Ministers join Botox brigade

2008-02-12 22:44

Antoinette Pienaar

Pretoria - Burly farmers, pilots and at least four male Cabinet Ministers.

It seems that just about everyone is having regular Botox injections at Pretoria beauty parlours.

Dr Nanita Dalton, a general practitioner specialising in beauty treatments, said on Tuesday that an increasing number of men had used her services in the past five years.

"The ministers are decent guys and concerned about their appearance. They want to appear friendly and be able to walk into meetings without feeling concerned about their looks," she said.

For reasons of confidentiality, she's not prepared to reveal any identities.

She said Botox injections were proving to be a big hit as a gift from women to the men in their lives for Valentine's Day, and for wedding anniversaries.

Some farmers who get headaches from frowning at the sun all day, are having Botox shots in their foreheads.

Botox sessions as prizes

But, most of the new Botox brigade wanted to deal with excess sweating.

"They're willing to get up at 05:00 to travel from places such as Lichtenburg, Pongola and Nelspruit for this treatment."

Dalton, who has between 500 and 700 Botox patients a month says she has even administered Botox shots to bald farmers who struggle with sweat under the headbands of their hats.

Other clients include airline pilots, who come for laser treatment to get rid of thin red veins in their faces

Dalton said: "Although there's no truth in it, some people link tiny red veins with alcohol abuse."

She says the pilots are concerned about caring for their bodies and want to look healthy.

At a recent golf tournament, her clinic donated five prizes of Botox sessions.

"The men who won them all pitched up for their sessions.

"I sense that suppressed longing among men to feel good about their looks."

Botox was in the news again this week when the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning that it was planning to investigate the safety of Botox treatments.

A safe product, says doc

The move followed various deaths and serious side-effects such as breathing and swallowing problems that apparently had surfaced in America.

Most of the cases involved handicapped children who had been given huge doses of Botox in their spastic limbs.

Doctors in South Africa said the miniscule doses used for wrinkle treatments, were not dangerous.

Dalton said on Tuesday it was one of the safest products on the market.

- Beeld