By Simone – Morgan-Lindo – Star Writer
Prominent plastic surgeon Dr Jan Hotchritt has sounded the alarm on the dangerous cocktail of skin bleaching and cosmetic surgery.
Hotchritt, head of ProSurgiCare, explains that skin bleaching and body modification procedures simply don’t mix.
“During surgery, if you stitch a skin that is bleached then it is like you are stitching wet newspaper. The skin is very fragile and that is why they get all these stretch marks so it is just very vulnerable, ” he said.
While bleaching doesn’t usually cause severe surgical complications like excessive bleeding, it can drastically affect healing and the final results.
“When you do a tummy tuck, for example, and you have a BBL (Brazilian butt lift), then you need to have a little bit of tension if people want some tightness and then a bleached skin will just not hold it. This means that the wounds can open up and there can be some form of discolouration, so overall bleaching is just not a good thing to do, ” the plastic surgeon said.
The dangers don’t stop at weakened skin. Many bleaching products contain harmful chemicals such as mercury and strong steroids, which cause skin damage, infections, and other health issues. For those who insist on surgery despite bleaching, Hotchritt demands a cooling-off period. He said a minimum break of six weeks from bleaching is required before he would consider performing surgery.
“They will have to wait, especially if the bleaching is really intense. I never turned them away, but they will have to wait. I tell them that they have to stop ‘rubbing’ but they don’t always do. It is almost like smoking, where it is like hard to quit. I guess it is peer pressure and they feel unattractive if they don’t bleach. But, bleaching is bad for you and it doesn’t look natural, ” he said.