Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery Blog – Harley Medical Group

Cosmetic surgery clinics in America have seen a rise in the number of Botox enquiries as patients prepare to look their best in time for the summer.

Dr Monica Bonakdar, who runs a clinic in Orange County, has noticed a significant jump in the number of people asking for Botox, laser hair removal and other non-surgical treatments. She attributes this to the onset of warmer weather.

“Botox cosmetic is a great way to enjoy the sun, while maintaining youthful-looking skin,” says Dr Bonakdar.

“It is injected into facial muscles to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and provides an easy alternative to surgery. Men and women don’t want to spend their summers recovering inside, so instead they are turning to simpler treatments.”

Dr Bonakdar also talked about the rise in popularity of laser hair removal as more people discover benefits such as permanently removed or reduced hair, and the reduction of ingrown hairs and rashes associated with shaving and plucking.

Pop star turned television presenter Cheryl Cole has been forced to deny rumours that she has had a boob job.

Conjecture about Cole’s figure began this week when the 27-year-old was spotted with a much perkier looking bust than usual, as she jogged around the streets of Los Angeles. Cosmetic surgery experts have speculated that she has either had breast implants or had help from a “good gel bra”.

Plastic surgeon Dr Dirk Kremer said: “Cheryl’s boobs look very different now. Despite being hidden under a work-out top, you can see how rounded and full they seem.”

“To mimic this look, she would have to be wearing a good gel bra.”

A spokesperson for the star told the Metro newspaper that “Cheryl has not had breast surgery and has made it clear in several interviews she has never had work done.”

Cole yesterday posed for photographers alongside fellow US X Factor judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. She looked uncomfortable and out of place next to the pair, who were flirting outrageously for the cameras ahead of filming for the new show.

Pippa Middleton’s much-admired bottom has boosted the number of enquiries for cosmetic surgery in the UK.

Miss Middleton’s perfect derrière threatened to steal the limelight from her older sister on her big day on Friday 29 April as onlookers from all over the world watched her walk up the aisle behind the happy couple.

Her slim figure, which was accentuated by a figure-hugging white bridesmaid’s dress – designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen – has prompted a surge in requests for bottom lift and thigh lift procedures. Some plastic surgeons have reported a massive increase of 60 per cent in enquiries in the last 17 days alone.

Since Kate Middleton became the Duchess of Cambridge and jetted off to the Seychelles for her honeymoon, the media has turned its attention to Pippa’s bottom and is giving tips to female readers on how to achieve it for themselves.

Irish band manager Louis Walsh has admitted that he would have more cosmetic surgery if it meant he secured his place on the judging panel for the latest series of the X Factor.

The 58-year-old has already admitted to having surgery to remove his eye bags and cosmetic treatments to whiten his teeth, allegedly on Simon Cowell’s insistence. Walsh last night told reporters that cosmetic surgery was essential in his industry and that “if you want to last, you have to do it.”

The music mogul’s comments come amid reports that one of the show’s regular judges, Dannii Minogue, has already been axed, with her replacement yet to be announced. Cowell, 51, has been concentrating on the promotion of the US version of the talent show, taking Cheryl Cole with him to join Paula Abdul on the judging panel.  He is yet to comment on the controversy surrounding Minogue or Walsh.

Viewers of Saturday night’s auditions on the latest series of Britain’s Got Talent got more than they bargained for when Britney Spears impersonator, Lorna Bliss, stripped off for her three minutes of fame.

The 32-year-old may well be the most outrageous wannabe yet with her nearly-naked rendition of hit single Toxic. Bliss, who wore a black dressing gown to talk to the judges, paraded about wearing nothing but a white thong and hundreds of stick-on body jewels, in her tribute act to the American superstar.

Bliss admits to having spent £135,000 on cosmetic surgery to look like the star, saying before she went on stage that, “if Britney tightens up, I tighten up”. She even shaved her head when Britney did and has all the same tattoos as the singer.

Judges Amanda Holden, David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre were shocked but intrigued, not pressing their red buzzers until the performance had almost come to an end. But they were not intrigued enough to put her through to the next round and Bliss left empty handed – or did she? Some critics have suggested that the impersonator is actually quite good and performed like she did in order to grab the headlines and a few minutes in the spotlight.

Veteran model Janice Dickinson hit the headlines today thanks to a rather revealing outfit that left very little to the imagination. The 56-year-old flaunted her very thin figure and the results of breast enlargement surgery in a short, tight, gold dress, as she partied at New York’s District 36 nightclub last night.

As well as breast implants, Dickinson readily admits to having had other cosmetic surgery procedures, including a tummy tuck, face lift and neck lift, Botox and liposuction surgery.

She looked confident with her body as she posed for photographers outside the venue, and once inside danced the night away with the help of a couple of bottles of Moet champagne.

In an interview with Closer magazine last year, Dickinson said: “There’s no such thing as too much.”

“Whatever it takes to make an individual feel better, I’m all for it. In my 40s I signed up for Botox and now I have it every six months.”

Reality television star Heidi Montag has decided not to have any more cosmetic surgery now, but she is adamant that things might change as she gets older.

At a Hollywood party last night, the 24-year-old told US Weekly magazine: “For this moment I don’t want anything to do with plastic surgery!”

But she went on to add: “Obviously when I get a little older, I’ll take it from there.”

In 2009, Montag admitted to having ten procedures done in one day and she is currently recovering from a nose job, eyebrow lift, cheekbone and chin reshaping, breast enlargement and dermal filler injections.

In the past she has admitted to feeling fragile following surgery and her larger bust makes it difficult to jog or partake in intense physical exercise.

Having taken a break from the Hollywood lifestyle for the last six months, Montag will soon be back in the limelight thanks to VH1’s new reality television show, Famous Food.  The programme sees seven celebrities trying to open a new restaurant and make it profitable.

Kim Kardashian is no stranger to cosmetic treatments, and she has once again been photographed attending a clinic in Beverley Hills to top up her laser hair removal treatments.

The 30-year-old socialite went totally make-up free and dressed in a very casual outfit to attend the clinic, choosing a pair of ripped jeans, a black wrap-around cardigan and simple rubber flip flops. Her trademark long chocolate brown hair was tied back in a loose ponytail but she was not without her oversized sunglasses.

As well as getting laser hair removal, which she admits to having on her forehead to rid it of ‘baby hair’, Kardashian treated herself to a manicure and a pedicure in time. The pampering trip appeared to be in preparation for an event hosted by Britney Spears to raise money for the St Bernard Project, to which she wore a much more fitting (for her) tight white and gold mini dress and turquoise heels.

Are hang-ups about podge, unwanted hair, and all things disappointingly saggy a modern phenomenon, or are we just being presented with solutions to problems we weren’t aware we had?

Think of cosmetic surgery and five years ago you would probably have pictured an A-list celebrity looking particularly good for their age, or one that had gone too far in the pursuit of perfection, but these days the practice is growing much closer to home.

Do you know someone who has dabbled in Botox? Had a boob job? Or even a mummy makeover – a combination of liposuction, tummy tuck and breast surgery to return new mums to the way they looked before pregnancy? The chances are that someone you know has at least considered altering a part of their body or face and, with this in mind, it’s about time that attitudes towards cosmetic surgery were altered too.

Recent studies have shown that an increasing number of people are at ease with the thought of cosmetic surgery, that large numbers would consider it when the fine lines and wrinkles start to appear, and that brides-to-be are willing to fork out thousands to look their best on the big day.

Casual phrases such as nip ‘n’ tuck and boob job help to dispel any taboos that might remain but they can also trivialise what is essentially a medical practice that should be taken seriously. Even something non-invasive like laser hair removal can carry risk if performed by an unqualified person, and the dangers of opting for cheap liposuction or breast enlargement surgery abroad have been tragically illustrated in recent news stories.

For women who have a hang up about their faint moustache, or men whose man boobs would put the chests of some women to shame, it’s vital to realise that while cosmetic surgery is easier to come by, it has also never been more important to do your research and stick to reputable clinics only.

Daily Mail reporter Diana Appleyard has written a comprehensive diary of her recent eye bag removal surgery in a bid to give cosmetic surgery a new perspective.

The 50-year-old, who is married with two children, Beth 22, and Charlotte, 17, decided to opt for the surgery after seeing pictures of herself in which she thought she looked “103 years old”. But she didn’t tell her husband or daughters that she had booked in for a consultation, and left it until the surgery was booked to confide in her family.

Appleyard’s reasoning behind the surgery was not pure vanity, she explained, but instead a way of removing a problem that she saw as “genetic”.

“There is mad psychology in my wanting this eye procedure”, she wrote.

“I have told myself my eye bags are genetic — my father had lots of loose skin under his eyes — and so in my view this operation is somehow ‘medical’”.

Despite her reasons, she was adamant that this would be it for cosmetic surgery, something her husband was grateful for. Now Appleyard says she can’t help looking in the mirror and thinking “Oh it’s you – but better!”