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akarta’s hectic and polluted environment has led some urban women, even as young 15 to 20 years old, to pay extra for beauty treatments to avoid early aging.

Paying Rp 2 million (US$235) or more for treatments like laser radiation or vitamin and plasma injections is seen as the price they must pay for a good quality of life in a poor quality environment.

Dian Muthari, 28, believes that having regular beauty treatments is important for her to look good and release the tensions of work.

She started to receive extensive treatments from a dermatologist when she got severe acne problems at the age of 25 as a result of workplace stress.

“The doctor said I had sensitive skin, and once I became stressed the acne started to appear on my face,” she said, “I believe that by looking good you appreciate yourself more.”

Dian admitted that she spent some 15 percent of her monthly income on beauty treatments.

Another woman, Maya, 34, said that she would not be as confident as she is now if she had not started her beauty treatment while at high school.

She is a regular customer at a beauty center in South Jakarta, having her body treated from head to toe to maintain her good looks.

“As a model, I wear makeup almost all the time, so I need treatments to keep my complexion healthy,” she told The Jakarta Post.

After her treatments, she says, she always feels like a new person, clean, fresh and confident.

“Although it is not cheap, I don’t mind spending a lot of money because I believe it can protect me from early aging,” she said, adding that she usually spent Rp 2 million for her facial treatments.

A recent survey, by beauty product manufacturer P&G Beauty and Grooming, revealed that many 25-year-old women have already begun to experience early aging in Indonesia. The survey, which involved 778 women, also showed that 46.6 percent of respondents started beauty treatments when they were between 15 and 20 years of age.

Beauty clinics in Jakarta offering both traditional and modern treatments have helped women like Maya and Dian to restore their beauty and well-being.

Cindy Paulina, a beauty consultant at the Madeline Beauty Center in South Jakarta, said that the awareness of women — and even men — in Jakarta of the importance of looking good and staying healthy through beauty treatments has been growing rapidly.

“They are starting to understand that such treatment is not merely for beauty but is also good for their health,” she said.

Most patients come to her for anti-aging treatments as life in Jakarta is inextricably linked to stress and pollution, the main causes of early aging, Cindy said.

She explained that as people get older, the hormones in their bodies become imbalanced. This imbalance can trigger conditions such as diabetes and high cholesterol and at the same time can also lead to loss of body mass causing wrinkles.

“By keeping the hormones balanced, which can be done through injections at beauty clinics, the quality of life can be improved,” she said.

Besides hormone injections, beauty clinics also offer several other injections, such as vitamin C and platelet-rich plasma injections that use the patient’s own blood to regenerate old cells. They also provide laser treatment to help rejuvenate the complexion and remove cellulite and stretch marks.