All for beauty: Snakes and sperm

Rich, blemish-free skin doesn't come easy. It takes hard work. This may explain why the weapons women use against double chins, sunken cheeks, rings around the eyes and wrinkles are strikingly unconventional, or sometimes just ridiculous. Simply rubbing your face with olive oil is passe. Here are some of the more outlandish things people do to keep the effects of age at bay.

The Platza Treatment

How does the idea of paying someone to smack you with a broom sound? The platza oak-leaf technique involves being beaten in a steam-filled room by an olive oil-drenched broom called 'venik'. Available at upscale spas in Russia, the makers believe the leaves contain a natural astringent that opens pores, removes toxins and exfoliates dead skin. To wrap up the procedure, a bucket of ice-cold water is poured over the clientu00a0-- or we should say victim?