Emilie Lærke

In Lebanon, women are striving for eternal youth. It is important to look fresh and sexy, and plastic surgery has therefore become a natural part of being a woman. About 1.5 million plastic surgeries are performed every year in Lebanon, and the country is the first in the Middle East to make it possible to take out a loan from the bank to finance a plastic surgery. A trip under the knife is therefore not only for the wealthy, but has become a trend for all the country's classes, both Christians and Muslims.

Plastic surgery is popular in all age groups, and some start when they are 16 years old. The plastic surgeons in Lebanon recommend that you start with Botox when you are in your 20s, as the result will be better in the long run. Many young Lebanese receive plastic surgery as a gift for their birthdays, bachelor parties or when they go to a ball at their school.

The streets of Beirut are packed with beauty salons. The salons are often on several floors and thunder up into even the narrowest streets. Here you can come before work and school and have makeup applied or have all the hair on the body removed with a laser. Or you can come and get an oxygen drink that instantly makes one look younger. Along the highways there are huge advertising columns with pictures of beautiful and most often western women, which advertise various beauty products. For a woman, it can be hard not to reflect on others as you walk through the streets.