Breast augmentation surgery still tops the charts as the most popular cosmetic surgery in the U.S., according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Despite the perennial popularity of breast augmentation, the society’s newly released 2011 annual report shows that more Americans are choosing minimally invasive cosmetic procedures such as Botox and fillers over surgical procedures. While the number of surgical cosmetic procedures declined somewhat last year, non-invasive cosmetic procedures increased more than 120%.
In 2011, nearly 14 million cosmetic procedures were performed in the U.S., double the number performed in 2000. However, the number of surgical procedures performed today is not quite half the number performed a decade ago: 1 in 9 in 2011, compared to 1 in 5 in 2000. Today, nearly 90% of the cosmetic procedures performed in the U.S. are non-invasive, with Botox leading the pack. Last year, Americans received nearly 5 million botulinum toxin type A (Botox and Dysport) treatments. By comparison, only 1.9 million treatments of hyaluronic acid (Restylane and Perlane), the second most popular injectable, were administered.
The popularity of non-invasive cosmetic treatments appears to be driven by their significantly less expensive cost, non-existent down time, and near-immediate results, even though those results are not permanent. Botox and fillers typically last only 3 to 12 months; however they typically cost only $376 compared to the $3,694 average cost of a typical surgical procedure.
In 2011, America’s most popular cosmetic surgery procedures were:
- Breast augmentation
- Rhinoplasty (nose reshaping)
- Liposuction
- Eyelid surgery
- Face lift
- Tummy tuck
- Breast lift
- Dermabrasion
- Forehead lift
- Ear surgery
People who want to improve their facial appearance have decided to “take it on the chin.” Chinplants are cosmetic surgery’s rising star, experiencing a phenomenal 71% growth rate between 2010 and 2011. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, roughly 21,000 Americans underwent the cosmetic procedure last year which is as popular with women as it is with men. Concern about making such a dramatic appearance change has also sent consumers in search of less invasive solutions for improving their profiles, resulting in greater demand for facial liposuction, as well as Botox and dermal fillers.
The biggest fans of the chin-enhancement procedures are people who are approaching their 40th birthday and beginning to notice the first signs of loose skin gathering under their jaw lines. Liposuction in the chin, jaw and neck areas can remove unattractive fat deposits and create more pleasing facial contours. Botox and cosmetic fillers such as Restylane, Juvederm, and Sculptra can be used to help firm and recontour the chin and jaw area to produce a stronger facial profile.
But what’s driving Americans’ seemingly sudden preoccupation with their chins? Cosmetic surgery experts point to the proliferation of cell phones and smart phones that allow people to snap a photo anywhere, anytime and immediately share it on the internet via mobile technology and social networks. Unflattering cell phone pictures posted to friends’ Facebook walls or tweeted or emailed from a mobile device have made people self-conscious about their appearance. They don’t want to be caught with their wrinkles — and age — showing. Cleveland cosmetic surgery gives people the confidence of knowing that they’ll look good in every photo, especially those annoying candids your friends delight in snapping when you’re not looking!
When you look in the mirror, whose face stares back? Is it the smooth, unlined face of your 20- or 30-something self? Or do you see a flash of your mom in the mirror? We all live in a mental time warp. Mentally, we still feel 20-something even though our calendar age is closer to 40. It’s human nature to think of ourselves as being one, two, even three decades younger than the number of candles on our last birthday cake.
After the initial shock of discovering the first gray hair or early shadow of crow’s feet, most of us to suffer a mental disconnect with our mirror image. Those little signs of aging still bother us when we’re putting on our mascara or blotting our lipstick; but as soon as we turn away from the mirror, our image of ourselves is replaced by the younger woman who lives in happy perpetual youth of our mental fantasyland.
Unfortunately, you can’t fool yourself forever. Eventually, the day of reckoning arrives. In one awful rush, your mental age catches up to your physical age and you see an older face staring back when you look in the mirror. The faint lines at the corners of your eyes have become mature crow’s feet, your laugh lines have deepened into parenthetical creases, those ghostly worry lines on your forehead have furrowed into wrinkles. Seemingly overnight, you have become OLD; and the realization leaves you feeling sadly deflated.
Fortunately, there is an affordable solution. Botox/Dysport and dermal fillers can banish signs of aging and turn back the clock so you look as young as you feel.
Next time: The difference between Botox/Dysport and fillers
People often lump Botox and Dysport into the same category as Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesse and other dermal fillers, considering all of these non-surgical wrinkle-reducing treatments to be dermal fillers and frequently confusing their use.
When Angelina Jolie’s full, pouty lips were all the rage, people who wanted to emulate the actress’ sensuous look visited their Cleveland cosmetic surgeons asking for Botox treatments. Had their cosmetic surgeon taken them at their word, those patients would have been incredibly disappointed. Botox actually works to flatten and smooth wrinkles in the skin. Cosmetic surgeons use dermal fillers or volumizers such as Restylane and Radiesse to plump and add volume to the skin.
Botox/Dysport and dermal fillers are all injectable non-surgical cosmetic treatments used to smooth away facial wrinkles and lines, but there are significant differences in the way these different products work.
As we explained in an earlier post, Botox and Dysport are not dermal fillers. These products relax your facial muscles so that your skin cannot scrunch up and form wrinkles. It takes a few days for these products to reach full effectiveness. Some dermal filler treatments, on the other hand, can produce an immediate effect. Dermal fillers including Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesse, and Sculptra are injected under the skin to fill in and plump up deep facial lines and folds.
Even among dermal fillers there are differences in the way different products affect the skin. To learn more about what causes wrinkles and the various injectable non-surgical treatments available to reduce them, download our free Patient Guide to Botox/Dysport & Fillers. We are currently offering $100 off combination treatments of cosmetic injectables. Click the link for complete information!
We use rewards to help us reach our goals all the time. How many times have you promised yourself a special treat when you finish a tough task or rewarded yourself with a shopping trip when you close a big sale?
Knowing a reward will be waiting for us when we complete a difficult task encourages us to keep trying when the going gets tough. You would think that achieving our goal would be reward enough, but psychologists have found that we humans work harder and are more apt to stay on track if we have a tangible reward to look forward to. It’s the old carrot-on-a-stick principle. We might get bored or frustrated during the journey toward our goal, but we won’t quit because we want that carrot!
The trick, of course, is to find the right carrot. Many Cleveland men and women are finding the perfect “carrot” in Cleveland cosmetic surgery. In a previous post, we noted some of the ways people are using Cleveland cosmetic surgery to reward themselves; here are a few more ways cosmetic surgery can encourage you to reach your goals:
1. Reward yourself for reaching your 50th birthday with a combination Botox/Dysport and filler treatment to banish those age-revealing creases and regain a more youthful appearance.
2. New mommies who have worked hard to lose the extra pounds gained during pregnancy will want to reward themselves with a Mommy Makeover. After spending 9 months with extra weight, it’s devastating to discover that sometimes no amount of dieting and exercise will ever return your body to its svelte pre-pregnancy figure. Your once-flat stomach muscles are weaker; and your once-perky breasts seem to have disappeared while you were nursing. You’re thrilled to be a mom but feel depressed every time you look at your post-baby body. A Mommy Makeover is a perfect reward. It will improve your body contours and make you feel beautiful and sexy again!
If you are dreading the inevitable photo ops that seem to accompany every holiday event, maybe it’s time you considered a non-surgical wrinkle treatment. If you answer “yes” to any of the following questions, injectable wrinkle treatments could change how you feel when you look in the mirror.
- Do you look in the mirror and wonder, “When did I start to look so old?
- When you furrow your brow or frown or smile are the lines still there when you relax your face?
- When you cleanse away the creams and serums that you have so religiously massaged into your skin each night for decades are the lines and wrinkles still there?
- Do people always think you’re angry?
- Have you ever thought, “I’m starting to look like my mother!”
- When the cameras come out at family events do you find an excuse to disappear into the kitchen?
If you answered “yes” to even one of these questions, you may be a good candidate for non-surgical wrinkle treatment with injectables. Botox, Dysport and cosmetic skin fillers can smooth away the wrinkles, plump up the deep furrows and remove the fine lines that begin to appear as we grow older. A combination of the natural aging process, prior sun exposure, environmental elements and gravity take a gradual toll on the skin as we age. Eventually, our skin starts to lose its ability to rejuvenate itself and fight back. Fine lines form and deepen into furrows. Skin begins to sag and wrinkle. The process is inevitable, but not unstoppable.
Botox, Dysport and cosmetic fillers can reverse the damage without surgery. To find out more, click here to download our free Patient Guide to Botox/Dysport & Fillers.