Needle that undoes the damage done

AFTER Hanlie Annandal had her third child at the age of 35, she started to notice that she looked tired all the time and wanted to freshen up her look.

AFTER Hanlie Annandal had her third child at the age of 35, she started to notice that she looked tired all the time and wanted to freshen up her look.

"When I looked in the mirror, I could see I had purple circles under my eyes and I really noticed the effects in my face of having another baby ... I don't think it was a matter of getting [less] sleep; I realised I was just getting older."

The industrial psychologist had a facial filler injected under her skin. She said the process was not painful. She felt a bit numb afterwards, but by the evening her skin felt plumper .

She loved the fact that her husband did not really notice any difference after the treatment. "It looks natural ... it's something I felt I had to do for myself, rather than for anyone else. For me, it's a preventative step, to add volume to my face before I age too much."

Annandal is one of thousands of South Africans pouring money into the fledgling industry of "non-surgical aesthetic treatments" - an alternative to fully fledged cosmetic surgery, which is already well-established in South Africa.

One of the biggest companies punting these treatments is Allergan Pharmaceuticals, a US company which manufactures medical aesthetic brands including Botox.

The allure for consumers, and investors, is evident. Allergan is in the midst of fending off a $53-billion takeover bid, while making its own $10-billion bid for Salix, which makes drugs for gastro-intestinal disorders.

Allergan's share price is up 50% this year, yielding a market value of $51-billion.

Even though users do not need to go under the knife, the products still must be prescribed by doctors .

Dr Jennifer Irvine, a Johannesburg-based aesthetic practitioner, said "using non-surgical aesthetic treatments is still a private decision".

Allergan's research in South Africa (a survey of 1132 people, 75% of them women ) found that most people did it to look healthy, refreshed and good for their age.

Liposuction is the most-performed operation , followed by breast enlargement, eyelid surgery, tummy tucks and nose surgery.

In the US, women had more than 10.3million cosmetic procedures last year, and the number of cosmetic procedures for men has jumped more than 273% since 1997.