Is gold the new buzzword in skin creams?

According to legend, 5,000 years ago, Cleopatra slept in a gold face mask every night because she believed it made her skin luminous and soft. Whether that was true or not, Cleopatra is said to have had beautiful skin. But then again, in that day and age, women lived to a ripe old age of 30-something, so who is to know. Cleopatra herself lived only to 39.

Many new skin products coming on the market contain gold particles, reported to tighten loose skin, reduce discoloration and ward off the sun’s damaging UV rays. Unfortunately, there are no studies that have documented these claims, and the creams are enormously expensive, as you might guess.

The truth is, few skin care ingredients have been proven to create real results in skin tone, texture and luminosity. Among them are Retin-A. Laser skin rejuvenation, microdermabrasion and chemical peels have also been proven to rejuvenate collagen beneath the skin and create a much smoother, more youthful appearance. 

A Way to Treat Those Aging Lobes

Just like any other area of skin, earlobes are prone to the signs of aging. From drooping earring holes wrinkled skin, your ears deserve to look just as beautiful as you do.

Dermal fillers—such as Juvederm or Radiesse—can now be used to treat aging earlobes. More commonly used for wrinkles in the face, these fillers can rejuvenate your maturing lobes. For earring holes that have drooped due to heavy jewelry, fillers can be injected to minimize the size of the whole and add support.

Plastic surgeons can also treat wrinkles on the earlobe with fillers as they would treat wrinkles around the eyes or mouth.

Avoiding sun exposure and heavy earrings are ways to prevent premature aging of the skin, however, collagen and elastin naturally breaks down over time.

While some patients prefer to undergo otoplasty for more permanent wrinkle reduction, dermal fillers both deliver permanent results and no downtime. If you are a Delaware resident considering fillers for your ears,  our friendly staff at Danyo Plastic Surgery would be happy to address any questions or concerns you may have.

2009 International Aesthetic Trends Now Available

For the first time ever, accurate aesthetic plastic surgery statistics are available to the public. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) issued the "ISAPS Biennial Global Survey™" to surgeons in order to gauge aesthetic trends in the top 25 countries and regions for plastic surgery. The Survey represented 75% of all procedures performed in 2009.

Although the ISAPS Biennial Global Survey™ confirmed that the United States remains the country with the most procedures performed annually, there are some countries that are emerging as major centers that may be surprising. Making the top ten list are a few other countries that are not always associated with plastic surgery:
1.    United States
2.    China
3.    Brazil
4.    India
5.    Mexico
6.    Japan
7.    South Korea
8.    Germany
9.    Turkey
10.    Spain

The Survey also revealed that, contrary to popular belief, breast augmentation is not the most popular invasive procedure performed internationally. The top 5 invasive aesthetic procedures are as follows:
1.    Liposuction-18.8%
2.    Breast Augmentation-17%
3.    Blepharoplasty-13.5%
4.    Rhinoplasty-9.4%
5.    Abdominoplasty or Tummy Tuck-7.3%

As for as non-surgical procedures go, neuromodulators like Botox® top the list in popularity. Not only that, the overall number of non-surgical cosmetic treatments performed surpassed the number of surgical procedures. The top 5 non-invasive aesthetic treatments for 2009 were:
1.    Neuromodulators such as Botox® and Dysport®-32.7%
2.    Hyaluronic acid injections such as Juvederm and Radiesse-20.1%
3.    Laser hair removal-13.1%
4.    Fat grafting-5.9%
5.    IPL treatments-4.4%

Amongst other things, the Survey established that there are approximately 30,817 board certified (or national equivalent) plastic surgeons currently practicing. The number of surgical procedures performed globally in 2009 was 8,536,379, while the number of non-invasive treatments was 8,759,187.

The ISAPS Biennial Global Survey™ was created and proctored by Industry Insights, Inc., an independent research firm from Columbus, OH.  Scott Hackworth, a CPA who, along with the firm, has 15 years of experience in researching trends in aesthetic plastic surgery, led the Survey. The two-page, English-based questionnaire was administered to different international plastic surgery societies and focused on the aesthetic procedures performed in 2009.