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The body-positive conversations have helped. And as they continue to increase in frequency, the more inclined we’ll be to feel comfortable in our own skin. That doesn’t mean we’re going to stop striving to be the best version of ourselves. Only that the goal will be better aligned with our physical and emotional qualities, rather than a steady stream of photoshop-ed images we absorbed during our most formative years.

We each have our own relationship with fat, and that’s not going to change overnight. But simply being able to focus our attention and energy on a particularly problematic area or two, like the belly or thighs, is so much more useful than thinking of ourselves as just plain fat.

To that end, there have been some really exciting innovations, most notable of which has been the advent of a non-invasive fat-reducing procedure called CoolSculpting. You’re probably already familiar with it on some level. Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering it.

What’s the procedure like?

CoolSculpting for women can treat just about any unwanted bulge, but it’s FDA-approved for the abdomen, love handles, thighs, upper arms, “bra fat,” back fat, “banana roll” underneath your butt, and double chin.

An applicator that looks kind of like a big vacuum hose applies suction to the area you want to target. It then applies carefully regulated cooling plates to bring fat cells down to a temperature at which they’re irreversibly damaged. For most areas, the treatment takes a little over a half-hour.

The frozen fat cells will then die and be eliminated by the body over the course of the next few months. You’ll start to see results within a few weeks, but it should take about three months for the final effects to become apparent.

Key to the process is having enough fat for the applicator to adhere to. In other words, enough to pinch.

The treatment itself is relatively gentle. You may feel some initial discomfort as the cooling begins, but it’ll dissipate. And then you’ll be able to catch up on email, scroll through Instagram, or even close your eyes and appreciate a bit of solitude.

What about after it’s done?

There’s no downtime with CoolSculpting for women. So you can return to the office, run errands, or even hit the gym following a treatment.

Over the coming weeks, you can expect up to a 25 percent reduction of fat in the treated area. The results are permanent—once the fat cells are frozen, they’re gone for good. Though the remaining fat cells will still function as normal, which means they’re subject to getting bigger with weight gain. (Contrary to popular belief, fat cells expand with weight gain. They don’t multiply.) So, eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly are as important after the treatment as they ever were.

When we think of ourselves as fat, it’s very hard to ever gain any meaningful traction. But by focusing on key areas, momentum is much easier to come by—and sustain.

Breast augmentation is one of the most popular kinds of plastic surgery performed in the United States. And while it’s common for women to arrive at their consultation with a pretty well-formed concept of what they want, many tend to gloss over the recovery.

But that phase is critical to ensuring you achieve your desired shape. So here’s a little insight into what you can expect over the days and weeks immediately following your surgery.

The first few weeks

During the first week after your breast augmentation surgery, focus on resting and following your plastic surgeon’s recovery instructions to a T. Everyone heals at their own pace, but those two acts will go the furthest toward facilitating a quick and complication-free recovery.

Any drains or sutures may be removed within a day or two after the surgery.

Your breasts are likely to feel tight and tender, but that should gradually dissipate with each passing day. The surgical bra or compression garment recommended by your plastic surgeon will help. As will applying cool packs to swollen, bruised, or tender areas.

There should be a significant improvement in the swelling and bruising after the first week. The swelling and associated discomfort generally peaks over the first three days or so. From there, the vast majority of swelling usually goes down within six weeks.

Sleeping with your torso elevated will help limit the swelling. It may take a little getting used to, but it should be relatively short-lived. You will, however, need to sleep on your back for a couple of months to avoid unnecessarily straining your incisions and to continue to keep the swelling to a minimum.

Within a week or two of their surgery, most women are able to return to work and other light activities, like walking. That’s important because it’ll improve your circulation and boost your mood.

You’ll still, however, need to avoid the more strenuous stuff, including high-intensity exercise and, sorry to say it, sex for a few more weeks. Raising your blood pressure too soon after an operation can lead to complications that could harm your health and compromise your results.

Month 2 and beyond

Maybe the top question on every woman’s mind as she proceeds through recovery is, “How long will it take for my implants to settle?”

Your implants will sit high and firm on your chest until the surrounding tissue and muscle adjust to their presence. Once they relax, your breast implants will settle, or “drop and fluff,” into their intended position. Generally, the process takes three to four months, but it can take up to six months if your implants are especially large or your breast tissue is firmer than average.

But that’s a much subtler transformation than it sounds. Beyond that, most women are nearly completely recovered from their surgery within a few weeks. Over the course of the next several months, your incision scars will fade to thin lines that will be all but invisible when you’re wearing a bikini or a low-cut top—leaving just you and your captivating new breasts.

Just because you sport your dad bod with pride or hit the gym religiously doesn’t mean you’re free from insecurity about your physique. For almost all of us, it’s a seed that’s planted during puberty and grows through drought or deluge for the rest of our lives.

The perception of masculinity has pressed many of us into putting up an invincible shield when it comes to our appearance. Jay-Z may admit to having 99 problems, but I’m sure he’d deny that his body is one of them.

Yet, we, as an unspoken rule, tend to avoid floor-length mirrors and try to maintain eye contact with the medicine-cabinet mirror when we’re brushing and shaving, because glancing down would mean acknowledging those stubborn love handles.

The thing is, the deeper we bury it, the more it eats at us. Doing something about it, however, will at least bring a certain amount of relief and may even unearth a more confident you. When you think about it that way, what’s there to lose?

Now, what if I told you there’s a way to go about it discretely and with minimal effort? Have you ever heard for CoolSculpting for men?

Sit back and shed fat?

CoolSculpting is a noninvasive therapy that freezes away stubborn fat. The FDA’s approved it to treat: the abdomen, flanks, thighs, upper arms, back, double chin, the area below the jawline, and the so-called “banana roll” beneath the buttocks.

Despite how it may seem, we all have a set amount of fat cells. When we gain weight, those cells are expanding, not multiplying. But we all carry fat in different areas of our bodies. In some, it manifests in pockets that may shrink down some with mindful eating and exercise but never really go away entirely.

For years, liposuction was the lone solution for removing those pockets. But the last decade or so has seen the rise of noninvasive treatments that use either heat or cold to kill fat cells in problem areas. CoolSculpting makes use of the cold, the more natural of the two options.

Here’s how it works: A suction applicator delivers targeted cold temperatures. At a certain temperature, the fat cells will freeze and rupture. At which point, they’ll be naturally eliminated by the body over the course of the next few months.

A treatment generally takes between a half-hour and an hour, during which time you’re free to catch up on email, scroll through Instagram, or just close your eyes and enjoy the alone time. Shedding fat has literally never been this easy.

What kind of results can you expect?

CoolSculpting for men has been shown to reduce fat in the targeted areas by up to 25 percent over the months following the treatment. Many elect to have multiple treatments to enhance those results. Your plastic surgeon will recommend a treatment plan that’s based on the amount of your excess fat and the size of the area you’d like treated. (Some also treat multiple areas simultaneously.)

The results are permanent—once the fat cells are frozen, they’re gone for good. Though the remaining fat cells will still function as normal, including being subject to getting bigger with weight gain. So, eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly are as important after the treatments as they ever were.

Which leads us to another positive side of CoolSculpting for men: There’s little to no downtime. You won’t even need to skip the gym after work the day of your treatment.

A new, more confident you is waiting. All you need to do is inquire within.

More than 2.5 million dermal filler procedures were performed in the United States last year, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, making it not only one of the most popular kinds of plastic surgery being done today but also one of the fastest-growing.

Dermal filler injections temporarily smooth out fine lines and wrinkles, restore youthful volume to the face, and enhance lip and cheek contours without a single incision or even really any downtime. But you probably already knew all that. What you’re more interested in knowing—what may be holding you back—is can you reverse dermal fillers?

The vast majority who receive such treatments from a board-certified plastic surgeon, licensed physician’s assistant or nurse injector that’s trained and experienced in administering them are thrilled with their results. But, admittedly, less-than-perfect outcomes, such as overfilling and asymmetry, do happen. In a small percentage of cases, a patient’s body may simply react poorly to the product for no apparent reason.

Most dermal fillers are by their very nature temporary. But, if you don’t love your results, a skilled plastic surgeon can, in many cases, make more immediate corrections or improve on your results. Here’s a look at some of those treatments. So the question remains, can you reverse dermal fillers?

Your next move

Many of the most common dermal fillers are hyaluronic acid-based—Juvéderm, Voluma and Volbella. They, along with Restylane products and Belotero, can be partially or completely removed with an enzyme called hyaluronidase. It’s injected into the affected areas and dissolves the hyaluronic acid particles.

In some instances, it may remove more than the desired amount of filler, which may prompt another filler treatment to achieve your original goals.

Hyaluronidase won’t help with non-hyaluronic acid fillers, such as Radiesse, Bellafill, and Sculptra. But a steroid injection can help reverse the effects to an extent. A skilled plastic surgeon may also be able to significantly improve your results with the strategic placement of another filler.

Cosmetic surgery is part science and art. While a solvent that dissolves the filler may seem logical enough, treating a poor outcome with another filler probably sounds counterintuitive. So it may help to think of it this way: An artist creates dimension and life not by erasing imperfections but by delicately developing shading.

Yep, there’s homework

Often, time is the best remedy for subpar results. Mild symptoms, like moderate lumpiness or slight asymmetry, can usually be improved by massaging the area.

Well before then, though, be thorough about researching and screening prospective surgeons. The more capable they are to discern the appropriate filler for you and inject it safely and precisely, the more likely you’ll be to achieve a beautiful result.

A new movement has been swelling within health care for a few years now. Doctors are still treating urgent needs, of course, but many have begun to adopt more of a long-term perspective with their routine care, anticipating the needs and potential challenges of their patients months and even years down the road.

A plastic surgeon has always kind of functioned in a similar way.

Consider your own cosmetic needs. They’re different now from when you were in your twenties, right? Our priorities also evolve as we mature. While maintaining a beach-ready body may have steered a lot of your lifestyle choices in your twenties and thirties, that energy can shift in your forties to shedding that bit of persistent fat that seems to follow you everywhere like a shadow, or reversing the effects of sun damage.

Focused as you may be on any of those issues in the moment, or others, like undoing the toll a couple of pregnancies have taken on your body, a board-certified plastic surgeon is always considering the bigger picture, including how one procedure may negate or encourage another in the near future.

The cascade of effects

Plastic surgery has advanced to the extent that a 20-minute, minimally-invasive procedure can wipe away years from your face. As a result, it’s perceived as being far more proficient than it actually is, kind of like how our phones do a million things other than call. But the human body hasn’t changed. It remains an incredibly intricate and fluid interplay of features and expressions. Alter one tiny aspect and dozens of others will shift.

Here’s an example of what I mean: I’m consulting a patient on a breast lift. She’s done having kids and she’d like to restore some youthfulness to her breasts after so many years of breastfeeding. Trouble is, that breast lift will never meet her expectations if that’s all I do, because her breasts are also naturally asymmetrical. One nipple is significantly lower than the other, and a breast lift is only going to draw more attention to it, a trait she never realized until I noted it.

So, a plastic surgeon should always be aware of the cascade of effects that can occur as a result of any given procedure.

An objective observer

They’re also positioned to be an objective observer. Say you’re interested in a tummy tuck, but you haven’t completely ruled out having another child. They’ll be able to explain why it may be in your best interest to hold off and explore some less-invasive alternatives in the meantime. Likewise, they should also be trusted to tell you whether you’ve been over-scrutinizing those faint wrinkles at the corners of your eyes, or if the time’s come to do something about them.

Approach your first consultation with an eye toward it potentially developing into a long-term relationship, because that’s how your plastic surgeon will be viewing it. That’s not to say that it will. You may decide that the one procedure is enough for you. But just in case it does, that’ll be your incentive to look deeper, beyond the impressive credentials and years of experience.

Ultimately, what should matter most is rapport, because the plastic surgeon you can talk openly and honestly to is the one who will come to learn and anticipate your needs.

We’ve got some exciting news to share: Davis Cosmetic Plastic Surgery has been named the exclusive Jeuveau provider for the Delaware Valley, including South Jersey and Philadelphia. Jeuveau is the new product on the market that is a true Botox alternative.

You may have already run across some of the early buzz about Jeuveau on social media under the hashtag, #newtox. The wrinkle-smoothing injection has been dubbed the first serious challenger to Botox, though Evolus, the company that manufactures Jeuveau, isn’t necessarily vying for the same audience.

Increasingly, millennials have shown an interest in cosmetic procedures, especially treatments like Jeuveau, which are noninvasive and require little, if any, recovery time. Evolus, which a spokesman says should be viewed as a “performance beauty” company rather than a traditional drug maker, is responding to the budding demand with an advertising campaign that veers sharply from the traditionally sterile variety for new and well-established drugs of this genre.

So, what is Jeuveau, exactly?

Jeuveau is a neurotoxin, like Botox, that’s been approved by the FDA to temporarily improve the appearance of frown lines between the eyebrows. It’s made through a state-of-the-art manufacturing process called Hi-Pure technology.

As popular as wrinkle-smoothing injections have become—there were almost 7.5 million procedures performed in the United States last year alone, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons—Jeuveau is the first new option to hit the market in almost a decade.

Think about that for a second or two. How different does your life look from what it did 10 years ago? We’re guessing dramatically different—and infinitely more stressful, which can trigger early signs of aging, like frown lines.

Medicine and science have evolved at a mind-bending pace over that span, too. So, then, it shouldn’t be surprising that in a recent head-to-head, blind trial, Jeuveau had a higher satisfaction rate than Botox.

Want to continue to look as young as you feel? It’s time to get proactive about it. Watch Dr. Davis talk about the benefits of this Botox Alternative.

What can Jeuveau do for you?

Curious about how Jeuveau could help you? Schedule a consultation with Dr. Steven Davis. He’ll tell you more about it, including how long you can expect the results to last, and then he’ll assess whether you’re a good candidate.

Visit #Newtox NJ.com

Discussing Jeuveau™ with Evolus CEO & President David Moatazedi

Advances in cosmetic surgery are coming at breakneck speed, and they have been for quite a while now. We only need to look at the growth of minimally-invasive procedures for evidence of that. There were almost 16 million of them performed in the United States in 2018, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. That’s a 228 percent increase from 2000.

One of the more interesting segments of that innovation has been the various ways in which our own bodies are being used to enhance existing cosmetic procedures. A prime example is the fat injection, which is used to restore fullness and youthful contours to the face in the wake of aging’s natural hollowing effect.

Fat injections are a bit more extensive than dermal-filler injections, but their results are usually much longer-lasting. Think in terms of several years for the former as opposed to several months for the latter. They’re also a means of resolving two concerns with a single procedure.

Liposuction is used to extract the fat from a “donor site,” usually some place where it’s unwanted, like the abdomen or buttocks. The suctioned fat is then transferred to the face, as a graft. Not all of the fat will survive—it needs to redevelop a blood supply in the new spot—but the fat that does will last forever.

For added benefit, that fat may also contain stem cells that produce growth factors, which will only improve the health of the surrounding tissue.

Platelet-rich plasma therapy for recovery

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is a term you may already be familiar with. It entered the mainstream consciousness several years ago when Kobe Bryant flew to Germany to have an ailing knee treated with it. A slew of star athletes have since followed suit.

It’s shown tremendous promise in its capacity to heal, both from injury and from surgery, including cosmetic procedures. A recent analysis said that it “‘jump starts’ the cascade of regenerative effects,” and that it comes with “very little risk” because it’s simply accelerating the natural healing process.

Here’s how it works: Blood is drawn and spun through a process called centrifugation, which concentrates the blood’s platelets. Platelets are cells within the blood that contain growth and healing factors. The concentration is then reintroduced to the drawn blood and injected into the site of the injury or surgery.

PRP therapy for hair loss

PRP therapy is also being used as a minimally-invasive treatment for hair loss.

Hair follicles survive—or die—based on the amount of nutrition they get from the body’s blood supply. So the thinking with the PRP therapy goes, it will decrease inflammation around the follicles, increase circulation to them, and stimulate new growth. That concentration of platelets is also going to attract even more stem cells, which will ensure the hair keeps growing.

PRP therapy has been shown to thicken thinning hair and hair transplants, all without any downtime or side effects.

If you’re looking for a natural way to rejuvenate your appearance or speed up your recovery from a procedure, talk to a plastic surgeon about these groundbreaking options and others on the horizon.