Researchers examined whether television shows about cosmetic surgery have an influence on teens’ interest in changing their own physical appearance with cosmetic procedures in a recent issue of the journal Body Image.
Their article reported that teenagers who watch cosmetic surgery reality shows, like Extreme Makeover, are more likely to have an interest in cosmetic surgery for themselves.
In one study, Charlotte Markey, a psychology professor at Rutgers–Camden, and Patrick Markey, of Villanova University, surveyed 170 teens (average age 19.77, 59% female) to assess their impression of reality TV shows that feature cosmetic surgery, appearance satisfaction, self-esteem, and their interest in cosmetic surgery.
“Participants who reported favorable impressions of reality television shows featuring cosmetic surgery were more likely to indicate interest in pursuing surgery,” the researchers wrote.
Their second study divided 189 participants into two groups (average age of 19.84, 51% female); half were shown an ‘extreme makeover’ program and the other half a show with a neutral message.
The researchers found that women were more likely to want cosmetic surgery than men, and that the viewers of the cosmetic makeover show were more inclined to consider the procedure for themselves compared those who didn’t view the show.
The two studies were done to “examine the influence of media messages about cosmetic surgery on youths’ interest in altering their own physical appearance,” wrote the researchers.
“There is a cultural context to never be satisfied with our physical selves. It’s the rare person who is either completely oblivious or has developed such a strong counter message to not be affected,” said Dr. Charlotte Markey.
“A correlational and experimental examination of reality television viewing and interest in cosmetic surgery,” is available for purchase at Science Direct.
Earlobe repair surgery is becoming more common as patients are seeking out cosmetic surgeons to reverse gauging, a procedure where the earlobes are deliberately stretched and widened. The surgery is being requested by patients who regret having their lobes stretched, reports msnbc.com.
Dr. Angelo Cuzalina, president-elect of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, says that those who are looking for new jobs and going on job interviews often want the surgery.
“It’s almost becoming a fad. People have the gauging procedure where they gradually stretch out their lobe so it has a giant hole that’s larger than a quarter. But then they want to join the workforce and think their chances for a job might be better if they didn’t have this,” he says.
Dr. Brian Glatt, a plastic surgeon, agrees, saying that he is seeing more patients who gauged their ears as teens but are now outgrowing the trend.
Dr. Patrick Carney performs the surgery using a local anesthetic; he removes any skin surrounding the split to create a clean edge and then stitches the ear back together. Sutures will be put into the lobe and removed within a week.
While patients can expect some scarring, says Dr. Cuzalina, patients should be able to wear regular earrings again after a few months, if desired.
“It’s not a really painful operation to have done, but you may never get the lobe back to its original shape,” Dr. Cuzalina says. “But more people are doing it. It usually takes some change in a person’s life to force them to come in and get the surgery.”
More than half of survey respondents think the popularity of cosmetic surgery has grown among members of their racial / ethnic group in the last five years, according to the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, which conducted the survey of over 1,300 people.
An estimated 6.9% of all minority respondents and 9.9% of white respondents indicated that they have had an invasive or non-invasive cosmetic surgery procedure. Asians were most likely to report having had cosmetic surgery (11.1%), followed by African-Americans (7.1%), Hispanics (4.6%), and other races (6.2%).
The most common non-invasive cosmetic procedures that Asian respondents reported having were fat injections, dermabrasion, and Botox. Black and Hispanic respondents reported the most common procedures they had were laser hair removal, Botox, and chemical peels.
For invasive procedures, the survey found the most common procedures were facelift (among Asian respondents); tummy tuck (among Hispanic respondents); and liposuction (among African-American respondents).
The survey also revealed that Asian and Hispanic respondents were more likely to indicate cosmetic surgery was popular among members of their racial/ethnic background when compared to African-Americans and all other races. Almost a quarter of those surveyed said they knew someone of the same racial/ethnic background who has had cosmetic surgery.
While more than 30 percent of those surveyed said they would seek out a cosmetic surgeon of the same race/ethnicity as themselves, over half (56.6 percent) said they thought it would be difficult to find a surgeon of the same race/ethnicity as themselves.
Dr. Mark Berman, president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, says, “Cosmetic surgery is en vogue no matter who you are. Feeling better about yourself and making improvements to your looks is thankfully not limited to a specific race or culture.”
Dermatologists from Yale University School of Medicine recently published a study that attempts to objectively assess the skin tightening results of both cosmetic facelift surgery and fractional radiofrequency treatment.
Both cosmetic treatments have similar goals: to correct facial skin laxity. To measure the results and compare the two treatments, a randomized, blinded, comparative trial was designed. Doctors mixed photos of patients who underwent both facelift surgery and fractional radiofrequency treatment, then graded them on a 4-point skin laxity scale.
Two findings are especially useful in comparing the two treatments:
Mean skin laxity improvement of the RF treatment was 37 percent of the surgical facelift
Patients in the RF group returned to normal activities 24 hours after treatment, while those in the facelift group did the same after 7 to 10 days.
Both microdermabrasion and the chemical peel are popular treatments for exfoliating and revitalizing the skin, so how do you choose the right treatment?
First of all, you won’t need to choose if you see a qualified dermatologist or aeshthetician; they will recommend the best treatment. Your physician might ask how much time you have to allow healing after the treatment. If you’re anticipating an important social event like a wedding or vacation, then microdermabrasion is probably the best.
The depth of exfoliation is very precise with microdermabrasion, so you’re less likely to experience side effects like redness or swelling. The typical healing time with microdermabrasion is also very short – usually 3 days at the most.
Chemical peels come in many different formulas, from light to deep. But the healing time for most chemical peels is slightly longer than with microdermabrasion. If you can spare a week to let the skin heal, go for the chemical peel.
Sometimes an aesthetician will recommend doing both. If done carefully, a light chemical peel such as AHA or salicylic acid can work in combination with microdermabrasion. Just make sure you choose an aesthetician or surgeon that has experience combining these treatments.
The proposed tax on elective cosmetic procedures is generating lots of buzz lately. Some say it will be bad for the economy, discriminatory because women purchase more of these services, and too complicated to be effective; others say it’s necessary and could “nudge” skilled surgeons toward general medicine, where they may be needed.
Is that fitness routine of yours doing the trick? Or is your body still carrying some stubborn areas of fat? These days, getting the body you want often requires more than just sweating to the oldies; it requires some smart technology and a good surgeon. At Dr. Carney’s office, we perform Tumescent liposuction to help our patients in Minnesota slim down.
People who get liposuction are not necessarily overweight – many are actually in decent shape! The problem is, a shift occurs at a certain age that affects weight fluctuations. Whether you bike or run around the lakes or do yoga and pilates at the YMCA, unrelenting dimples, bumps and bulging areas might still show. Those saddlebags on the outer thigh often don’t respond to exercise or diet.
The Tumescent technique is still considered the gold standard by many physicians because it is the safest and least traumatic; some even use the suctioned fat as a filler for wrinkles or to augment lips.
Please remember that ultimately, the most important liposuction tool is the operator. Contact the office of Dr. Carney to learn more about how liposuction can target and slim down those problem areas.
We posted yesterday about minimally invasive treatments gaining popularity, so perhaps we should go into depth about exactly which procedures have been doing well recently.
Fraxel Restore treatments have been offered in our practice since 2006. Patients have given us positive feedback, describing younger, smoother skin. The feedback about improvement to acne-scarred skin has also been overwhelmingly positive. Treatment pricing has become more competitive over time, so Fraxel is now quite cost-effective.
Other cost effective treatments include Fotofacials or IPL. They provide excellent results, they’re easy on the pocketbook, and quick to satisfy patient concerns about uneven pigmentation, sun damage, and mottled skin. IPL is safe to use on the face, neck, chest, back, arms, etc. When you use an effective skin care regimen, it’s possible to maintain your refreshed look, and it’s a great way to protect your investment.
The tried and true chemical peel is still a favorite, even as other physicians try to reinvent the wheel with laser technology. Dr. Carney uses this treatment to resurface lines, moderate to deep wrinkles, and acne scars, correct uneven pigmentation, and perform skin tightening, with results lasting 5-10 years or longer. Chemical peels are making a comeback now as patients find high tech laser treatments associated with high price tags, along with results that sometimes don’t meet their expectations.
Our RN injection specialist, Yone Tierney, brought a wealth of experience from New York to Skin Speaks, providing Sculptra treatments to our cosmetic patients. Originally, Sculptra was FDA approved for treating facial fat loss (lipoatrophy) in patients with HIV, but 70-90% of its use has been for cosmetic applications. This wrinkle filler offers 2-3 years correction by volumizing, which greatly restores a youthful and natural look. It lifts the face, improves the jawline, the mid-face, hollows and circles under and around the eyes, and plumps up the cheeks.
Dr. Carney and his staff plan to further elaborate and answer questions on these procedures with an upcoming event, so contact us for more information.
Permanent makeup is quickly becoming the procedure of choice for enhancing your looks on a budget.
Permanent makeup artists create the illusion of bold features; for example, by embedding colored pigment into the skin to create perfectly shaped eyebrows, enhancing the eyelids with permanent eyeliner, or creating the illusion of fuller, younger-looking lips by filling them in with a shade of pink or red.
The procedure creates a subtler look than a traditional tattoo and allows many people to enhance the vibrancy of facial features that have diminished over time.
For pure convenience, permanent makeup shortens the daily ritual of applying makeup before work or other social functions. Patients say they especially love it in the summer months because it is waterproof, so their eyes still look attractive and vibrant after activities like swimming or exercising.
To minimize risks, you should always choose a physician with several years of experience in permanent makeup application. Ask to see photos of other patients who received the same treatment, or talk to former patients if possible.Permanent makeup only requires a topical anesthetic. Healing can take up to two weeks depending on the type of tattoo. Permanent Makeup is in-demand so call one of our Minnesota offices today to find out more about the permanent makeover. Also, see our permanent makeup web page for before & after photos!
Entertainment Tonight on May 5, 2009 talked about Hollywood’s hottest trend in cosmetic surgery procedures – being awake for a face lift under local anesthesia!
Dr. Patrick S. Carney, Board Certified Dermatologist and Fellowship Trained Cosmetic Surgeon in Mpls./St. Paul has been successfully providing his facelift/local lift‚ in his office using only local anesthesia for 16 of his 21 years in practice.
Benefit to the patient: less cost and less risk.
Hundreds of patients initially pursued Dr. Carney due to a fear of general anesthesia and many more currently are attracted to eliminating the additional expenses of an anesthesiologist and surgery suite fee.
Dr. Carney is finding that what appeared to be a niche years ago in his practice, is becoming a much more attractive option for today’s patient and that a surgeon working on a patient who is awake during any procedure has the responsibility to perform even more flawlessly.
General anesthesia, overnight stays, drainage tubes, etc. often result in increased recovery time, another concern of patients choosing surgery today. The very busy lives and work schedules of patients‚ today do not lend well to lengthy recovery times.
For more information on Dr. Patrick Carney’s local lift and other surgery procedures provided under local anesthesia, call 952.435.6565. Consultations are complimentary. Financing options are available.
Researchers examined whether television shows about cosmetic surgery have an influence on teens’ interest in changing their own physical appearance with cosmetic procedures in a recent issue of the journal Body Image.
revitalizing the skin, so how do you choose the right treatment?
Is that fitness routine of yours doing the trick? Or is your body still carrying some stubborn areas of fat? These days, getting the body you want often requires more than just sweating to the oldies; it requires some smart technology and a good surgeon. At Dr. Carney’s office, we perform 
