Millions Choose Cosmetic Surgery to Restore Youthful Appearance
It should come as no surprise that cosmetic procedures to reverse the signs of aging are extremely popular. The quest for youthful beauty isn’t a modern phenomenon, either.According to “Aging and Cosmetic Enhancement,” an article by the Society for Applied Research in Aging, history is replete with stories of how people tried their best to look young. Cleopatra took milk baths and some cultures used ritual tattooing.“Modern western society is obsessed with achievement, youth, and beauty,” according to the article. “Since the latter half of the 20th Century there has been an increasing focus on the body as a vehicle for identity and self-expression, with a greater recognition of the role of appearance and the desire for self-improvement. Youth has become valued and privileged above age and life experience. Beauty is the apparent new indicator of social worth. This contrasts with cultures where age is revered and elders are deferred to with respect.”Modern perceptions of beauty are linked to portrayals of the body–particularly women’s bodies–in popular media, including movies, and advertising that have created “impossible standards of beauty (that) have progressively become more unrealistic and unattainable,” the article states.
How to achieve a more youthful appearance
The aging process brings loss of skin elasticity and collagen, forehead lines, drooping brows, hooded eyelids, loss of cheek roundedness, sagging neck lines, loss of chin definition, drooping nasal tissues, wrinkling around the mouth and thinning lips. Age-related procedures including liposuction, eyelid rejuvenation, facelifts, browlifts, chemical peels, dermabrasion, laser resurfacing, and microneedling are commonly sought by patients between the ages of 40 and 60 years. Chemical peels and laser resurfacing also have been gaining popularity as less-invasive procedures than surgery to achieve a more youthful appearance.According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there were 17.5 million surgical and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures in 2017, which was a 2 percent increase over 2016. Non-invasive procedures designed to tighten the skin have become more popular, increasing 9 percent over the previous year. Minimally invasive cosmetic procedures have increased nearly 200 percent since 2000.Younger adults are more likely to seek rhinoplasty, breast augmentation and laser hair removal, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Those between 35 and 50 like to get Botulinum toxin type A treatments such as Botox and procedures designed to help them age gracefully such as “Mommy Makeovers” (breast surgery, tummy tuck and liposuction) and high-tech laser, light and skin-resurfacing techniques. Those 50 and older often choose facelifts, brow lifts (forehead lifts) and eyelid surgery. The ASAPS reports that cosmetic surgery for those over 65 has increased by almost 80 percent in 10 years.
Renuvion offered only at About Faces Cosmetic Surgery
Dr. Mikel Lo at About Faces Cosmetic Surgery is one of the most experienced cosmetic surgeons in Tucson, offering a variety of surgical and non-surgical procedures to reverse signs of aging. About Faces Cosmetic Surgery is the only practice in Tucson offering the exciting new technology of Renuvion® J-Plasma, the revolutionary procedure to combat signs of aging. Renuvion is the new FDA-cleared way to tighten skin. It provides dramatic results with lower risk and recovery time than more invasive surgery. This ground-breaking technique can reduce wrinkles and is especially popular among those who have had a facelift and would like an occasional touchup.
Laser treatment softens wrinkles
Laser skin resurfacing can be highly effective in softening wrinkles and pigmentation issues. Pulses of light remove thin layers of damaged skin, while stimulating collagen production in the skin beneath. The new collagen plumps and tightens the skin, softening the appearance of lines and wrinkles. The procedure is usually done when treating the full face or around the mouth. New skin will grow and cover the treated area in about a week.Muscle relaxers Botox®, Dysport® and Xeomin® help decrease wrinkles caused by muscle activity and are often used around the eyes, on the forehead, and between the brows. Other areas, such as the lower face or the lips and chin, require a very experienced injector like Dr. Mikel Lo. He is one of the most experienced injectors in Tucson, having injected Botox for more than 24 years.Other non-surgical facial procedures include microneedling; HydraFacial treatments; dermaplaning/exfoliating; medical-grade facials; and Alpha Hydroxy (AHA) Peels, VI Peel® and Obagi Blue Peel®.Surgical procedures to improve the chin include an augmentation that uses implants to supplement existing bone, giving greater definition to the chin. Small incisions are made under the chin, creating a small pocket. An implant is inserted into the pocket, positioned in front of the chin, and sutured to the existing bone. The procedure takes about an hour. Chin augmentation surgery is often done in conjunction with neck liposuction or with a facelift to restore a youthful profile. Laser skin resurfacing with a Phenol Peel can be highly effective in softening wrinkles and pigmentation around the chin. Pulses of light remove thin layers of damaged skin, while stimulating collagen production in the skin beneath. The new collagen plumps and tightens the skin, softening the appearance of lines and wrinkles. The procedure is usually done when treating the full face or around the mouth. New skin will grow and cover the treated area in about a week.
Fillers used to shape chins
Non-surgical chin procedures include fillers—Juvéderm Voluma®, Juvéderm Vollure™ and Radiesse®—that are commonly used to shape the chin, essentially giving the appearance of a chin augmentation without having to do incisional surgery. Other fillers are used to soften the lines around the chin giving a smoother appearance. This in-office procedure can be done with minimal downtime.If you have sagging skin around your neck and along the jawline, you might choose a neck lift. Dr. Lo makes a small incision in front of the earlobe, to the lower scalp behind the ear. The neck muscles, from the chin to the collarbone, are then surgically drawn together at the midline, giving new support to the entire neck and jaw, while the skin is tightened. The incision is concealed in the natural contours of the face. Recovery time is about one or two weeks.As with a face lift, InstaLift™ is a minimally invasive procedure that is great for gentle lifting of the cheeks, jowls, and neckline. Recovery time is about three to five days. Laser skin resurfacing can be highly effective in softening wrinkles and pigmentation on the neck. Pulses of light remove thin layers of damaged skin, while stimulating collagen production in the skin beneath. The new collagen plumps and tightens the skin, filling in lines and wrinkles. The procedure takes between 30 minutes and two hours, using a topical anesthetic. New skin will cover the treated area in one to two weeks.Non-surgical neck procedures include using Botox®, Dysport® and Xeomin® to help soften the bands under the neck that develop from aging of the neck. Patients like this technique as it helps delay a neck lift.
Variety of procedures
Other procedures Dr. Lo offers to help erase signs of aging include:
- Brow lifts; laser and chemical peels; and Botox®, Dysport® and Xeomin® to help restore sagging facial skin around the forehead and eyes.
- Blepharoplasty, to remove excess skin and fat of the lids, bags and puffy skin and soften wrinkles around the eyes. The procedure will give a more youthful appearance for many years. Botox®, Dysport® and Xeomin® to decrease the appearance of wrinkles between the eyebrows or under the lower eyelid, or in the area where crow’s feet appear.
- Liposuction to reduce or eliminate sagging, fatty areas of the upper arm, often used in conjunction with cosmetic procedures, such as ThermiTight, to tighten the skin. The results of liposuction and skin tightening can be dramatic.
- HydraFacial treatments to exfoliate the skin, leaving it hydrated, plump, and youthful looking. A mild chemical peel or a dermaplaning treatment can be done at the same time to further enhance the effect.
- Two types of lip lifts—an upper lip lift and corner lip lift; fillers (Restylane®, Juvéderm Volbella® and Belotero®) to plump the lips and give them a youthful shape or restore fullness; and Botox®, Dysport® and Xeomin® to temporarily weaken the muscles around the lips, decreasing lines and restoring a more youthful appearance.
- Reduction to shorten the length and restore the youthful size of the earlobes; Juvéderm Voluma® and Restylane® to reverse the floppy nature of earlobes that comes with aging.
Contact the office of Dr. Mikel Lo at About Faces Cosmetic Surgery to schedule your consultation today!