Can You Get Fuller Lips From A Tube ?

For the past several years cosmetic companies have marketed over-the-counter products claiming to produce sexier, fuller lips.  These glosses, balms and gels temporarily give the lips a fuller look.  Products containing ingredients such as cinnamon, wintergreen or capsicum (a compound made from hot peppers) are used.  These boost blood flow to the lips, which leads to mild swelling and redness.  The results in most cases may last but a few hours and cost $3-$36.00.

None of these products will even come closed to enlarging and defining the lips, only a dermal filler such as Juvederm or Restylane will give you  a natural, long-lasting result you want…immediately.

For more information on lip enhancement click here.

May Is Melanoma Awareness Month

Even though  the dangers of developing melanoma has been widely reported, a recent study shows that melanoma cases continue to rise in young people between the ages of 18-39.  In fact, this deadliest form of skin cancer rose an astonishing 800% among young women and 400% in young men.  There may be a reason why there is this discrepancy between the sexes.  Young women tend to use indoor tanning booths more than men.  UV ray emitted by tanning beds are cancer causing and tanners are 74% more likely to develop melanoma than those who never tan indoors.  If a tanning bed is used as little as four times a year the risk of developing melanoma is 11% and you are 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma.  The study showed that over one’s lifetime melanoma is 1.5 times greater in males than females.

Below are the “ABCDE” of melanoma detection

Asymmetrical skin lesions

Border of the lesion is irregular

Color:  lesion usually has multiple colors

Diameter:  lesions are greater than 6mm are more suspicious

.Enlarging or evolving lesions

Suggested sun protection guidelines–

.Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

.Seek shade

.Sunscreen SPF 15 or higher

.Use hats and protective clothing

.Self-exams for changing moles

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Cosmetic Surgery and Divorce

Re-entering single life after divorce can be a difficult life altering experience.  Women in particular,  may want to recapture a more youthful and rejuvenated appearance in preparation to enter the dating scene.  Often times divorce becomes the catalyst behind wanting to improve ones appearance.

Some woman start off slow with non-invasive procedures such as Botox® and dermal fillers, while others  opt to have surgery.  The more popular procedures for a newly divorced woman include breast augmentation, liposuction, tummy tuck and eyelid surgery.

It is important that women who have recently undergone a divorce consider their emotional state of mind before making a decision to have cosmetic surgery.  It is never advisable to make surgical decisions during an emotionally unstable time.

By waiting until the time is right, cosmetic rejuvenation procedures maybe  a way of improving ones physical appearance, increasing self-esteem, thus giving you a fresh new outlook on your life ahead.

How Much Younger Does Facial Rejuvenation Surgery Make You Look?

It has been debated among plastic surgeons for  many years as to how much younger a patient looks after facial rejuvenation surgery.

Now a group of plastic surgeons recently set out to answer this question.  This study included 54 women and six men ages 45 to 72 who underwent cosmetic facial rejuvenation surgery.  The study revealed that those who underwent face-lift and neck-lift surgery alone looked an average of 5.7 year younger.  By adding eyelid surgery another 2 years were gained.  If they added a brow-lift they added another year.  People who had all four procedures on average looked 8.4 years younger.

It should be noted that all the procedures were performed by the same plastic surgeon.

To read more about this study click here.

Times Are A Changing/Chin Implant Surgery on the Rise

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has recently released their 2010- 2011 surgical statistics.  Chin augmentation surgery increased 71% during this time period,  surpassing the rate of breast implant,liposuction and Botox combined.

It has been suggested that some of rise in chin implant surgery may be due to baby boomers availing themselves of all forms of online communications such as video-chat technology.  This allows virtual face-to-face interaction with people all over the world but at the same time we are able to see ourselves as others see us exposing our double chins and lax jawlines etc…  It is a fact that, as we age the chin and jawline area are among the first areas to show signs of aging.  Chin augmentation is one way to correct this problem along with such procedures as facelift (rhytidectomy) and eye tuck (blepharoplasty) surgery.

Darrick Antell, M.D., a member of the ASPS studied the profiles of many CEO ‘s states , “We know that CEOs tend to be tall, attractive, good-looking people.  We now know that these people also tend to have a stronger chin.  As a result, people subconsciously associate a stronger chin with more authority, self-confidence and trustworthiness.”

Click here to read more about this surgery.

Women of Color and Plastic Surgery

Recently on the ABC network’s television program “20/20”, Barbara Walters hosted a special on plastic surgery.  One segment in particular focused on plastic surgery and women of color.  This population group has traditionally been–and still is–the slowest growing minority having cosmetic surgical procedures performed.

Although there is no definitive answer as to why women of color tend to shy away from or perhaps even disparage cosmetic surgery, there most likely are cultural and communal attitudes that govern their reluctance to enhance and/or alter their appearance through cosmetic surgical procedures.  Another explanation may be simply be that people of color are naturally protected from sun damage to the skin.  We all know that sun damage tends to age an individual rather quickly resulting in more visits to plastic surgeons for corrective surgery and rejuvenation of one’s overall appearance.  However, studies do suggest that those black women who do in fact seek out cosmetic correction and enhancement of their bodies, the most requested surgical procedures are liposuction and tummy tucks as well as breast reductions and nose reshaping.

Click here to read more.

Are your hands revealing your true age?

Hand rejuvenation has become a hot topic since tabloids report that  Madonna wears funky gloves during her public appearances to hide her aging hands.

The skin on the hands is thin and it gets thinner as we age.  They are frequently exposed  to sunlight and all its associated photo-aging effects.  As the  fatty layer of the hands starts to disappear, skin becomes more translucent, shriveled and the underlying tendons and veins become more prominent.

There are several  cosmetic techniques for  hand rejuvenation that can help address these problems.  Lost volume can be replaced by filler products  such as Juvederm and Radiesse which is  injected under the skin to help restore volume and help hide bulging veins and tendons.  Also, autogenous fat, taken from your body fat cells can be used for this purpose.

A good remedy for nasty brown spots sometimes called liver spots, is the intense pulse laser (IPL).

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Liposuction/Who’s a Candidate ?

The general public seems to have a misconception about what liposuction is and who would be the best candidate for this cosmetic surgical procedure.  First of all, liposuction is not a procedure to be used for weight loss.  A good candidate would be someone who follows a healthy lifestyle and exercises regularly and wants to improve their body contour or get rid of stubborn fat deposits that are resistant to diet and exercise.

Liposuction will not get rid of cellulite.  Cellulite is superficial fat, whereas liposuction surgery addresses fat in the deeper tissue layers.

In the news of late, there are many companies on the market offering non-surgical liposuction.  Liposuction by definition is a surgical procedure.  The current advertised slimming devices, claim fat reduction without surgery, are often times only mildly effective at best.  These companies give no guarantee of results to be expected.

Liposuction is not effective in skin tightening or getting rid of loose skin.  The best option for this problem is tummy tuck surgery which can include some localized liposuction.  With a tummy tuck, excess skin and fat are removed surgically and the underlying muscles are tightened to create a slimmer and smoother abdominal region.

Click here to read more about liposuction

What is the best age to have a facelift?

Actually, there is no best age to have a facelift.  We all age differently, some show early signs of aging by their 40’s, while others remain relatively tight until their 60’s.  These variances can be attributed to a number of factors such as, lifestyle, sun-exposure, smoking and genetic predisposition.

When a facelift is performed at a younger age the results tend to last longer because there is more elasticity in the tissue and the healing time is in many cases shorter.  A report by Drs. Lui and Osey in the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery states that,” in both short and long-term follow-up, younger patients report higher satisfaction scores.”

The goal of facelift surgery is to restore a more youthful, rested appearance to the face by uplifting the sagging skin and improving the facial tone and tightening the underlying facial muscles.

The first step when considering a facelift is to consult with an ASPS board certified plastic surgeon.  At the time of your consultation the physician will educate you about the procedure.  Your goals and expectations will also be discussed and you will be given options to achieve your individual goals.

To read more about this procedure click here.

Men and Cosmetic Surgery

Cosmetic procedures for men continue to be on the rise due to greater acceptance of both  younger and older men who want to improve their appearance.

Today, we live in a world that emphasizes health and fitness.  Men are feeling the need to look more youthful and dynamic well into their 50’s, 60’s and beyond.  The American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reports that, cosmetic surgery is becoming increasingly popular with men as a way to deal with image maintenance and change.  For example, the aging executive may want to look younger, less tired and more vital or the older job seeker may want a competitive edge in today’s tight job market.

Men are more likely to prefer non-invasive procedures such as Botox and dermal fillers.  If a man decides to go under the knife, according to the ASAPS, the five most popular procedures are:

Nose reshaping

Eyelid surgery

Liposuction

Male breast reduction

Hair transplantation

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