Khanyi's agony for new smile

Johannesburg - Khanyi Mbau refuses to age without a fight. Her weapon of choice is a knife, which she intends to go under as many times as it takes to make sure she maintains her youthful looks.

Mbau recently underwent a painful procedure to "fix" her teeth at Ga-Rankuwa Hospital in Pretoria.

"I had my teeth filed and put in fillers to close the gaps. I also had a root canal and had my gums pushed back, which was more painful than you can ever imagine. It took me three sessions – and at one point my mouth was open for six hours," says Mbau.

"I'm now bleaching them in four sessions to get that bright, white smile you see on people like Beyoncé," she adds.

Lee-Ann Liebenberg

All this pain for beauty set her back R35 000, which is nothing compared with her latest bit of bling, the Kate Middleton replica sapphire ring worth R80 000 given to her by Browns Jewellery.

Mbau says: "I'm in the business of selling beauty. I also believe that people have the right to do whatever they want to look beautiful.

"The job that I do and my ¬personality do not allow me to even consider braces. Can you imagine me at a shoot, having a camera zooming into my smile only to find braces? A brand cannot have braces! I need to maintain a certain standard," adds the controversial socialite.

"I had breast augmentation twice. The first time I went, the skin around my chest was still tight, which meant the silicone size was smaller. That’s why I had to go back for the second time after the skin had time to stretch for the size I wanted. Anyone who has done this procedure will tell you it's normal to return. Just ask Lee-Ann Liebenberg."

Support system

Mbau has now scheduled an appointment to have her brows lifted and the excess skin around her eyelids removed.

"I have heard that it slows down wrinkles and gives a fresh look around the eyes. I will do anything else to any body part that starts giving in to old age," she says.

"I hope that when I start looking like I'm overdoing it, my support system, like my sister, will tell me to stop.

"All I want is to maintain my looks. They are what people know me for."