Women who want to drop a dress size overnight are paying to have tight plaster casts applied to their waistlines. The cosmetic procedure originated decades ago in South America but is just now beginning to spread beyond the Hispanic community in the United States.

"Yesoterapia" involves cinching fabric bandages around a woman's waist and applying wet plaster infused with herbs, which then hardens into a solid cast. After a period of time, the women cuts off the cast, revealing a slimmer waistline and less noticeable belly sagging. But the effect of the $60 to $120 procedure, if any, is only temporary.

Various fanciful explanations of yesoterapia's effectiveness have been put forth. Substances in the plaster are reputed to open skin pores and suck out fat, water, or toxins. The procedure is too new to have come under scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration or state regulators, and practitioners are not licensed.

Rosa Rodriguez, 25, loves greasy food and hates to exercise. She explains that dieting or even surgery like liposuction or abdominoplasty wouldn't work for her, since her habits would cause the weight to come right back. But yesoterapia allows her to temporarily squeeze into a tight dress for special occasions at a reasonable price.

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