Articles

Worldwide Plastic Surgery Statistics

In August, the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) released its first-ever detailed compilation of worldwide aesthetic plastic surgery statistics. According to the ISAPS, this marks the first time that “reliable” statistics on the number of surgeons and procedures worldwide have been made available. The survey showed that  the countries with the top numbers of surgeons were: 1.    United States 2.    China 3.    Brazil 4.    India 5.    Mexico The same five countries had the top number of procedures, with the only difference being that Brazil was second and China third. The USA leads in both the number of plastic surgeons and procedures, having 17.5% of […]

New Study Shows Beauty Is Composite of Features

If you see a headline telling you that a new study shows that arms are the most important aspect of feminine beauty, don’t believe it. In looking for a catchy, surprising headline, the media often misrepresents scientific finding, as is the case in this story. One headline on the story reads: “It’s not legs or breasts that make men go weak at the knees–to catch a fellow’s eye, show a bit of arm.”  The article goes on to say that “long shapely arms . . . are considered more attractive than endless legs.” But before considering arm lengthening surgery (if […]

Boob Job in a BottleNot Proven, but Likely not Harmful

Breast enlargement creams are finally, it seems, ready to make the leap from late-night infomercials to the shelves of major retailers. But does this jump to the big time, mean these products give “big time” results? The claim is that they do. The manufacturer, Rodial, claims that its “Boob Job” product will increase breast size by 8.4% (or elsewhere on the page, half a cup size) if you spread it on your breasts at least twice a day (near mealtimes) for at least 56 days. Rodial also claims that the use of its product will result in a lifting and firming […]

The Limitations of Fat Grafting

In 2009, a task force for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) released the results of its detailed study of the prospect of using fat grafting for breast augmentation. Although the committee’s report was cautious, it touched off a media storm about the potential of fat grafting to replace breast implants as the primary method of breast augmentation. In addition, a number of surgeons nationwide began offering breast augmentation with fat grafting. This becomes the third area where some plastic surgeons seek to use fat grafting to augment volume. Some surgeons also use fat grafting for buttock augmentation and as […]

Eye-Tracking Shows Most Men Look at Womens Breasts First

A paper published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior by researchers from the University of Wellington showed that less than 20% of men look at a woman’s face first when judging her attractiveness. The study used eye-tracking software to evaluate where men were looking during a five-second period that they looked at and evaluate the attractiveness of a frontal picture of a woman. The initial visual fixations of the men, fixations that occurred within the first two tenths of a second, were on either the breasts or the waist in 80% of cases. In 47% of cases, the men were looking […]

Empty Nest Plastic Surgery: Is It for You?

For many parents, sending the kids off to college causes mixed emotions. On the one hand, it is sad and hard to finally let the children go. It is difficult not to worry about the child who will no longer be checking in at night, who cannot ask you for help when he or she needs it. On the other hand, for many parents saying goodbye to a child or children represents a new beginning. This is the start of your third phase in life, when you and your partner can return to life together and enjoy the freedom that […]

Sociologist Finds Women Label Other Plastic Surgery Patients as Vain

In researching her upcoming book, Dr. Debra Gimlin, a sociologist from Aberdeen University, interviewed 80 women from the United States and the United Kingdom who had undergone plastic surgery. She found that more than fifty of the women in the study used the concept of a surgical “other” to push off concerns that they were being vain in seeking plastic surgery. The interviewees were women aged 20 to 70 who had undergone plastic surgery. Half were from each country. The women described the surgical “other” as: Narcissistic and shallow Obsessed with appearance Ignorant of risks of plastic surgery Having unreasonable expectations Working with a shady plastic […]

How to Avoid Plastic Surgery Remorse

Actress Heidi Montag made major headlines in the tabloids as well as serious news outlets earlier this year when she underwent ten plastic surgery procedures in one day. The list included revision of previous breast augmentation (to go to larger breast implants) and nose job, as well as liposuction in several places, fat injection in others, buttock augmentation, and others. Shortly after her procedure, she talked about wanting to get her breast implants replaced with even larger implants. Now, though, she talks about feeling trapped inside her body because the breast implants she had thought were too small are now […]

Learning from Plastic Surgery Trends

Recently, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons released its annual summary of statistics for plastic surgery and non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed in the US. The report does not have any big surprises, but the information it does contain is very useful for people considering plastic surgery or non-surgical cosmetic procedures. Cosmetic procedures have increased by about 69% since 2000. In 2000, there were 7.4 million procedures performed, whereas in 2009 there were about 12.5 million. Surgical procedures, however, are down by about 20% while nonsurgical cosmetic procedures have almost doubled in number to nearly 11 million procedures a year. Nonsurgical procedures […]

How do Sunscreens and Sunblocks Work?

Sunshine has three types of ultraviolet (UV) radiation – that is, beams that are beyond the violet end of our visible spectrum: UV-A – that pierces below the skin surface and leads to sun damage and skin cancer; UV-B – that burns and tans your skin; and UV-C – that does not reach our skin because the earth’s atmosphere absorbs it. Sun protection therefore need only concern itself with UV-A and UV-B rays. Sunscreens Sunscreens filter the ultraviolet radiation with a combination of organic and inorganic chemicals. Some radiation still reaches below the skin surface but not all of it. A sunscreen can use any […]

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