Cosmeticsurgeon.co.uk - UK Cosmetic Surgeons

Plastic surgeons at Advanced Aesthetics say that there are five main characteristics of an ageing face. When patients say that they look older there can be a variety of issues at play such as;

• Loss of elasticity, and muscle tone in the face
• Jowls and deep creasing in the nose and mouth areas
• Severe neck and face wrinkles
• A tired haggard look
• Less definition in the jaw and chin area

A face-lift works to tighten the skin from the eyes down and including the neck area. Surgeons will look at the five area above and depending on how sever they are they will customise a plan for the individual patient. There are a range of face-lifts available which include;

• A standard facelift-A complete facelift is often suggested if a patient has all five aspects of ageing with noticeable sagging skin and jowl area.
• A mini-facelift- If there is mild muscle tome loss with a general tired appearance a mini-facelift may be suggested. The procedure tightens and lifts the skin and works to address minor signs of ageing. Usually there is no work done to the neck area and is more suited to younger patients with less signs of ageing.
• Short Scar facelift- This is a variance on the mini-facelift often referred to as an ‘Extended MACS’. This procedure can be suggested for mild to moderate skin elasticity issues and signs of a jowl. It only treats the face, lifting the face up rather than back. It is less invasive and leaves fewer scars with a faster healing time.

A treatment plan is started during the consultation procedure where a surgeon can decide with the patient the best solution for their face.

If you have seen posters and billboards of actresses or models sporting glowing, fresh complexions you may have been inspired to read about facial aesthetics and anti-ageing treatments. In the last decade anti-ageing treatments have become incredibly popular, with more and more people looking to have treatment to recapture or preserve their young, radiant skin.

What are dermal fillers?

Dermal fillers are treatments used to tackle common signs of ageing, including crow’s feet, laughter and frown lines, and wrinkles around the nose. Fillers can also be used to plump and enhance the aesthetics of the lips and add volume to the skin. The procedure is quick, safe and simple: it simply involves injecting filler into problem areas of the face using fine needles. The injections are painless and the results become visible quickly with no need for recovery time.

Why are dermal fillers so popular?

One of the main reasons is that people are more conscious of their appearance than ever before and choosing to have treatment as a result. Dermal fillers help to tackle the signs of ageing and can make the skin look like the complexions seen in magazines and films. The fact is that most people are concerned when they start to notice changes in their skin – and dermal filler treatment is a safe, easy way of improving the look of the skin and creating an improvement in complexion.

Another reason dermal fillers have become popular is the increased availability of cosmetic treatments. If you type the words ‘dermal fillers’ into an online search engine, you will be provided with hundreds of results and links to local clinics and surgeries that offer such treatment. The price of treatment has also come down over the years in line with an increase in competition.

The simplicity of treatment is also a major draw for clients. The injections are painless and the procedure takes less than an hour. The effects of treatment are also short-tern, which means that clients do not have to commit to permanent results.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has reported a significant increase in the number of men having Botox treatment, giving rise to the nickname, ‘the Brotox generation’.

Most people associate Botox with middle-aged women who are eager to combat wrinkles and fine lines and restore their youthful complexion, but statistics from the States show that Botox is becoming increasingly popular among men.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there was a 258 percent increase in the number of men having Botox between 2000 and 2010, making Botox the most common cosmetic treatment for men. In 2010 alone, more than 330,000 men had the facial aesthetic treatment, which is designed to reduce the visibility of lines and wrinkles by preventing muscle contraction.

Why has Botox become so popular?

Dr Stephen B Baker, associate professor and programme director of the department of plastic surgery at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, said that the stigma attached to male surgery and cosmetic treatment has all but gone and men feel that they are now free to have treatments to make themselves look better in the same way as women.

The most common reason men want Botox is to reduce furrowed brow lines, according to Dr Baker; many men feel that lines on their foreheads make them look angry and unapproachable, as well as ageing them and the Botox procedure is very simple and minimally-invasive. Dr Sherman, who works with Dr Baker, admitted that men tend to ask for targeted treatment on specific areas of their face, while women tend to plump for a full facial treatment.

Botox is also incredibly popular among men because it is temporary and the recovery time is extremely short and the effects are also very natural, which is a major draw for any patients. Marcus Gogas, a 49 year old man from Virginia, said that he chose to have Botox because he had seen people who had undergone cosmetic surgery on television and the results were too radical, but with Botox, he knows that he will still look the same, just younger and fresher.

The “Vampire Face-Lift” is also known as a procedure called Selphyl. It is an in office procedure that requires the patient have blood drawn from their arm and put into a centrifuge. The centrifuge then separates the platelets from the rest of the blood. The platelets are then injected into the face in the hopes that it will stimulate collagen production in the areas which are prone to wrinkling. This procedure is known as the “Vampire Face Lift” because of the way that it uses the patient’s own blood to make their face look younger and fuller.

Many patients prefer the Selphyl treatment because of they like the idea of using their own blood for a face lift rather than an artificial filler or neurotoxin. Although this procedure has been around since 2009 and over 300 doctors perform it, Selphyl has not been proven to actually stimulate collagen growth. The procedure, however, has still been featured on many shows and remains a hopeful candidate for more research as a possible procedure to replace the artificial anti-aging procedures used most commonly today. Many doctors believe that using natural materials for a face-lift can reduce the risk of bumps or other types of irregularities that artificial face-lifts can.

Even though the idea of a natural face-lift material is attractive, the Selphyl procedure has not been cleared with the FDA, even though there are certain doctors that have been rumored to claim that it has. People continue to pay 900-1,500 dollars for a half hour procedure that has no proven results. The lack of solid evidence on the Selphyl method, however, has not stopped doctors from claiming that it can reduce the visibility of early and mild signs of aging.

For now, the procedure is mostly used for people who are afraid to use neurotoxins like Botox and do not wish to go through a surgical procedure such as a fat transfer. The risks are incredibly minimal and the procedure is not invasive. Often Selphyl is paired with another face-lift procedure, so it is not entirely clear which procedure is actually doing the work. While the idea of Selphyl is a good one, there is still some research and science that still needs to happen before it becomes the next big beauty procedure.

The Tenor Treatment is non-surgical facelift that does not require the use of a knife. In the simplest terms, the use of heat will increase collagen resulting in a tighter and firmer skin appearance.

What’s the process?

The physician will prep the skin by putting on an anti-bacterial gel. Since, the procedure involves the use of heat, the gel will serve to protect the skin. After the face is rubbed with cream, the heat will be delivered through a probe that will massage the skin. It will take approximately 20 minutes to work the face. Afterwards gel will be sprayed on, to lock the heat in. For almost 12 hours, the collagen will be stimulated.

How does it work?

The body is always at work to repair any damages. The body is tricked into pumping more collagen because of the heat. The deep tissue will feel the radio waves and send out collagen in an effort to repair any damages. The skin will be firmed and most recipients look younger immediately after the procedure.

What does it feel like?

It slowly builds up to very hot temperature. After the procedure, the skin may feel a little sensitive and have minor discomfort.

Who’s it for?

This treatment is for anyone who wants to rewind time, and appear youthful again. It can help deep wrinkles, under eyes bags, and dark circles. The Tenor Facial was designed to fix typical problem areas on the face by noninvasive means. It can also accentuate the cheekbones and jaw lines.

The upside?

The first one is no scars will be left and you’ll be able function normally soon after. The face will be firm, toned and glowing. Not to mention, you would have saved a considerable amount of money compared to a surgical procedure.

How long does it take?

The first treatment includes a consultation, therefore, will take roughly 30 minutes. The treatments after that will take about 20 minutes.

Appearance does matter as the people create their first impression about us by noticing our looks. Due to this all of us are much concerned about our appearances. We normally and rightly believe that if we will look good we get more attention. That enhance our confidence and we try hard to maintain or improve our appearance.

It is common that with the growing age, some age spots appears at our body. They can emerge on face, neck, hands or any where else at ones body. There are four common ways or anti aging guidelines to encounter this problem. The best thing is to consult with your family physician or any professional skin specialist that which treatment will be best suited for you.

Liquid Nitrogen – Liquid nitrogen is a trouble-free and successful treatment to get rid of age spots and moles. The dermatologist prefers this method because of the very high success ratio. The liquid nitrogen is sprayed on the spot with sheer force which causes the treated area to peel off and after some time the new skin replaces the old and affected skin.

Chemical Peel – In chemical peel a light acid is utilized to get fresher and healthier cells by removing the upper layer of the dead skin cells. This treatment helps in better skin texture, reducing lines around eyes and mouth and also in other skin discoloration issues.

Fractional Resurfacing – Here the laser light has been utilized to destroy the upper skin layer. Fraxel and Pearl Laser which are the common devices used in this way of treatment also stimulates the fresh cells growth. After some time when the affected areas healed up, the patient will get much better, much tightened and much desired skin.

Lightening Products – Number of products are easily available for skin tone treatments and also for the lightening of the skin. There are both synthetic beauty products and natural ways to make use of. Elure from Syneron is a useful product in this regard. The natural ways includes the use of Aloe Vera, Lavender, Fennel and Marigold for excellent tone treatments.

An ideal tip for staying away from the age spots is the extensive and regular use of a good sun block against the injurious UV rays. Interaction with your family physician or skin specialist and act according to his advice will be really helpful in getting better results for your appearance.

A common treatment for wrinkles, Botox is now being used as an acne scar therapy. Botox, which is a drug that is a derivative of Botulism bacterium, is being shown to reduce the appearance of facial pits caused by acne. It does this by causing the muscles around the scars to relax.

According to Monash University’s Greg Goodman, “If it happens to be that… Botox can help to… relax that area so it doesn’t have so much stress on the existing scar tissue.” He also stated that Botox is generally used in conjunction with dermal fillers. These fillers are injected into a person’s skin after the Botox treatment to smooth the scar tissues.

Professor Goodman also found that while he was reviewing the use of Botox in the treatment of acne scars, that the Botox did indeed help to reduce the look of acne scars. He has published these findings in the Journal of Cutaneous Aesthetic Surgery.

Since Botox was introduced in 1999, it has been widely used to assist in the treatment of wrinkles. It has since been found to help lessen excessive sweating, help those afflicted with cerebral palsy to relieve their muscle spasms, and to aid chronic migraine sufferers with their pain. In 2009, cosmetic surgeons began to use Botox as an acne treatment after determining it could prevent excess oil and sebum production in skin pores. This excess build-up is a primary cause for the appearance of acne on your skin.

Botox works by obstructing the brains signals from the nervous system to the muscles, thus making them relax. This relaxation of the muscles is what reduces wrinkles and acne scarring. There are side effects of the drug, as with most any other. According to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, there have been 40 cases of unfavourable side effects in those who received the Botox treatment. Among those side effects, the most commonly reported were vomiting and fatigue. As with any cosmetic treatments, it is imperative that you discuss it at length with your doctor, to avoid complications and minimize the chances of adverse effects of treatment.

Botox, keep us looking younger, it is said to now help those who’s majority of life has been spent with excruciating headaches. But is it ok to give migraine suffering patients regular shots of botox around their necks, and heads?

What exactly is Botox, and where does it from?

Botulinum Toxin, (Botox) is a protein formed by the bacterium, Clostridium Botulinum. The toxin stops the brain from sending out chemical messages to the muscles, telling them to contract.

Preventing migraines with Botox?

About a decade ago, patients receiving Botox cosmetically, claimed it cured their migraines. The company that produced Botox, started advertising Botox as a treatment for migraines, shortly after the theory had surfaced.
With lacking evidence that the treatment was legit, the company was fined over $300 million for wrongful advertising.

What evidence is there that Botox is relieving migraines?

Afterwards, several trials came to the conclusion that the Botox treatment did not cure the chronic migraines. However, the Botox, did seem to reduce the number of days a person might have been affected by a migraine.

Is there enough evidence that Botox works?

The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and US Food and Drug Administration agencies both permitted the treatment for sufferers of never-ending migraines, last year. There are still people that aren’t persuaded. Dr. Jes Olesen, neurologist, and the chief of Danish Headache Centre at Glostrup University Hospital, located in Denmark.

So why a dispute?

Olesen says, the majority of the participants were taking more pain medication then required. It was hard to tell if the participants had migraines, or pain pill overuse migraines. Also, it would be obvious to the experimental group that they received the Botox, instead of the placebo, because their facial images would change. This would corrupt the purpose of the experiment.

There are a few people that would have to disagree with Dr. Jes Olesen.

Neurologist, Sheena Aurora, says that chronic migraine sufferers, take pain pills normally, so the pills wouldn’t effect the trial. According to her, even a 10 percent increase can be a relief for the patients. Another Doctor says chronic migraines are very challenging to treat, and the critics of the trial aren’t helping the millions of migraine sufferers. He said the critics need to look at the larger picture.

Smoking can cause heart disease and lung cancer, but it’s most visible damage is towards the skin. Very often patients want to repair the damages smoking has done to their complexion. The recommended advice for the individual should be to quit smoking, which would result in the skin being able to repair itself. Age isn’t a deciding factor in the outcome of long-term smoking. By continuing to smoke, the problem will become more severe and harm any chances of reversing any skin damage. (Kate Moss is an example of the potential outcome, but the most notorious chain-smoker was writer Lillian Hellman, her wrinkles were infamous.)

By smoking, the toxic chemicals in the body are in need of vitamins, therefore, the brain reroutes all vitamins within your body away from the skin. Nicotine reduces the blood flow, resulting in less oxygen being received. The skin winds up deteriorating, turning dry and flaky, and becomes less durable. Since, collagen is no longer being produced the skin sags and wrinkles.

The damages are reversible if it’s not too severe. Usually within 6 weeks, the body’s high level of oxygen and antioxidants will benefit the skin. The smoker will definitely need a skin-care regime to assist the healing process.

The use of sunscreen (UVA and UVB), and face cream that contains vitamins (such as Vitamin A, C, and E) will help the process along. The face cream should contain an ingredient called peptides.

The diet should include plenty of colorful fruits and veggies; the body needs antioxidants and vitamins to continue to heal. Exfoliating twice a week will remove dead skin and increase the production of collagen. To treat wrinkles try either a laser treatment or chemical peel both will result in an increased collagen production.

When I was 16, smoking was considered harmless. After joining the navy, the addiction worsened. Smoking up to 20 cigarettes within a day became a normal routine. By the 70s, I reduced my cigarette consumption and quit by the age of 34. Even though smoking was a part of my life style for 20 years I stopped, and my skin looks as if I’d never smoke.

According to a recent survey, a full one-third of middle-aged women would gladly resort to surgical techniques to mask the visible facial signs of aging!

Three thousand women from 40 to 65 years of age revealed that one out of every three of these women would contemplate cosmetic surgery to achieve a more-youthful appearance. Nearly one-third of the women also told the surveyors that they found the prospect of looking two decades younger held more appeal to them than becoming a millionaires!

Among those willing to undergo the knife to turn back the clock, the most favored cosmetic corrective procedure was an eyelift. Following closely behind in the ladies’ preferred baggy of surgical “tricks” was the tummy tuck.

Close to another one third of the research subjects preferred non-surgical techniques such as chemically-based facial “peels” or “fillers”. Botox was one such frequently-mentioned “filler”. Botox is a prescription drug that is administered intramuscularly between the eyebrows. According to its makers, Botox reduces wrinkles by obstructing certain facial nerve impulses. Botox claims that this decreases the muscular activity that cause certain types of lines to develop in women‘s faces. Among the women questioned, Botox – along with its topical counterparts – was preferred over the drastic measure of resorting to the plastic surgeon’s scalpel.

David Ross is Chief Executive at one of the UK’s most elite cosmetic surgery facilities. Known as The Hospital Group, this medical organization provides those with serious concern about their appearance a full range of surgical and non-surgical remedies. Breast enlargement, eye lifts, liposuction, and facelifts are provided alongside chemical peels, fillers, Botox, and cosmetic dentistry. The Group performs these services in nineteen clinics throughout Ireland and the UK.

Mr. Ross recently remarked: “The way you look matters to many people, no matter what their age is. If you feel unhappy with your appearance, this can lead to feelings of frustration and depression.

“For many people, changing the way they look can improve their whole view on life, and often gives them the confidence that they didn’t have before, as well.

The Hospital Group provides expert advice and treatments to ensure that patients get the look they are after.”

From all appearances, the cosmetics industry is cashing in big amid on all this age-induced hysteria. Amidst the hype and hoopla, one can only wonder: Is being so vane all in vain?