Posted in Health and Beauty, Plastic Surgery
What do people find attractive about themselves and each other? The answers are surprising. Recently, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery conducted a survey asking these very questions. People in their 20s, 30s, 40, 50s, and 60s were each asked a series of questions. Their answers are as follows. They are not what you would expect!
“What aspect of physical beauty do you find most appealing in another person?”
People in their 20s-40s responded that they considered a fit, well-proportioned body to be most important. For those in their 50s and 60s, youthful skin was the most important.
But when people were asked, “Which part of your body are you most concerned about,” the answers were different. Only those in their 30s responded that they were most concerned about their body. Everyone else was more concerned with their face!
Beauty standards that we have for ourselves are apparently not the same as those we have for others.
Other interesting findings in this study include the fact that in regards to the body, more people were concerned with their abdomen and hips than their breasts for each decade. And when asked what “the most important reason to maintain your physical appearance” was, the overwhelming reason across all decades was to boost self-confidence. The second most popular reason for those in their 20s was “to attract potential partners.” For those in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, the number two reason was “to increase professional opportunities,” and for those in their 60s, it was “to help make friends.”
You can access the original summary from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery at http://www.surgery.org/media/news-releases/how-do-our-attitudes-about-beauty-change-as-we-age
And the actual Beauty for Life survey results at http://www.surgery.org/downloads/BFLUserSurvey.pdf
Dr. Carolyn Chang, San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
Posted by Dr. Carolyn Chang San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
Posted in Plastic Surgery
From time to time, patients ask me whether the unwanted fat on their hips, or abdomen, or knees can be dissolved without surgery. Inevitably, they have read or heard about a procedure that accomplishes this in the popular press. I have even seen, over the years, patients that have had this procedure, called mesotherapy, and are now unfortunately suffering from some of its undesirable side effects.
Mesotherapy involves a series of injections of various substances that will dissolve fat cells. Over time, the body absorbs the by-products, and the fat in the area disappears. This treatment has been available in various parts of the world, including Europe, and increasingly in the United States, and has always been a source of controversy and speculation.
I recently came upon an interesting and alarming article detailing a study recently published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. This paper reported a series of difficult to treat infections after courses of mesotherapy in 16 patients. The authors noted that surgical drainage was the most effective in treating these infections.
Other important risks to note about mesotherapy are that it can result in prolonged swelling and redness in the area of injection, and residual lumpiness and unevenness can occur. The injection substances themselves are unregulated and vary from practitioner to practitioner. The procedure is not FDA approved and not recommended by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
When it comes to mesotherapy – it is definitely an example of “if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is.” For dissolving fat, nothing works better than a healthy diet and regular exercise, and maybe a little bit of liposuction, if all else fails!
Read the full article from Reuters : Fat-dissolving Procedure Carries Risk http://bit.ly/142Xiz
Dr. Carolyn Chang, San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
Posted by Dr. Carolyn Chang San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
Posted in Health and Beauty, Plastic Surgery
What do we do when the Botox, fillers, and lasers stop doing the trick, and we finally do look our ages? For some women, making the decision to rejuvenate their look with facial plastic surgery may be a vital part of their long-term beauty goals. So how do we best incorporate downtime into our busy lives?
Jane Ford, co-founder of Benefit Cosmetics
Whether it’s a small tweak or a major overhaul, immediately after, the swelling and bruising from the procedure may have you in hiding longer than you would like. Luckily, in most cases, the temporary changes to your face are easy to camouflage. So what are the best products on the market that can help you put your best face forward as soon as possible? Who better to ask the tricks of the trade than a true expert – Jane Ford, beauty powerhouse and co-founder of the global beauty brand Benefit Cosmetics.
I recently sat down with the very fabulous Jane to get her recommendations for the perfect post-operative regimen. Of course, once the healing is done, these Benefit products are perfect for looking gorgeous everyday too!
Jane starts with the basics:
“Always, always invest in good moisturizing. I just love our Dear John facial cream (one of Elle Magazine’s top 5 picks)…quite honestly, I can’t find one better.”
Eyecon eye cream is terrific for puffiness. She also recommends Ooh la Lift for under eye tightening and brightening to maintain your results.
Next the camouflage:
Over your moisturizer you’ll want to apply That Gal, a raspberry -based skin primer and brightener.
She also recommends purchasing a Play Stick in the appropriate shade for strategic camouflaging. This should be used all over eye (under and on lids) as well as around ears. It’s also chamomile and lavender-based for gentleness.
Jane adds, “I love this because it’s really easy to use. It provides a matte finish and can also double as a light weight foundation if mixed with moisturizer.” Stay clear of concealers that have too much oil…”They may have a mite too much shine for post-op use.”
For the final overall coverage, Jane prefers Benefit’s cream to powder foundation, Some Kind of Gorgeous (deemed the world’s best foundation by Elle Magazine).
Time for color:
For a gentle looking, healthy glow, try Dallas, a subtle powder bronzer, and the company’s bestselling Posie cheek tint.
Go for a natural eye using soft brown mascara and possibly a soft dark brown eyeliner for lining the upper and lower lids. Consider using the Big Beautiful Eyes kit – both for eye color and lining. The kit comes in warm neutral hues and provides you with all you need to line, define, and contour your eyes like a professional.
To add definition to the face, keep the brows filled. Try the winner of Allure’s 2008 best brow product, Brow Zing.
Compliment your look with a very natural lip color…no pinks or reds. Use a neutral soft lip liner. Fill in the lips with just a hint of gloss.
For the finish, get a pretty, soft, luminescent look with Dandelion, a super light-weight soft pink powder for all over face.
Jane’s Final Tip
Get brows and lashes dyed two days before your surgical procedure. It will give your face definition afterwards.
And at the end, I couldn’t resist asking – what is the one product that Jane absolutely cannot live without (surgery or no surgery)?
It’s That Gal, of course.
Thanks for all of your wonderful suggestions Jane!
Benefit Cosmetics, the “friskiest luxury brand“can be found at over 2000 beauty counters in more than 30 countries. Or you can just look at www.benefitcosmetics.com.
Dr. Carolyn Chang, San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
Posted by Dr. Carolyn Chang San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
Posted in Plastic Surgery
According to an interview with Demi Moore featured in a recent issue of French Marie Claire, the actress is adamant that she has not undergone any plastic surgery. The 46-year old actress looks as stunning as ever, causing speculation as to what she is doing to maintain her timeless beauty.
We could talk all day about the celebrities who have undergone procedures ending in unfortunate results, but we hardly talk about who is doing it right … primarily because they are doing it so right that we don’t know that they’re doing it at all. And yes, I do understand that genetics and timeless beauty play a role in some of this. But, those of us who are “in-the-know,” know that there are other forces at work here too.
Regular maintenance, coupled with the know how to make small, subtle changes, are the key to prolonging a natural, youthful look.
The 30’s
The 30’s are a time to really beef up your skin care regimen. This is when the early signs of aging really start to show in your skin. The five tenets of good skin care are to cleanse, exfoliate, moisturize, repair, and protect. In English, that means a cleanser, a gentle exfoliant a few times a week, a non-comedogenic moisturizer to balance your skin, a reparative product like a retinoid to build collagen or an antioxidant like vitamin C to neutralize free radicals, and a sunscreen. Laser treatments like IPL photofacials or Fraxel treatments can go a long way to restoring a youthful glow by evening out your complexion. And if you have furrows and fine wrinkles, Botox may be a good option to prevent them from getting deeper.
The 40’s
The 40’s are a time when the effects of gravity really start to settle in and the face starts to lose facial fat. Eyelids start to get droopy and baggy, cheeks start to get hollow, and the neck and jaw line starts to sag. Different people have different rates of aging. These changes can start in the mid to late thirties for some. Others may not notice these things until well into their 40’s. In general though, subtle facial cosmetic surgery tweaks freshen up your face. These smaller procedures most commonly include eyelid surgery or brow surgery to wake up your eyes. Liposuction under the chin or a natural neck and jowl lift may be appropriate for others.
Often the best results are some small surgical procedures combined with the noninvasive fillers and Botox to restore facial fullness and erase fine lines. Laser resurfacing to improve the quality of the skin can also complement nicely. I call this the multimodal approach to combating aging. And I would bet that this is what Demi has been doing all along.
The 50’s and 60’s
The 50’s and 60’s are definitely the decades when surgery tends to be the best option for freshening up. Gravity has definitely set in, and often just the noninvasive treatments are not enough to get you the result that you want. The face and necklift is usually the cornerstone to a successful facial rejuvenation in these decades. I recommend a very natural approach because I think that this stands the test of time. Who wants their “designer” facelift to go out of style?! This is also the time when the multimodal approach is very effective, as the surgery will fix the contour problems and the dermatologic tools will improve the skin quality.
Did she or didn’t she?? And so, whether she did or didn’t, we salute Demi, along with Cindy Crawford, Brooke Shields, and Michelle Pfeiffer, for being ageless beauty icons and for making 40 the new 20, and 50 the new 30.
Dr. Carolyn Chang, San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
Posted by Dr. Carolyn Chang San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
Posted in Health and Beauty, Lifestyle, Plastic Surgery
Yet another great offer from Mentor breast implants… introducing the new LoveYourLook MemoryGel® Referral Program. From now until October 15, 2010, refer a friend for a breast augmentation using Mentor MemoryGel silicone breast implants and receive a $50 American Express gift cheque as a thank you. For more information, visit this link.
Here’s to a great new look for both of you!
Dr. Carolyn Chang, San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
Posted by Dr. Carolyn Chang San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
