We hear a lot about collagen being an ingredient in some dermal fillers such as Cosmoderm and Zyderm. It is also an ingredient in some skin lotions and creams. In past years it was used alone as an injection for treating wrinkles, but is not popular now, since other fillers such as Restylane give longer-lasting results.
Everyone has a great deal of collagen in the body, as it is the principal protein in connective tissue like tendons and supportive membranes around body organs. It is found in bones, teeth, muscles, cartilage and blood vessels, and is often used in skin and […]
On November 25, 2008 this space discussed the early history of breast augmentation and ended where doctors were experimenting in the 1950s with ivory balls, wool, and ox cartilage. Part 2 will bring things up to date.
Silicone Gel
In 1961, two Houston surgeons developed the first silicone gel implants, marketed by Dow Corning. They used silicone rubber shells and over the next thirty years, made successively improved models with thicker gel and thinner shells.
Saline Implants
Meanwhile a French doctor developed inflatable saline implants in 1965, also with a silicone rubber shell. But too often the shell broke, deflating the implants, and in […]
The desire for larger breasts may appear currently to be a product of Hollywood mania, but the first attempts at breast augmentation were in the 1890s in Austria. Paraffin injections were performed and continued until about 1920. But infections became too frequent, along with the formation of hard lumps.
Fat Transplants
So in the 1920s and 1930s, fat transplants were tried instead. Fat was taken from the buttocks or abdomen and placed in the breasts, which at first seemed promising. But too often the body simply absorbed the fat and left asymmetrical lumps and calcifications. When these were removed an unsightly scar […]
Has there ever been a time or a culture where women did not want to look their best? If so, historians, anthropologists and archaelogists have not yet found it. There have always been beauty aids in use, whether paint for the eyes, shells for the hair or hoops and beads for the ears.
But all the makeup, hairstyling and jewelry in the world cannot address problems which are structural in nature. Cosmetic surgery has become a worldwide, multi-billion dollar industry because it can do just that. It is not a new industry either.
Plastic surgery beginnings have been traced to ancient India, […]
The cosmetic surgery wave seems to have flooded most of the world, including China with its 1.3 billion people. Competition for jobs is motivating more Chinese people to have cosmetic procedures done, most often eye and nose surgeries. About one million such people have procedures done each year and the cosmetic surgery industry is estimated at $2.4 billion annually and growing.
One Shi Sanba, a former opera singer and now 55 years old, went so far as to become a plastic surgeon herself. She has had upwards of fifty procedures done on herself, so many that she can no longer remember […]
A news report this week concerns a Korean woman aged 48 who for twenty years has been having cosmetic surgery procedures. She moved to Japan so she could have more but eventually surgeons drew the line and would not give her more.
At that point she returned to Korea where her family didn’t recognize her, so much had her face been changed. Her parents saw that she was addicted to cosmetic surgery and took her to a doctor for addiction treatment. Whatever was tried did not last very long and she found a cosmetic surgeon who gave her silicone injections.
He went […]
As the field of cosmetic surgery has grown in popularity, it has correspondingly expanded in numbers of options. For rejuvenating the face there is an array of facelift types. There are also many injectable fillers which give quick but temporary rejuvenation and must be repeated periodically for long-lasting results. Then there is BOTOX, a very popular option worldwide for smoothing wrinkles.
But despite the many existing options, researchers continue to look for new and better and quicker ways to restore facial youthfulness.
What is a Stem Cell Facelift?
It refers to adult stem cells, not embryonic. There is no surgery, but instead, a […]
Wind and cold are harsh for the skin and we’re facing several months of it coming up. If you already have some skin dryness, or even if you don’t, it will help keep your skin in better shape if you take some winter precautions.
The following tips are basic and easy to implement, and will help counteract winter’s aging effects. Facial skin is especially sensitive, being exposed to the elements while the hands are gloved, neck is wrapped, and the entire body covered.
Tips for Winter Skin Care
Use a good moisturizer daily, at least once. The face can be moisturized morning and […]
In many people’s mind, good cheek bones are “to die for”. They are a staple of contemporary beauty standards and although beauty ideals change over the years, good cheekbones are also a useful friend in fighting off the appearance of aging.
Strong cheekbones help to maintain the “Y” shape, or triangular shape, that is thought to exemplify a beautiful female face: width in the upper area tapering to the chin area. With aging, the cheeks tend to slip so that the triangle becomes more of a square. The cheek pads slide below the bones and those nasolabial folds form between the […]
Gynecomastia is enlarged male breasts, where the extra tissue is glandular rather than just excess fat. A number of general causes have been identified, but in any individual case, the specific cause cannot always be determined. In two groups of people the cause is typically clear:
In newborn babies it is caused by the mother’s estrogen temporarily being in the baby’s bloodstream
In teenage boys the cause is hormonal changes during puberty
It can also occur in adult males, usually mid-life to older males, because aging testes produce gradually less and less testosterone.
Other Causes
Heredity
Lack of testosterone and/or excess estrogen
A tumor which produces estrogen
Some […]
