Social Media - giving a shot in the arm to cosmetic surgery

In an unexpected twist that a plastic surgeon can love, the growing popularity of social media may be giving an underlying boost to cosmetic procedures.  

A big part of social media is photo sharing.  How many times have we seen photos of ourselves taken at a wedding or a family reunion and our response was, “I never thought I looked that bad!” 

Mindshare, a global media network, studied 36,000 people in 36 countries and found that “photo sharing” among young people caused many to become concerned about their appearance.  

For example, according to Mindshare, chin implants increased by 71% in the U.S. last year.

F.Y.I.

In 2011 there were 316,848 breast augmentations performed.  This dramatic increase is due to increased use of silicone.

You lead with your chin. Tighten it up.

So many options for firming up a sagging jawline

Lifts, liposuction, injections and lasers

In “I Feel Bad About My Neck,” Nora Ephron wrote, “Our faces are lies and our necks are the truth. You have to cut open a redwood tree to see how old it is, but you would not if it had a neck.” 

She had a point. But an equal embarrassment sits right above the neck. It's the sagging jaw line.   

When you reach your early 40s, you may notice the "drop zone", the skin between your neck and jaw. Once a taut right angle, it's now simply dropping. When a friend pulls back the skin in front of her ears and asks, “Tell me the truth, don’t I look better like this?” We answer dishonestly: “Don’t be silly. You look great the way you are.”

Aging jaw and neck are challenging. The neck has three layers: skin, fat, and muscle. Sagging muscles and bulging fat are located under the thin skin. To make it worse, a thin rope-like material called platysma tends to split into a V-like formation of two cords that stick out especially when they contract. To witness this, if you’re over 40, look in a mirror, say “eee,” and watch what happens. "Horrors!" you say to yourself. A colleague in Manhattan observes, “Trying to fix all of that with potions and lotions is like waging a two-front war on a sheet of thin ice.” He recommends a neck lift for women in their early to mid-40s who are not ready for a facelift.

Neck Lift/Facelift

The neck lift wraps sagging muscles crosswise to the jaw to restore that all-important right angle. Compared with a facelift, sutures are smaller, there is less pulling and recovery time is much shorter. However, a neck lift has traditionally been part and parcel of a facelift and many plastic surgeons believe it should remain so. The reasoning is that, anatomically, the muscles of the neck are connected to muscles of the face, so if you try to tighten just the neck muscles, you will do you face a disservice. Using this line of reasoning, even if your big complaint is your neck, you will get better results with a facelift. If you’re confused about which procedure is right for you, have me give you feedback while perusing your very own unique face and neck.

Liposuction and the double chin

The face and neck are usually treated at the same time, often in conjunction with liposuction to sculpt the area beneath the chin and jaw line. Weight gain can lead to looser skin, weaker muscles and free falling fat, all of which may contribute to your drop zone. Younger patients who have fatty necks but no significant facial aging may be treated with liposuction alone. Some plastic surgeons also might use laser or light technology to tighten necks.

Preventive Botox

Botox in areas where wrinkling and creases can occur may prevent deeper lines from forming and will help maintain a youthful appearance. Defer those angry or tired lines so people will not notice that you’ve had anything done.  Botox can also soften those V-shaped platysma cords.

Your own belly fat

Another alternative is injecting fat from the belly into the jawline area to provide extra volume. This will include the bonus of your own stem cells. Extra stem cells are separated from the fat via centrifuge and then added, making the skin glow more and enhancing collagen.

  

Even though you might favor one of these options, it’s a good idea to have an open mind when you come in to see me for free consultation. It's best to let me suggest the very best procedure in view of your very own unique facial characteristics. 

How do YOU see yourself?

A study of how women perceive themselves when they look in the mirror has revealed interesting  changes in perceptions of facial features as women age. The full findings are published in “Mirror on the Wall: A Study of Women’s Perception of Facial Features as They Age,” appearing in the May issue of Aesthetic Surgery Journal.

With Facial aesthetic treatments among the most popular cosmetic procedures around the world, researches asked hte question, "Why do so many women want to change what they see in the mirror?"

In addition, what do they most like or dislike about their faces? 

A group of Turkish researchers found that: 

1. Among women in their 20s, the nose and skin were what women focused on most and most desired to change, 

2. For women in their 30s and 40s the skin and the area around the eyes (periorbital region) were the main areas of concern. 

3. For women in their 50s, the periorbital region and jawline were the primary facial focal points.

“We wanted to better understand why patients desire to alter their facial features. What is it that leads them to seek so-called perfection?” said lead author Billur Sezgin, MD, of Gazi University in Ankara, Turkey. “We found that many women are not at peace with what they see in the mirror. When women look in the mirror, they primarily focus on the parts of their face they most dislike or desire to change. Not surprisingly, this dissatisfaction is the strongest motivator for seeking facial aesthetic treatments.”

As a cosmetic surgeon practicing in Fort Myers and Cape coral, Florida, I find my patients tend to fit the same interest profile.

“This study is very interesting because it clearly shows that most women tend to compare their appearance to that of younger women,” wrote Foad Nahai, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Aesthetic Surgery Journal. 

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), women in the U.S. had nearly 8.4 million cosmetic procedures performed in 2011, a large percentage of which involved the face.