LET’S face it, we all have body issues we have to deal with every day. Some women fret over big issues like being flat-chested or heavy, while others sweat the small stuff like not having double eyelids or long eyelashes.

Most people just brush these problems off and instead wear makeup or clothes that make them stand out more, but these days you don’t have to look very far to find temporary, and sometimes, permanent solutions to these problems.

So, I went on a quest to find out what young women worry about and how they deal with their body image issues. I did a little research online and even checked out a few beauty stores to see what’s on offer.

The Malaysian Babes Forum is one of the best local discussion boards around that focuses on beauty issues, although you might want to take some of the advice posted with a pinch of salt.

There are also several blogs that give instructions on how to coax your body into doing what you want it to, or look the way you want. For example, taping double-sided tape onto your eyelids so that the top half folds naturally create the illusion of a double eyelid. Pretty smart eh?

Here are some of the more interesting fix-its to the problems women face:

Single eyelid

Many Asian men and women are born without an upper crease in their eyelids. Some believe that ”creating” a double eyelid makes one look more alert, and makeup application easier.

Extreme solution: The double eyelid surgery or Asian blepharoplasty is a procedure in which excess fat from the upper lid is removed to create a crease using sutures. It is quite a common surgery, but of late many ”beauticians” have begun conducting them illegally.

Not-so-extreme solution: You can buy eyelid tape from most beauty shops like Sasa or Sinma for a mere RM5. All you have to do is follow the pictorial (most of these tapes are from Japan so the instructions are in Japanese), and you instantly have a double eyelid. Alternatively, you can also use a double-sided tape.

Short or sparse eyelashes

Don’t you just envy those Kardashian women with their long, luscious eyelashes that just make their eyes pop? Yes, they do have naturally long lashes, but they also wear heaps of makeup and sometimes, fake eyelashes to enhance their looks. Just sayin’.

Extreme solution: The eyelash implant involves taking a graft from the back of your neck, plucking 50-60 hairs from that graft and sewing them onto the upper eyelid. This surgical transplant is a pretty new procedure, but is fast becoming popular, especially among Asian women.

Some people also get eyelash extensions, where individual lashes are glued in between your original ones and last several months.

Not-so-extreme solution: Fake eyelashes have been around for ages, and they’re relatively cheap (between RM9 and RM50, depending on the design). There are also special mascaras and creams that supposedly lengthen and thicken your eyelashes after several weeks of application, but the jury is still out on this one.

Flat-chested

Someone once said, ”all breasts are beautiful”, but the idolisation of well-endowed women by men (and women, too) has led many to believe that big is always best. Your call.

Extreme solution: Breast implants/augmentation is popular but also painful and expensive. For some, the procedure is quite risky, too, but it is still by far the most effective solution.

TV personality Heidi Montag has had numerous cosmetic procedures, including breast augmentation

Not-so-extreme solution: One of Sasa’s best-selling products (according to their website) is a product called the F-Cup Cookies, soy-based snacks that make your breasts grow. The cookies contain, among others, pueraria mirifica, a root found in northern Thailand that is used by natives for medicinal reasons.

I have actually heard pretty good reviews on this product, but have yet to try them myself.