed out the ‘Mere Damad’ actress. “A lot of people are getting it done; some want to disclose it, some do not. This is their personal choice and I thought this is the fourth time in my entire life that I’m getting this done and this time I wanted that I should share with you.”
We’re incredibly happy that more actresses are encouraging women to stop listening to the stereotypical remarks that as women age, they must stop focusing on their looks and be sent out to pasture. Previously, Shahista Lodhi slammed age-shaming remarks while speaking about being mistaken as her son’s girlfriend. Lodhi reflected on how in Pakistan, women here are shamed if they invest too much attention on their looks as they grow older:
“If you’ve had kids at a young age then is that also my fault? Apparently, that becomes a taunt too here…Why should I lie about it? It feels good that I have maintained myself even at this age.”
On ‘The Talk Talk Show’, the aesthetic physician recalled counselling a woman who was kicked out of her house because of stretch marks, stressing that its not worth saving an abusive marriage if it depends on you getting surgery.
Model-turned-actor Saheefa Jabbar Khattak has addressed the speculation regarding her separation from her husband Khawaja Khizer on Instagram.
On Saturday, she shared a photo of the couple in an embrace and wrote, “Alhamdulillah, things are greater than ever, it’s just [that] we choose to keep our relationship very private. He has gone to Canada for his studies and I am in Pakistan waiting for my visa to come long distance isn’t bothering us much.”
She explained how they have been dealing with the situation, adding that she is not getting his tattoo removed. “Since so many of you asked as well, we have always been pretty mature with our relationship, our collective goals are so big that we don’t mind the long distance. Yes, we have our lows but he has found some great classmates who helps him with his anxiety and in Pakistan, I have kept myself busy with work so we are doing pretty fine. I wish him nothing but success and health (not getting his tattoo removed).”
She addressed the matter after many of her followers asked a series of questions including whether she’s removing the tattoo with his face and if things are okay between them.
“This isn’t the first time I have posted my tattoo removal on my stories. I have been posting on and off for about two years now but this time so many people came forward with their overwhelming concern and questions [so] I felt I should address them,” she wrote.
Why she removed a tattoo at all was due to multiple reasons, according to her. Wanting to move on, choosing to let go and also fixing an “ugly, faded” tattoo is some of the things she listed.
Last year, she opened up about undergoing a painful surgical procedure. Taking to Instagram, the Beti star shared a picture of her surgery with stitches on her nose.
Revealing details about the painful experience, the Teri Meri Kahaani diva revealed that she had been dealing with this issue for a long time.
Moreover, the doctors had warned her that she would need surgery to repair the bone in her nose. But due to her apprehensions about going under the knife, she was anxious.
“I had a deviated septum. The doctor told us we’d need to operate on the nose and surgically fix the bone. I’ve always been afraid of going under the knife,” she wrote.
“And cosmetically removing a part of my face just freaked me out. I didn’t want to get it done then. This last year breathing had become extremely difficult. And with all this pollution around us, I thought it’s just wise to have two working nostrils filtering the air.”
Giving the good news that the surgery went perfectly fine, she wrote, “So, I did the surgery two months ago. Alhamdullilah it went perfectly fine. My fears about it were real though. Everything about it was painful and uncomfortable and scary. The procedure itself wasn’t complicated, but the post-operation time was hard.”
Further, she added, “Cosmetically solving medical issues is considered such a taboo thing to do in Pakistan, and it isn’t as people imagine it to be. It isn’t always about beautification, there are a good number of cases when it’s about alleviating pain and improving health.”
“It took eleven years of courage to get to this point, but I’m glad that I did it now, and can at least breathe normally,” she concluded.
On the work front, Saheefa was last seen in ARY Digital’s Log Kya Kahenge opposite Faysal Quraishi and Aijaz Aslam.
