Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery Blog – Harley Medical Group

The secret to looking your best in old age is to plan it all along, according to Gervaise Gerstner, dermatologist to the stars. 

This isn’t a cryptic glimpse into the world of Peter Pan, but advice from an expert that planning to undergo a programme of Botox, laser hair removal skin peels and other non-surgical cosmetic procedures, is the key to growing old gracefully.

Of course eating healthily, moderating your intake of alcohol, exercising regularly and quitting smoking will help you to look and feel younger, but dermal fillers and the like are a sure-fire way to keep your skin plumped up and wrinkle-free when used in the right way, at the right time.

Based on the requests she receives from women, Gerstner has put the ideal ‘face age’ at 36. In an interview with the Guardian online, she said: “Some people wake up at 42 and realise they need to return to 36, but the people who end up looking best have been planning for it all along”.

In America, 20 per cent of Botox procedures are carried out on patients aged under 34, but the problem comes when wrinkle treatments are used as preventative. Overdoing Botox can have the opposite of the desired effect, in other words it can make you look older, and Lindsay Lohan is the perfect example of this, a 24-year-old who looks, well, about 36.

Epilating, depilatory creams, shaving, waxing…these hair removal methods – let’s call them over-the-counter techniques – are designed to temporarily remove hair from the face and body, and there’s no denying that they do just that. But is temporary good enough for everyone?

For some, it is. Some men enjoy the ritual of shaving their faces, and some women don’t mind shaving their underarms, legs, or bikini line each time they shower. For these people the trick is to remember the importance of preparation and aftercare.

Epilating and Waxing
Reduce the pain of this hair removal technique by soaking the area to be treated in warm water to open the pores and reduce resistance. Exfoliate the skin gently and pat dry. Once you have exfoliated the area, ensure that you use a good moisturiser to reduce the possibility of ingrown hairs.

Depilatory creams
Hair removal creams tend to incorporate moisturisers, but they still involve using chemicals on the skin, and washing the cream off using water, which is proven to dry out the skin. It is therefore advisable to moisturise thoroughly after using hair removal cream, to keep the skin feeling smooth and silky.

Shaving
Shaving offers hair removal and exfoliation in one, but because shaving is often a daily activity, it can cause trauma to the skin, including dryness, itchiness, and redness. Avoid these symptoms by opening up the pores using a warm flannel or having a warm bath or shower before shaving, and by moisturising thoroughly afterwards.

For those who feel that taming and controlling the appearance of unwanted facial and body hair is a full-time job, a more long-term solution is laser hair removal.

Laser hair removal
This method of hair removal offers men and women a way to permanently reduce or remove unwanted hair from just about any area of the face or body. The laser is passed over the area being treated, and this destroys the hairs and reduces the chances of them growing back. Laser hair removal is effective not only at removing all types of hair (including Vellus hair, or ‘peach fuzz’) but it also treats the painful and unsightly problem of ingrown hairs, which can occur in any area that is regularly targeted for hair removal. Most people require a course of treatments of laser hair removal, but afterwards – are left with smooth, soft, and hair-free skin.

Some people will compete in just about any kind of competition if the chance for fame and fortune, or a so-called ‘better life’, is up for grabs. So when television producers came up with the idea of contestants, specifically brides-to-be, competing to win cosmetic surgery procedures, the show was bound to attract a lot of interest.

Here comes the bride, short, fat, and wide, so the parody goes, but not any longer. Please stand for the arrival of Bridalplasty. The latest reality TV show to come out of America pits brides-to-be against each other in weekly competitions to win cosmetic surgery. Contestants pick procedures off their wish-lists and the overall winner receives $100,000 to pay for their dream wedding, having achieved their perfect look.

Critics have hailed this as a new low for the genre of reality TV, and quite frankly, it’s hard to disagree, with its only redeeming feature being that it puts cosmetic surgery firmly in the mainstream.

Hollyoaks actress Jennifer Metcalfe, ex-Atomic Kitten Kerry Katona, and American reality television star Kim Kardashian, have all been associated with cosmetic surgery procedures in recent weeks, raising the profiles of liposuction, stretch mark removal treatments, breast implants, and dermal fillers even further.

So with the exclusivity of cosmetic surgery firmly in the past, men and women all over the world are finding financial packages that allow them to opt for surgical and non-surgical treatments.  And recent findings suggest that cosmetic surgery is not just the basis for gratuitous reality television programmes, but is also giving renewed confidence to cancer patients who have aged prematurely as the result of treatment.

According to recent research, carried out by independent communications consultancy The Aziz Corporation, more and more men are opting for cosmetic surgery and non-surgical procedures. This spike in the number of men choosing to undergo everything from face lifts and liposuction surgery, to male chest reduction and Botox, has been attributed to the following:
• To achieve good career progression;
• To compete on a level playing field with younger colleagues / jobseekers;
• Because cosmetic surgery for men is becoming increasingly socially acceptable.

Career progression
Of those senior executives surveyed by The Aziz Corporation, 96 per cent believe that looking good will give them a better chance of achieving good career progression, 50.6 per cent would think about having cosmetic surgery and non-surgical treatments, and 17 per cent have already had cosmetic surgery.

To compete with younger colleagues / jobseekers
Since the recession, the pool of jobs has got smaller, while the number of jobseekers has risen, and this has caused an increase in the number of older men seeking a more youthful look to present to prospective employers.

Dr David Ellis, who runs an anti-ageing clinic in Toronto, Canada, calls this new emphasis on looking good to get ahead, a person’s “facial resume”. He has seen a significant rise in the number of men requesting cosmetic treatments, revealing that having dermal fillers, such as Botox, to plump up cheeks and reduce the appearance of frown furrows and wrinkles, are the most popular age-reversing procedures.

Socially acceptable
Statistics from The American Society for Plastic Surgeons showed that in 2009, nose reshaping was the most commonly performed procedure on men, followed by eyelid surgery, liposuction, chest reduction, and hair transplantation. Reports of male celebrities such as Michael Douglas (face lift) and Gordon Ramsay (hair transplants and dermal fillers) undergoing plastic surgery undoubtedly paves the way for ordinary men to openly undergo these procedures to reverse the ageing process and look good, just as women have for many years.

We live in beautiful world, one in which celebrities dominate popular culture and the media plays a big part in shaping our view of what beautiful really means. Here we bring you the top five most wanted celebrity features, for men and for women, according to this year’s “Famed Hottest Looks” survey, carried out by Dr. Richard Fleming and Dr. Toby Mayer, cosmetic surgeons operating in Beverly Hills, USA.

In no particular order:

Women chose:
1.  Gisele Bundchen’s body
2.  Natalie Portman’s nose
3.  Scarlett Johansson’s lips (pushing Angelina Jolie off the top spot for the first time in years)
4.  Anne Hathaway’s eyes
5.  Halle Berry’s chin

Men chose:
1.  Mark Wahlberg’s body
2.  Jude Law’s nose
3.  Ashton Kutcher’s lips
4.  Hugh Jackman’s eyes
5.  Jon Hamm’s chin

Observations from Dr. Fleming and Dr. Mayer, published on FoxNews.com, included:
• Dr. Fleming: “Different body types are represented on the list because most women are shaped differently and want to look naturally beautiful.  Some women want the lean look like Gisele, while others want to retain their roundness – just not too round. Men, on the other hand, all want a six-pack regardless of their body type.”
• Dr. Mayer: “The biggest trend we have seen this year is that patients are requesting a more natural look. If you review the names on the list, you will notice that all of those people look naturally beautiful.”

Are you considering Botox, laser hair removal, a face lift, liposuction surgery, or another non-surgical or cosmetic surgery procedure? If so, finding a reputable cosmetic surgeon, at a reputable clinic should be at the very top of your to-do list.

Easier said than done with the number of options open to you of course, but here are a few simple tips that should help you to get it right first time and ensure that you are treated by qualified, experienced and respected cosmetic surgeons.

Number One
Look into clinics whose name you have heard of and steer clear of those you haven’t. Avoid clinics with no reputation that are offering deals that are too good to be true, they usually are. The clinic you choose should be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) if it is located in England, with The Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) if it is in Wales, or with the Regulation Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) if it is in Northern Ireland.

Number Two
Ensure that any potential clinics and their surgeons are registered with the General Medical Council (GMC). While ensuring that the surgeons you are looking into hold qualifications from the Fellow of The Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) or the equivalent from another European or Commonwealth country is a good indicator of reputation, the most important thing is to make sure that they can be found on the GMC list.

Number Three
Ask for recommendations from your GP, as well as from friends and relatives who have undergone successful cosmetic surgery procedures. Please note that while this can give you a great starting point, you should never base decisions about cosmetic or plastic surgery solely on the opinions of others. Some GPs are able to refer you to plastic and cosmetic surgeons who are BAAPS members.

Number Four
If you are looking into injectable treatments such as Botox, only use clinics and cosmetic surgeons that are on the IHAS (Independent Healthcare Advisory Service) Register, and are a part of its latest scheme, ‘Treatments You Can Trust’ – www.treatmentsyoucantrust.co.uk

Number Five
Ask lots of questions and don’t agree to anything until you are completely happy with the clinic itself, the procedure, and the aftercare offered. All reputable clinics should offer you full consultations with counsellors, nurses and surgeons, as well as detailed pre-operative and post-operative directions.

Songstress Cher is more than used to being in the spotlight, but her appearance at the London premier of Burlesque has put her in a bit of a sticky situation – due to Daily Mail snaps of her with sticky tape along her jaw line. This is a classic trick used by actresses all throughout the history of Hollywood, but it seems a strange one for Cher to be sporting in this day and age – especially as she’s such a big fan of cosmetic surgery. (more…)

I was going to write another blog about Christmas this week, but I was just so inspired by a recent news story about single women in their 60s I just couldn’t resist. Basically, it was a lovely interview in the Daily Mail that talked to three women who were in their 60s and absolutely loving it. A lot of the time older people simply get discounted these days, but it really is true that it’s easier than ever to stay young at heart for longer. (more…)

Having a baby is one of the most precious and important things that will ever happen to you, and for women everywhere it’s a very personal and private experience. However, it seems as though this special time is being more and more influenced – like so many things these days – by celebrities.

Earlier this week I was reading the Metro online and I found an article saying that new mothers were getting caught up in the pressure to lose weight after having a baby – and that a lot of this was to do with celebrities and their seemingly impossible ability to snap back into their pre-baby shape very soon after giving birth. (more…)

While there are plenty of stars out there who’ve had cosmetic surgery, there are few as famous for it as Pete Burns. Unfortunately for Pete, his cosmetic enhancements have garnered him attention for all of the wrong reasons. The flamboyant singer – who first enjoyed a taste of stardom in the 1980′s with his band Dead or Alive – was always keen to push boundaries when it came to fashion and appearance, and his androgynous image found him a lot of fans. However, in recent years it’s become clear that Pete’s need to look different has morphed into something else. (more…)