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Why China Is So Worried About Plastic Surgery
Its “beauty economy” is poised to become the biggest in the world, with growth dwarfing that of other countries. But there’s a dark side to this success.
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The Chinese “beauty economy” is poised to become the biggest in the world, with its growth dwarfing that of other nations. A burgeoning middle class with more disposable income than any generation that came before is increasingly spending that cash on body enhancements.
But the blockbuster rise of chemical treatments and plastic surgery has a darker, sometimes dangerous side, too. Meanwhile, the entire sector could be laid low if Beijing decides it doesn’t fit with President Xi Jinping’s “common prosperity” doctrine, and his concomitant crackdown on a whole host of domestic industries.